July 11, 2011
Two credit union leaders in a recent interview with Credit Unions Online expressed tentative optimism about working with the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“We’ve had a conversation going with CFPB for some time and are actually very pleased with this type of outreach,” said Truliant Federal Credit Union President/CEO Marcus Schaefer (Winston-Salem, North Carolina). “There’s been a lot of round table idea exchange and discussion between team members such as Elizabeth Warren and other credit unions, so I certainly don’t feel ‘fearful’ or believe that the CFPB intends to damage the credit union industry.”
“I think that the CFPB could be an excellent resource for consumers if it doesn’t get bogged down,” added Earle Shelner, VP/Finance from Educational Community Credit Union (Kalamazoo, Michigan). “I think their mission only helps credit unions if done properly. Their focus is letting the consumer know the price and risk upfront and then make offers easy to compare.”
At the same time, Schaefer is concerned the CFPB might not fully realize the potential unintended consequences of any new regulations. NAFCU and CUNA are drafting letters in order to urge regulators to proceed with caution. Schaefer said the CUNA letter reiterates the themes of discussions from previous meetings with the CFPB.
“Basically, the letter communicates that although we understand that the CFPB has the best of intentions it should be aware of what can be burdensome to credit unions,” he said.
Click here to read more of Schaefer’s comments on the CFPB, in particular, the agency’s efforts to rework the way information about mortgage and credit card offers is produced.
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