An expansion of product and services by CUSOs and the removal ofthe 12.25% member business lending cap are just two of the issuesthe National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations willfocus on this year.

The association released its 2011 legislative and regulatoryagenda today. NACUSO said it plans to support all regulatoryinitiatives at the federal and state level to expand authorizedproducts and services that can be offered by CUSOs. This includesstreamlining of the authorization process for such products andservices, should advance approval of the appropriate regulatoryagency be required in limited circumstances.

NACUSO said it also supports a legislative initiative to removethe 12.25% cap on member business lending and increase the minimumto be considered a member business loan to $200,000. It is backinga regulatory initiative to allow CUSOs and credit unions with aproven track record of effective risk management in the businesslending field to approve business loans for otherwise qualifiedentities without a personal borrower guarantee whereappropriate.

Also on NACUSO’s agenda is supporting a legislative initiativeto increase the statutory cap limiting credit union investmentauthority in CUSOs from the current 1% of a primarily asset-basedcomplex formula to 5% of a similar asset-based or other appropriateformula of corresponding value, both in the limitation oninvestments and also in the limitation on loans.

On the flip side, NACUSO said it will oppose any regulatory orlegislative initiative that would authorize federal or state creditunion regulatory agencies to directly regulate, examine andsupervise CUSOs, including any efforts to directly regulate creditunion vendors, since many CUSOs offer products and services tocredit unions.