(Oct. 8, 2021) NASCUS President and CEO Lucy Ito was named this week a winner of the 33rd Annual Herb Wegner Memorial Awards, widely considered the most prestigious honor in the credit union system, for her efforts to make financial freedom achievable to all through credit unions through four decades of work.
Ito, who has announced her retirement as NASCUS leader by year’s end, was named a winner of the outstanding individual achievement award. She will receive recognition at the annual Wegner Awards dinner in February, sponsored by the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) and held during the Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) annual Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington, D.C.
“I am incredibly humbled to receive this prestigious and unexpected recognition,” Ito said. “It takes so many people for any organization to be successful. At NASCUS, our ‘secret sauce’ is our tireless staff combined with our Regulator Board of Directors, Credit Union Advisory Council, and our membership of both state agencies and credit union industry stakeholders. Together, we are more and better. I am deeply grateful to the nominators and the Herb Wegner Awards Selection Committee for recognizing the work of NASCUS, the California and Nevada Leagues, and the World Council of Credit Unions.”
(Before joining NASCUS in 2014, Ito worked for the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues and the World Council of Credit Unions. Including her tenure at NASCUS, her career has spanned 30-plus years.)
Ito is one of two recipients of the outstanding individual achievement award, the other being Roger Heacock, retired president and CEO of Black Hills FCU in Rapid City, S.D.
Additionally, the African American Credit Union Association (AACUC) will receive the NCUF’s Anchor Award, while the Faith Based Credit Union Alliance will be honored with the outstanding organization award.
All of the awards will be presented during the NCUF’s annual dinner set for Feb. 28 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington, D.C. The event is held in conjunction with CUNA’s annual GAC, the largest yearly gathering of credit union advocates.
The awards are named in honor of the late CUNA CEO Herb Wegner, memorializing his dedication, ideas and actions to revolutionize the ways that credit unions serve their communities.
Ito announced her retirement plan last spring. NASCUS leadership is now working to name a replacement for her by year’s end.
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(Oct. 8, 2021) LIBOR is coming to an end – for the most part, at the end of this year – and it’s time to stop “magical thinking” that it won’t, Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles said this week. In remarks to the Structured Finance Association Conference in Las Vegas this week, Quarles said the “reign” of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) will end at year’s end “and it will not come back.” He noted that a handful of financial firms have said that they may want more time to evaluate potential alternative rates. “There is no more time, and banks will not find LIBOR available to use after year-end no matter how unhappy they may be with their options to replace it,” he said. Some credit unions use LIBOR as a reference rate, particularly for student loans … Monday is a holiday for some (Columbus Day/Indigenous People’s Day); have a terrific weekend!
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(Oct. 8, 2021) Check that your calendars are clear for your participation in several NASCUS educational events coming up in November and December for credit union examiners and practitioners. Here’s a concise run-down:
Nov. 1-5, Michigan Examiner School, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day (at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Mount Pleasant, MI): Structured specifically for examiners, to build necessary skill sets and enhance their level of knowledge around a core area of topics.
Nov. 2, Michigan Industry Day, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (also at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Mount Pleasant, MI): Held in conjunction with the Examiner School, the Industry Day is for credit union board members, committee members, and management, focusing on such market risk, national issues and loan profitability. (Both the Examiner School and the Industry Day are jointly presented with the MI Department of Insurance and Financial Services.)
Nov. 16, Connecticut Executive Forum, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (at the Sheraton Hartford South Hotel, Rocky Hill, CT): Presented with the State of Connecticut Department of Banking; Financial Institutions Division and the Credit Union League of Connecticut, this day-long program for board members, committee members, and management covers such issues as auto lending fraud, internal controls, and the latest in regulatory developments.
Nov. 30, Tennessee Director’s College, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (virtual event): Designed as a “Tennessee-specific” event tailored for credit union board members, committee members, and management, the college looks at elder financial abuse, state legislative engagement, and regulator examination priorities, among other things, and features speakers from the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions.
Dec. 14, Kentucky Directors College, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (at the Kentucky Credit Union League offices (training room), Louisville): The one-day, in-person event specific to KY credit unions looks at BSA requirements, cybersecurity, succession planning, interest rate risk, national issues and more for credit union board members, committee members, and management. KDFI Commissioner Charles Vice and KCUL President and CEO Debbie Painter will be on-hand to address the group.
For more information on these, and other, NASCUS events over the next three months (including registration and agendas), see the “Education and Events” pages on nascus.org.
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(Oct. 8, 2021) Three new summaries were posted by NASCUS this week on: An NCUA regulatory alert on credit union credit card data submission to the CFPB; an NCUA letter to credit unions about the expiration of homeowner protection programs during the coronavirus crisis; and NCUA’s proposal to amend its subordinated debt rule to allow for the Treasury Department’s Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP).
All of the summaries are available to members only.
On Sept. 29, the NCUA issued a “regulatory alert” (21-RA-09) that essentially put credit unions on notice that they may begin submitting data on credit card agreements with their members, and applying data submission requirements, to CFPB’s “Collect” website, which gathers credit card information. The alert also lists important dates for credit unions to consider when submitting their data.
On Sept. 27, the agency sent a letter to federally insured credit unions (letter 21-CU-09), which outlined “critical information” for compliance with expiring pandemic-era homeowner protection programs. The letter noted several key areas, including the deadline for granting forbearance on mortgage payments. It also outlined steps that credit unions may take to continue providing relief to homeowners, even though several programs had expired.
Finally, on Sept. 23 – because of its monthly meeting – the NCUA Board issued a proposal to amend its new subordinated debt rule to accommodate credit union access to federal investment programs – but making no other changes to the rule taking effect Jan. 1. The proposal, according to NCUA staff, would amend the definition of “grandfathered secondary capital” to include any secondary capital issued to the U.S. government or one of its subdivisions under an application approved before Jan. 1, “irrespective of the date of issuance” (that is, when funds are issued), primarily to benefit low-income credit unions (LICUs).
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NASCUS Summary: Navigating and Understanding the End of Pandemic-Era Homeowner Protection Programs
NASCUS Summary: Changes to NCUA Subordinated Debt rule
(Oct. 8, 2021) NASCUS gathered with state credit union association issues and policy professionals this week in Chicago to discuss emerging issues affecting state regulators and credit unions across the nation.
Among the topics discussed at the two-day confab: Complexities for credit unions with the Military Lending Act (MLA), state charter enhancements, collaboration on data breach and cybersecurity standards, potential issues surrounding congressional redistricting in the wake of the 2020 Census, and the ramifications of the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis (particularly the influx of savings at credit unions, and on filling credit union staff positions).
More than 25 representatives from state regulators and associations/leagues attended the event, including regulators from Indiana, Iowa and Illinois. State associations/leagues represented at the event included those from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Kansas, Montana, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee.
(Oct. 8, 2021) Four recommendations to improve NCUA’s information technology investment management program are laid out in a report from the agency’s office of inspector general (OIG), made public this week.
The recommendations made to agency management, in a report of an audit initiated by the OIG, are:
- Document and publish information technology investment management policies and procedures to include definitions, roles, responsibilities, and processes associated with information technology governance and selecting, controlling, and evaluating information technology investments.
- Finalize and publish an updated agency IT oversight council charter that more comprehensively addresses and delineates the council’s information technology investment management authority, responsibilities, and functions.
- Keep the language from the April 2019 charter, or include similar language in its new charter, requiring the council to provide a rated and ranked listing of all office of primary interest-proposed projects to the NCUA Board, highlighting those that are statutorily or legally required.
- Include language in the council’s charter requiring NCUA officials to provide the group’s meeting minutes to the NCUA Board.
According to the report, the audit covered the period of Jan. 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2019. NCUA Inspector General (IG) James Hagen wrote that, although the audit found that the agency overall had an effective process for managing IT initiatives across the agency, “we also determined the agency could make some improvements in its IT Investment Management program related to its policies and procedures and transparency, as well as ensuring certain functions of the Information Technology Oversight Counsel (ITOC) are clearer.”
The IG found that the agency needs to document its IT investment management policies and procedures; needs to make the scope of the Information Technology Prioritization Council’s (ITPC) authority, responsibilities, and functions clearer; and needs more transparency in the IT Investment Management process.
Hagen wrote that the audit also considered Office of the Chief Information Officer’s (OCIO) concerns regarding the funding of IT projects that fall outside of operations and maintenance support and below the threshold of capital projects. The report made no recommendations regarding funding, Hagen wrote, since the agency CIO is already addressing that.
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Audit of the NCUA’s Governance of Information Technology Initiatives, Sept. 28, 2021 (Report #OIG-21-06)
(Oct. 8, 2021) A summary of a proposal by the CFPB to collect business loan data from lenders has been published and posted by NASCUS. Comments on the proposal are due on or before Jan. 6.
The summary is available to members only.
The proposal was issued early last month (Sept. 1) and is aimed, according to the bureau, at “helping regulators and the public better understand the business lending market.”
The proposal would require lenders to disclose information about their lending to small businesses. According to the bureau, lenders would be required to report the amount and type of small business credit applied for and extended, demographic information about small business credit applicants, and key elements of the price of the credit offered.
That information would allow it to learn, the agency said, how small enterprises fare when trying to access financing, and what barriers are holding them back from further prosperity.
CFPB noted the rule was mandated by the legislation which created the bureau, the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank).
In comments to the press Sept. 1, CFPB then-Acting Director Dave Uejio said the bureau and the public don’t know enough about whether small businesses have fair access to the capital they need to generate new jobs and grow the economy.
LINKS:
NASCUS Summary: CFPB September 2021 Proposal Regarding Small Business Lending Data Collection
CFPB Proposes Rule to Shine New Light on Small Businesses’ Access to Credit