BOSTON — Saying credit unions should crawl before they walk, NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland said that the cap on member business lending should be raised gradually for safety and soundness reasons
Hyland told attendees at NASCUS’ State System Summit that the agency is reviewing legislation introduced by Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) to raise the cap from 12.25% of assets to 25% percent and that her position was in her own. She said Congress should give the NCUA the power to raise the cap in stages. It would be better for any increase to “progress at a slow pace” so credit unions can have detailed plans and don’t assume unnecessary risk.
She also said it’s too early in the discussions for her to take a position on President Obama’s proposal to create a new agency to regulate financial products. But she said consumer protection should be a central focus of regulatory policy and accomplished without creating too much additional bureaucracy.
Hyland, who is NCUA’s liaison to NASCUS, also urged continued dialogue between federal and state regulators.
Speaking to the group two days before he left the board, former NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood said he was “very very enthusiastic about the future of America’s credit union,” because of their performance during the financial crisis.
He said credit unions aren’t part of the credit crisis and are helping an unprecedented number of consumers. Hood also noted that when he spoke at conferences many people told him they loved their credit unions.
Hood also noted that he was pleased that many credit unions had responded to his emphasis on enterprise risk management. A good strategy in this area involves everyone at a credit union and focuses on weighing the upsides and downsides of certain decisions and is not about risk avoidance, he added.
He said credit unions will grow as they focus on their personal connection to their members. Hood said “credit unions aren’t just about products but they are relationship focused.”
—cmarx@cutimes.com