Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) criticized the NCUA for going on a “witch hunt’’ by punishing North Carolina’s state-chartered federally insured credit unions for the decision by State Employees’ Credit Union to release its CAMEL rating, even with permission of state regulators.
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“You are way beyond the authority you have at the federal level to do it,’’ Watt told NCUA Executive Director David Marquis, who was appearing Wednesday before a House panel to testify against a measure to revamp the examination process.
Marquis said that federal law and regulations forbid the release of CAMEL ratings, even those issued by state regulators that are used by the NCUA.
Watt said although he opposes the measure he might try to amend it to prevent the NCUA from taking such actions in the future.
North Carolina’s 52 state-chartered credit unions (all of which are federally insured) will have to pay for an additional examination because the NCUA will no longer perform joint exams with the state regulator.
In October, after receiving permission from its state regulator, SECU announced that it had received a CAMEL 2 rating in its latest state examination, which was not conducted jointly with the NCUA. The Raleigh, N.C.-based credit union has assets of $23.4 billion.
