An overwhelming – yet growing – regulatory burden on smallerinstitutions presents very serious concerns for credit unions, andcan be addressed by a presidential executive order calling for amoratorium on new rules, according to a letter CUNA has sent CassSunstein, the Office of Management and Budget's administrator.

This is the second request this week CUNA has made to federal agencies seeking regulatoryrelief.

In the message, CUNA President and CEO Bill Cheney asked thatSunstein urge President Obama to issue another executive order toindependent regulatory agencies, including the NCUA, callingfor a moratorium on new rules that would impose “regulatory burdensthat are not required by statute or necessitated by serious,material, quantifiable and well-documented safety and soundnessconcerns.”

Cheney stated credit unions were appreciative of the president'sorder last July urging federal agencies, including NCUA, to improvethe regulatory environment for entities under their jurisdiction,and to report back to OMB how they were taking action.

“These are positive steps,” he said. “Yet, smaller institutions,such as credit unions, are in great need of meaningful regulatoryrelief – the kind of relief that they have not seen as of yet.”

The CUNAleader also urged the Sunstein to consider establishing an Officeof Regulatory Burden Monitoring, which would focus on measuring andscrutinizing the extent of the regulatory burdens that entities,such as credit unions, must bear.

“Such an office could also give regulated entities additionalrecourse in terms of having their regulatory burdens reviewed,”Cheney wrote.

“We urge you to help achieve a regulatory moratorium, and wewould welcome the opportunity to discuss this letter with you atyour convenience. Thank you for your attention to this mostimportant concern for credit unions,” the letter concluded.