Matz: We Reset the Default Switch to Yes

In a speech to the Credit Union National Association's Government Affairs Conference, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman Debbie Matz stated that NCUA had to reset the default switch to yes.

Chairman Matz told the credit union audience that to make it easier for credit unions to serve their members, NCUA needed to reset the default switch to "yes."

She noted that "[t]oo often in the past, that default switch was set to "no.""

Chairman Matz said:

You asked us to remove the fixed-assets limit. So, yes, we did. You asked us to remove member-business lending limits not required by law. So, yes, we did. You asked us to expand the definition of a "small credit union." So, yes, we did. Now, three out of every four credit unions can qualify for regulatory relief in any future NCUA rulemaking.

If your credit union meets the criteria for a low-income designation, now all you have to do is say yes. By flipping that regulatory switch to yes, we’ve doubled the number of low-income credit unions over the past four years.

And, incidentally, by earning a low-income designation, nearly half of all federally chartered credit unions are now exempt from the statutory member-business lending cap.

She further stated that NCUA will continue to listen to credit unions and will make changes that will benefit you.

This eagerness to accommodate the requests of credit unions will only re-enforce bankers' views that NCUA is a cheerleader regulator.

Also, Chairman Matz in her remarks identified two crucial issues that will determine the future of credit unions -- making millennials into members and adopting strong cybersecurity.

Read the speech.