Banks and credit unions are subject to many of the same laws and regulations. But the difference is in how the bank and credit union regulators implement these laws and regulations.
The latest example of these differences was highlighted by Credit Union Times. The article looked at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently issued new civil money penalty guidance and Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) supervision procedures and then looked at what NCUA is doing.
With regard to civil money penalties, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Public Affairs Specialist John Fairbanks stated that the agency has not assessed civil money penalties for regulatory violations since Debbie Matz was named chairman of the NCUA. The only exception is for credit unions that are late in filing their call reports. Debbie Matz was named chairman of NCUA in 2009. Over that same time period, banks have been subject to numerous civil money penalties for various regulatory violations.
The article also noted that NCUA has no plan to follow OCC's lead with regard to BSA/AML enforcement actions outlined in a February 29 bulletin. The bulletin states that OCC is required by statute to issue a cease-and-desist order when citing BSA compliance program violations or violations of 12 USC 1818(s) for repeat or uncorrected BSA compliance problems.
This further illustrates that NCUA is a lax regulator, which treats credit unions with kid gloves.
Before any cu "deniers" launch their hate at mail at you Dr.Legget, you should mention that the fraud in cus is nothing short of rampant and of the 5000 credit unions with assets less than 100m, how many are bsa compliant?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the FRB and state banking regulators doing in regards to BSA/AML for those banks not subject to OCC oversight? Are they being strong-handed like the OCC or closer to NCUA for their regulated entities?
ReplyDelete