Advocacy Update

NCUA board seat nomination hearing, possible credit report changes, CUNA raises concerns with CFPB guidance on consumer information, and more. 

Members of the House of Representatives are in D.C. this week and expected to vote this afternoon to seat a new Speaker to replace ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Without an elected Speaker, it is unclear what business can be considered on the House floor. The House Parliamentarian may rule to allow Speaker Pro-Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) to preside over legislative sessions on the House floor; however, no legislation for floor consideration is scheduled yet for this week, nor any other significant House Committee action.  

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a nomination hearing on Thursday, October 19, for several federal agency nominees. This includes Tanya Otsuka, the nominee to fill the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board seat currently held by Rodney Hood. Otsuka will testify for the committee; she also plans to meet with Senator Rounds (SD) and Senator Cramer (ND), today and tomorrow, as both members serve on the committee. Just yesterday, the DakCU advocacy team communicated credit union “top of mind” regulatory concerns and issues with senior legislative aides in both offices in preparation for the confirmation hearing on. The hearing is scheduled to begin Thursday at 9:00 a.m. (CT) – 8:00 a.m. (MT).

Also on Thursday, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development is holding a hearing, "How Community Development Financial Institutions Promote Housing and Economic Opportunity." On the floor, the Senate may consider stalled appropriations legislation; the CUNA legislative team will work closely with credit union allies in the Senate to block Senators Durbin and Marshall from once again offering a Durbin 2.0 interchange amendment.
 
Senators call on FHFA to reconsider credit report changes.  
A group of Senate Republicans, led by Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC), sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Sandra Thompson over the weekend raising concerns about the agency’s proposed changes to credit report requirements for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). In the letter, the senators expressed support for the inclusion of alternative data sources to better capture creditworthy borrowers, but cautioned against incomplete data by only requiring reports from two reporting agencies.
 
The CUNA-League System along with several other housing finance stakeholders offered feedback to the FHFA on the credit score requirements earlier this year. While the groups shared concerns about the proposed timeline and lack of stakeholder feedback incorporated into the plan, Thompson addressed the FHFA’s credit score initiative during a speech Monday. She defended the benefits of the new models and bi-merge report – maintaining accuracy and increasing competition in the market. She also noted the agency has been holding stakeholder forums to learn more about the issues, opportunities, and challenges associated with the transition and that the FHFA will soon announce details of historical datasets to allow stakeholders to conduct their own analyses of the bi-merge approach.

CFPB guidance on financial institution consumer information requests raises concerns.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its first guidance on Section 1034(c) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act on October 11, highlighted at a White House news conference. The advisory opinion focuses on consumer information requests that financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets must provide consumers.
 
CUNA responded with concerns with the CFPB’s overly broad advisory opinion; CUNA Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer, Jason Stverak wrote, “Credit unions regularly process account information requests from members as part of their normal course of business, including the very same type of requests covered by Section 1034(c). As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, credit unions have a people-first philosophy that prioritizes working with our members to address their financial needs at little to no cost. We have significant concern with the CFPB’s repeated attempts to insert itself between credit unions and their members, and would strongly oppose the Bureau imposing obligations on covered financial institutions beyond what was intended by Congress.”
 
CUNA previously filed comments with the CFPB in August of 2022, noting these same concerns with the CFPB’s interpretation, that section 1034(c) authorizes the bureau, “to get in the middle of customer-financial institution relationships and set explicit standards for customer service.”