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May 2, 2008 - After several months of anticipation, a Senate version of the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act (CURIA) was introduced.
Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) introduced the legislation, S. 2957, in the Senate on May 1, 2008. Like the legislation in the House, it includes a provision that will allow risk-based capital for credit unions, similar to the standards established for banks set by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. NASCUS supports capital reform for credit unions and believes that CURIA’s capital provisions would be enhanced by the inclusion of alternative capital.
State credit unions would benefit from the legislation’s changes to member business loans (MBLs). The legislation includes a provision to increase the current cap on credit union MBLs to 20 percent from the current 12.25 percent allowed amount. It also expands the definition of an MBL so the National Credit Union Administration Board has the authority to exclude loans $100,000 or less, rather than the current limit of $50,000.
On conversions, both versions of CURIA outline several new procedures on voting requirements and elections. NASCUS supports full transparency and disclosure in the conversion process. We firmly believe it is the role of state authority as established by state law to determine proper procedure and disclosure for state-chartered credit union conversions.
NASCUS will keep you posted as we learn more about the CURIA bill introduced in the Senate.
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