WASHINGTON — Saying that her goal is to “target risky behaviorsin credit unions, not credit unions themselves,” NCUAChairman Debbie Matz said Monday the agency will beef upcertain safety and soundness regulations but ease up on others.

Later this fall the agency plans to issue a proposed rulemandating loan originators to keep some risk on their balancesheets and require loan buyers to increase due diligence, Matz saidduring a speech to NAFCU's Congressional Caucus at the MayflowerHotel.

The NCUA chairman also announced that next year the agency willissue a proposed rule limiting investment concentration for naturalperson credit unions that will be similar to rules enactedlast year for corporate creditunions.

She also said that in light of the comments on the agency'sproposed rule to beef up regulations on CUSOs, they are likely to make changes thatcould exempt CUSOs which perform back-office operations thatdon't pose a potential risk to the credit unionsystem.

Matz also noted that the proposed rule mandating creditunions to devise interest rate risk management plans was needed to addresssafety and soundnessconcerns.

In the area of regulatory relief she reiterated her pledges thatthe NCUA would likely issue rules allowing credit unions touse derivatives as an interest rate hedge and allow credit unionsto count subordinated debt toward risk-based networth.

Matz reiterated her support for legislation raising the cap on member business loans and to raise supplementalcapital.

She also said the agency will be unrelenting in ensuring safetyand soundness while giving credit unions the tools to grow andserve more people.