Executives from Southern California credit unions voiced theirapproval of a bill introduced Friday by Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) thatwould establish a risk-based capital system for credit unions andprovide several other regulatory relief measures.

In a release from Miller's office, Richard L. Harris,president/CEO of $1.2 billion Caltech Employees FCU said the billis “filled with practical ideas on how to cut down on the number ofneedless regulatory compliance issues my employees deal with everyday.” He added that the legislation is an excellent starting pointfor regulatory relief.

Debra Schwartz, president/CEO of the $2.4 billion Mission FCUsaid the bill would help credit unions manage today's stringentregulatory environment.

“Our employees should be focused on serving consumers, whom wecall members, and assisting them with their loans – not on keepingup with and implementing endless and often unnecessary governmentcompliance.”

On the other end of the asset spectrum, Gary Nelson,president/CEO of the $69 million La Loma FCU in Loma Linda, Calif.said the bill would help ease the amount of onerous regulationcredit unions face after the financial crisis.

“Rep. Miller understands that credit unions should be focusingon maintaining the flow of credit to our local communities insteadof being caught up in government regulation aimed at bad actors inthe financial services arena,” he said.

The Regulatory Relief for Credit Unions Act would:

• Allow the credit union's prudential regulator, the NCUA, togrant federal credit unions a waiver to follow a state rule insteadof a federal one in certain situations;
• Establish a risk-based capital system for credit unions akin tothat of other depository institutions;
• Authorize the NCUA to step in where appropriate to delayapplication of, or slightly modify, a CFPB rule affecting credit unions to be sure such a rulerecognizes the unique nature of credit unions while also carryingout the intent of the CFPB;
• Require that NCUA and CFPB revisit cost/benefit analyses ofrules after three years so they have a true sense of the compliancecosts for credit unions;
• Require the NCUA to conduct a study of the Central Liquidity Facility for credit unions and makelegislative recommendations for its modernization;
• Provide credit unions parity with FDIC-insured institutionswhen it comes to deposit insurance coverage on Interest on LawyersTrust Accounts; and
• Give credit unions better control over their investmentdecisions and portfolio risk.

Rep. Miller is also an original cosponsor of H.R. 1750, theCommunity Lending Enhancement and Regulatory Relief Act of 2013,which would provide regulatory relief to community banks.

“Credit unions and community banks should not be burdened by anoverwhelming amount of regulation better suited for more complexinstitutions,” Miller said. “Instead of focusing on access tocredit and other basic financial services, our local credit unionsand community banks now have thousands of pages of rules they mustcomply with from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alone.This mounting regulatory burden hits credit unions and communitybanks particularly hard as they often lack the resources andpersonnel that larger financial institutions enjoy.”

Miller added that he looks forward to working with colleagues onthe House Financial Services Committee, of which he is vicechairman, to ensure the regulatory environment promotes safety andsoundness without stifling innovation and consumer choice.