HCFS to Hold Hearing on Oversight of Treasury’s and Fed’s Pandemic Response

On Dec. 1, the House Committee on Financial Services will convene a full Committee hybrid hearing titled, “Oversight of the Treasury Department's and Federal Reserve's Pandemic Response.”

CUNA wrote a letter on Tuesday to the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee in response to the hearing.

Aid from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act created questions about credit unions’ net worth ratios, casting a light on the NCUA’s statutory inflexibility to provide accommodations to credit unions that saw an influx of deposits. 

“As Congress considers additional pandemic recovery legislation, we encourage you to include language that allows NCUA, on a case-by-case basis, to provide forbear from Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) for credit unions impacted by the pandemic and which were otherwise healthy prior to the onset of the crisis. While credit unions entered the crisis extremely well-capitalized, the impact of the ensuing economic crisis has and will put stress on capital and, given credit unions’ limited ability to raise capital, the regulator could use additional tools.” 

CUNA also recommended Congress lift the member business loan (MBL) cap for one year following a national emergency, and encouraged Congress to expand credit unions’ field of membership.