WASHINGTON -- An amended version of the Senate regulatory reliefbill passed the House last week, but had not been considered yet inthe Senate as of press time.

The Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act (S. 2856) had beenplaced on the suspension calendar for last Wednesday and easilypassed 417-0 late that night. The suspension calendar is used tomove non-controversial bills to the House floor.

The broader version of the bill had been through the House andpassed overwhelmingly a few times with dozens of provisions, butthis year was the first time the Senate version, which is greatlypared down from the House bill, came to a vote. An informal"ping-pong" match between the House and Senate arrived at thecompromise bill that was to be voted on in the House Sept. 27 andshortly after in the Senate. Both chambers of Congress wereexpected to break for campaigning at the end of last week. Acontinuing resolution has been approved to fund the federalgovernment through Nov. 17, when members of Congress are expectedto return for a lame duck session.

The Senate bill included credit union specific provisions forthe so-called "FASB fix" to bring the definition of net worth inthe Federal Credit Union Act in line with nonprofit mergeraccounting changes expected from the Financial Accounting StandardsBoard, permit low- or no-cost leases by credit unions on militaryinstallations, allow credit unions to offer check cashing and wireservices to anyone within their field of membership, and increasethe loan maturity limit from 12 to 15 years.

The final compromise also included a section to permit theFederal Trade Commission to initiate limited oversight of privateinsurance disclosures and ensure state audits of the privateinsurer, American Share Insurance, which is the last privateprimary credit union deposit insurer. NAFCU, a strong proponent offederal insurance, was "pleased to see steps have been taken toenforce private insurance disclosures," Director of LegislativeAffairs Brad Thaler said.

Two stumbling blocks were nimbly side stepped by lawmakersanxious to get reg relief done before returning home to campaign.The Securities and Exchange Commission was opposed to being forcedto consult with the banking regulators on banks' securitiesactivities, but according to CUNA Vice President of LegislativeAffairs Dean Sagar, a deal has been worked out.

There was also a budgetary question as to how to fund dividendsif the Federal Reserve determined to pay interest on the currently"sterile" Reg D reserves, which was worked out by delaying theeffective date until 2012, NAFCU Senior Vice President ofGovernment Affairs Dan Berger said.

"Although NAFCU continues to support additional regulatoryrelief measures for credit unions such as those contained in theCredit Union Regulatory Improvements Act, we wish to thankFinancial Services Chairman Oxley, Ranking Member Frank andFinancial Institutions Subcommittee Chairman Bachus and the othermembers the Financial Services Committee for their hard work onthis important legislation," NAFCU President and CEO Fred Beckersaid.

"Credit unions are delighted that the House has passed afinancial institutions regulatory relief bill that is both balancedin its impact on financials and also provides credit unions with anumber of key areas of relief from outdated restrictions," CUNAPresident and CEO Dan Mica commented. "We look forward to theSenate acting quickly on this evenhanded measure as soon aspossible."

Lobbyists said the Senate was expected to move on thelegislation before adjournment. [email protected]