WASHINGTON - The House passed by voice vote a bill (H.R. 6312) combining a substantially revised credit union bill with regulatory relief for banks and savings associations. ABA and the banking industry opposed the original credit union bill -- the Credit Union Regulatory Relief Act, or CURRA -- because it would have allowed any federal credit union to branch into entire cities and counties by claiming they are underserved. The association successfully worked with Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to address its concerns in a meaningful way, and ABA did not oppose the revised credit union provisions when the House considered the legislation.
The revised credit union bill, among other things, would narrow the definition of "underserved area" to census tracts that meet a low-income test; eliminate the grandfathering of cities, counties and other areas currently deemed underserved by the National Credit Union Administration; and require the NCUA to publish annual reports on how the credit unions are meeting the needs of those in the underserved areas they enter. The legislation also would limit the kinds of underserved business loans that can be excluded from the credit unions' business lending cap, and limit credit unions' ability to offer short-term payday loans to nonmembers within a credit union's field of membership.
The final bill includes regulatory relief provisions for banks and savings associations that would provide exceptions to annual privacy notice requirements under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act; permission to offer interest on business checking accounts two years after enactment; and increased ability for savings associations to invest in small-business investment companies and make commercial real estate loans, while also removing limits on small-business and auto loans.