NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz said in the name of transparency her agency would be vigilant about telling credit union members about any violation of a federal consumer law or regulation by their credit union.
“To conceal a consumer protection law or consumer compliance regulation violation from a member, in cases where an issue is brought to NCUA’s attention by a member, would certainly lack transparency and bring into question the agency’s independence and integrity,’’ she wrote in a letter to NAFCU President/CEO Fred Becker.
Becker has written several letters to the agency regarding the new Office of Consumer Protection. In one letter, he recommended that when corresponding with credit union members the office not “address any specific regulatory violations, if the office found that any occurred.’’
Then on June 6, Becker wrote Matz requesting that the agency be “fully transparent,’ about the office’s procedures for handling consumer complaints.
In her response Thursday, Matz noted that regional directors sent letters to each federal credit union, each state supervisory authority and each state credit union association within its jurisdiction stating which functions are being transferred the NCUA’s Office of Consumer Protection.
