(NOTE: This blog does not constitute a political endorsement or criticism. It serves only to provide commentary on potential regulatory changes and their possible impact on the credit union industry.)
Next month marks a big shift for the U.S., with Donald Trump set to take office on January 20, 2017. With a new administration comes new policies and procedures, and Trump’s will be no different. Although we won’t know for sure what will happen when he takes office, we can examine how his views on key issues will likely affect credit unions in 2017 and beyond.
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act
Throughout the presidential campaign, a hot-button issue for Trump was the reduction of regulations on businesses. In Trump’s opinion, too much regulation stifles growth, especially for smaller businesses. The credit union industry viewed this position as favorable and, according to the New York Times, 84 percent of small financial institutions supported Trump in an industry poll over the summer.
A major set of regulations Trump would like to repeal is the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. Dodd-Frank was passed in 2010 to prevent another financial crisis from wrecking the economy. According to Trump, however, Dodd-Frank is comprised of too many complex, cumbersome regulations which slow the growth of businesses. Many in the credit union industry agree, as the regulations designed for large banks deemed “too big to fail” are also enforced on credit unions. The cost of compliance with these regulations is high, and many in the credit union industry argue that this disproportionally affects smaller financial institutions that cannot afford to pay the price. They don’t believe credit unions should be subjected to the same lending and capital restrictions as larger banks.
If Trump follows through on his promise to “dismantle” Dodd-Frank, credit unions may find themselves with fewer limitations on how to use their capital. However, Dodd-Frank took years to implement and will likely not be undone overnight.
Financial CHOICE Act
The CHOICE Act, proposed by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, is a preliminary step to roll back Dodd-Frank regulations and create a new standard for financial institutions and credit unions. The CHOICE Act was approved by the House in September, and is thought to be a potential framework for future changes to Dodd-Frank.
The National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) has shown support for this act, specifically the repeal of the Durbin Amendment (another component of Dodd-Frank). The Durbin Amendment limits interchange fees on debit cards and, although there is a provision for financial institutions with assets less than $10 billion, credit unions have still lost profit from these fees.
The CHOICE Act also stipulates other provisions for smaller financial institutions, including a legal safe harbor from escrow requirements for community banks and credit unions holding loans in portfolio for three years, and an exemption for firms that provide 20,000 or fewer mortgage loans annually from certain escrow requirements.
FHFA
Trump’s presidency could also affect the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Trump’s team has expressed a desire to free Fannie and Freddie from government control, and many republicans agree. However, in a letter to congress, the NAFCU stated their belief that “a healthy, sustainable and viable secondary mortgage market must be maintained,” and “credit unions must have unfettered, legislatively-guaranteed access to such a market.” The NAFCU does not want Fannie and Freddie, both government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), to be privatized because credit unions could be excluded from the secondary market. The NAFCU said they would be open to merging Fannie and Freddie and keeping them under the FHFA. It remains to be seen what will happen with Fannie and Freddie, but any changes will obviously affect credit union mortgages.
There’s no way to know exactly how the change in the oval office will affect credit unions until Trump arrives at the White House and starts implementing policies. However, it is safe to say that there will be quite a few changes — many focused on decreased regulation — with the incoming administration.
EPL Staff
EPL, Inc.
