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This podcast provides you the ability to listen to new regulatory guidance issued by the National Credit Union Administration, and occasionally the F D I C, the O C C, the F F I E C, or the C F P B. We will focus on new and material agency guidance, and historically important and still active guidance from past years that NCUA cites in examinations or conversations. This podcast is educational only and is not legal advice. We are sponsored by Credit Union Exam Solutions Incorporated. We also have another podcast called With Flying Colors where we provide tips for achieving success with the N C U A examination process and discuss hot topics that impact your credit union.
Samantha: Hello, this is Samantha Shares.
This episode covers Americaâs Credit
Unions letter from Carrie Hunt Chief
Advocacy Officer, to the National
Credit Union Administrationâs Board
of Directors dated April nineteenth,
twenty twenty-four Regarding: Request
for Nondisclosure of Overdraft
and Non-Sufficient Funds Fee Data.
The following is an audio
version of that letter.
This podcast is educational
and is not legal advice.
We are sponsored by Credit Union
Exam Solutions Incorporated, whose
team has over two hundred and
Forty years of National Credit
Union Administration experience.
We assist our clients with N C
U A so they save time and money.
If you are worried about a recent,
upcoming or in process N C U A
examination, reach out to learn how they
can assist at Mark Treichel DOT COM.
Also check out our other podcast called
With Flying Colors where we provide tips
on how to achieve success with N C U A.
And now the letter.
Regarding: Request for
Nondisclosure of Overdraft and
Non-Sufficient Funds Fee Data
Dear Chairman Harper, Vice Chairman
Hauptman, and Board Member Oatska:
On behalf of Americaâs Credit Unions,
I am writing to urge the National
Credit Union Administration to refrain
from publicly disclosing certain data
collected in the latest Call Report.
Specifically, the revised Call Report
requires credit unions to report overdraft
and non-sufficient funds (N S F) fees.
Data on these fees should
not be released publicly.
Instead, the agencies Board should further
evaluate the legal and reputational
risks that credit unions may face and
delay the release of such information.
Americaâs Credit Unions is the
voice of consumersâ best option for
financial services: credit unions.
We advocate for policies that allow
the industry to effectively meet the
needs of their nearly one hundred
and forty million members nationwide.
Effective March thirty first, the
agency recently added fields to the Call
Report requiring credit unions above
1 billion dollars in assets to report
revenue from overdraft and N S F fees.
As detailed in a February letter to
the Chairman, and shared with the other
Board members, Americaâs Credit Unions
raised concerns regarding the process
through which these changes were made,
explaining that the agency should have
provided direct notice to all credit
unions and generally should not pursue
significant changes without first
notifying the industry of such proposed
changes at least two quarters in advance.
Subsequently, we sent a letter to the
agencyâs Office of General Counsel
(O G C) requesting a legal opinion
letter regarding the applicability
of the Freedom of Information Act to
information collected and disclosed
publicly as part of the Call Report
requirements in the agencies regulations.
It is our position that the agency
should refrain from disclosing publicly
the Fee Income reported under revised
Call Report account code one hundred
and thirty one, as this information
is confidential business information
protected under the FOIA exemptions.
We maintain that this information
on overdraft and N S F fees is
exempt from a FOIA request under
FOIA Exemption 4 and therefore should
not be made public by the agency.
If the agency is releasing Call Report
data under separate authority, we
would appreciate that clarification.
Given our significant concerns with the
potential release of this information,
and the fact that the new Call Report
requirements are already effective,
I am sending this letter directly
to the entire Board urging you to
prevent the public disclosure of the
information collected under revised
Call Report account code one thirty one.
There are significant reputational risks
that are likely to quickly arise with the
public disclosure of such information.
As we have already seen following
the release of certain information on
overdraft and N S F fees charged by
California state-chartered credit unions
and banks, this information is likely to
be spun in a misleading and potentially
inaccurate way, resulting in irreparable
harm to the positive reputation credit
unions have worked so hard to achieve.
I appreciate the willingness of each
Board member to discuss this issue,
including during Americaâs Credit
Unionsâ Governmental Affairs Conference.
As such, you are likely familiar
with our position on collecting and
releasing O D P and N S F fee data.
Given that the changes have already been
made to the Call Report, we stress the
significant ramifications that may result.
Thus, if the Board is unwilling to prevent
disclosure of this fee data indefinitely,
we urge, at a minimum, the agency to
delay such disclosure until after it has
sufficiently assessed the legal and policy
concerns with releasing such information.
To best protect the credit union system
and consumers, the NCUA should refrain
from disclosing such information publicly.
This concludes the Letter.
If your Credit union could use assistance
with your exam, reach out to Mark Treichel
on LinkedIn, or at mark Treichel dot com.
This is Samantha Shares and
we Thank you for listening.