National Credit Union Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, on or after the date of publication of this notice.

As part of NCUA's Regulatory Modernization Initiative, the NCUA Board (Board) is issuing for public comment a proposed rule to amend its regulation governing federal credit union (FCU) occupancy, planning, and disposal of acquired and abandoned premises, and its regulation regarding incidental powers. To provide regulatory relief to FCUs, the proposal eliminates a requirement in the current occupancy rule (formerly known as the fixed assets rule) that an FCU must plan for, and eventually achieve, full occupancy of acquired premises. The proposal generally retains the current regulatory timeframes for partial occupancy. However, it modifies the definition of ``partially occupy'' to mean occupation and use, on a full-time basis, of at least fifty percent of the premises by the FCU, or by a combination of the FCU and a credit union service organization (CUSO) in which the FCU has a controlling interest in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The proposal also amends the excess capacity provision in NCUA's incidental powers rule to clarify that an FCU may lease or sell excess capacity in its facilities, but it need not anticipate that such excess capacity will be fully occupied by the FCU in the future. However, the sale or lease of excess capacity in equipment or services, including employee-sharing and data processing for third parties, continues to be limited to circumstances where an FCU reasonably anticipates that such excess capacity will be taken up by the future expansion of services to members.

NCUA, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on this reinstatement of a previously approved collection, as required by Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment. NCUA is soliciting comments on the reinstatement of the information collection described below.

NCUA, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on these reinstatements of previously approved collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

NCUA, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on these reinstatements of previously approved collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

NCUA, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on a reinstatement of a previously approved collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

As part of NCUA's Regulatory Modernization Initiative, the NCUA Board (Board) is amending its member business loans (MBL) rule to provide federally insured credit unions with greater flexibility and individual autonomy in safely and soundly providing commercial and business loans to serve their members. The final amendments modernize the regulatory requirements that govern credit union commercial lending activities by replacing the current rule's prescriptive requirements and limitationssuch as collateral and security requirements, equity requirements, and loan limitswith a broad principles-based regulatory approach. As such, the amendments also eliminate the current MBL waiver process, which is unnecessary under a principles-based rule.

The NCUA, as part of its continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on a reinstatement of a previously approved collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). The NCUA is soliciting comments concerning regulations on corporate credit unions under 12 CFR part 704.

The NCUA Board (Board) published a final rule in the Federal Register on August 11, 2015, regarding the capital planning and stress testing provisions in NCUA's regulations. This amendment corrects the regulations by reinstating a provision that was inadvertently removed by the August 2015 final rule.

The NCUA Operating Budget has two primary funding mechanisms: (1) An Overhead Transfer, which is funded by federal credit unions (FCUs) and federally insured state-chartered credit unions (FISCUs); and (2) annual Operating Fees, which are charged only to FCUs. In a voluntary effort to invite input from stakeholders representing federal and state-chartered credit unions, the NCUA Board (Board) is simultaneously requesting comments on the methodologies for both funding mechanisms in separate notices in the Federal Register. This request for comments focuses on the methodology NCUA uses to determine the Overhead Transfer Rate (OTR). To facilitate comments, the Board is also assembling and describing its existing OTR methodologies and processes, which are also available on NCUA's Web site. The Board applies the OTR to NCUA's Operating Budget to determine the portion of the budget that will be funded from the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). The Board invites comments on all aspects of the OTR methodology and any alternatives commenters may offer. Areas the Board specifically seeks comments on include: Whether the OTR should continue to be determined using a formula-driven approach, or instead be set largely at the discretion of the Board; The definition NCUA uses for insurance-related activities; Adjustments or changes to the current calculation; and Alternate methodologies to arrive at an accurate and fair allocation of costs. To be most instructive to the Board, commenters are encouraged to provide the specific basis for their comments and recommendations, as well as documentation to support their proposed adjustments or alternatives.

The NCUA Operating Budget has two primary funding mechanisms: (1) An Overhead Transfer, which is funded by federal credit unions (FCUs) and federally insured state-chartered credit unions (FISCUs); and (2) annual Operating Fees, which are charged only to FCUs. In a voluntary effort to invite input from stakeholders representing federal and state-chartered credit unions, the NCUA Board (Board) is simultaneously requesting comments on the methodologies for both funding mechanisms in separate notices in the Federal Register. This request for comments focuses on the methodology NCUA uses to determine the aggregate amount of Operating Fees charged to federal credit unions, including the fee schedule that allocates the Operating Fees at different rates among FCUs according to various asset thresholds. While the NCUA Board is interested in all comments from the public and stakeholders, commenters are also asked to consider the following questions when responding: (1) Are the asset determination thresholds reasonable; and (2) is the method for forecasting projected asset growth for the credit union system reasonable? Responding to these questions will provide valuable insight to the NCUA Board with respect to how the Operating Fee is administered. To be most instructive to the Board, commenters are encouraged to provide the specific basis for their comments and recommendations, as well as documentation to support their proposed adjustments or alternatives.

The NCUA Board (Board) is continuing its comprehensive review of its regulations to identify outdated, unnecessary, or burdensome regulatory requirements imposed on federally insured credit unions, as contemplated by section 2222 of the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (EGRPRA). This second decennial review of regulations began when the Board issued its first EGRPRA notice on May 22, 2014, covering the two categories of ``Applications and Reporting'' and ``Powers and Activities.'' \1\ The second notice followed, covering the three categories of ``Agency Programs,'' ``Capital,'' and ``Consumer Protection,'' which was published on December 19, 2014.\2\ The third notice was published on June 24, 2015, and covered the next three categories of rules: ``Corporate Credit Unions,'' ``Directors, Officers and Employees,'' and ``Money Laundering.'' \3\ This fourth and final notice covers the remaining two categories: ``Rules of Procedure'' and ``Safety and Soundness.'' This review process presents a significant opportunity to consider the possibilities for burden reduction in groups of similar regulations. The Board welcomes comment on the categories, the order of review, and all other aspects of this initiative in order to maximize the review's effectiveness.

The NCUA Board proposes to comprehensively amend its chartering and field of membership rules to put them in a more efficient framework and to maximize access to federal credit union services to the extent permitted by law. The amendments will implement changes in policy affecting: The definition of a local community, a rural district, and an underserved area; the expansion of multiple common bond credit unions and members' proximity to them; the expansion of single common bond credit unions based on a trade, industry or profession; and the process for applying to charter or expand a federal credit union.

NCUA intends to submit the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). The purpose of this notice is to allow for 30 days of public comment. The information collection relates to NCUA's regulation on conversions of federally insured credit unions (FICUs) to mutual savings banks (MSBs) and mergers of FICUs into banks. The regulation requires an insured credit union that proposes to convert to an MSB or merge into a bank to provide notice and disclosure of the proposal to members and NCUA and to conduct a membership vote.

The NCUA Board (Board) proposes to amend the maturity requirement for bank notes to be permissible investments for federal credit unions (FCUs) by removing the word ``original'' from the current requirement that bank notes have ``original weighted average maturities of less than 5 years.'' This amendment will provide regulatory relief for FCUs.

The NCUA intends to submit the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). This information collection is published to obtain comments from the public. NCUA previously amended its credit union service organization (CUSO) regulation to increase transparency and address certain safety and soundness concerns. The final rule extends certain requirements of the CUSO regulation to federally insured, state-chartered credit unions and imposes new requirements on federally insured credit unions (FICUs). Under the amended rule, FICUs with an investment in, or loan to, a CUSO must obtain a written agreement with the CUSO addressing accounting, financial statements, audits, reporting, and legal opinions. The rule limits the ability of a ``less than adequately capitalized'' FICU to recapitalize an insolvent CUSO. All CUSOs are required to annually provide basic profile information to NCUA and the appropriate state supervisory authority (SSA). CUSOs engaging in certain complex or high-risk activities are also required to report more detailed information, including audited financial statements and customer information.

The NCUA Board (Board) is issuing a final rule to amend Interpretive Ruling and Policy Statement (IRPS) 87-2, as amended by IRPS 03-2 and 13-1. The amended IRPS increases the asset threshold used to define the term ``small entity'' under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) from $50 million to $100 million and, thereby, provides transparent consideration of regulatory relief for a greater number of credit unions in future rulemakings. The final rule and IRPS also makes a technical change to NCUA's regulations in connection with procedures for developing regulations.

The NCUA Board (Board) is amending its regulations to adjust the maximum amount of each civil monetary penalty (CMP) within its jurisdiction to account for inflation. This action, including the amount of the adjustments, is required under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.

The NCUA intends to submit the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). This information collection is published to obtain comments from the public. NCUA amended its credit union service organization (CUSO) regulation to increase transparency and address certain safety and soundness concerns. The final rule extends certain requirements of the CUSO regulation to federally insured, state- chartered credit unions and imposes new requirements on federally insured credit unions (FICUs). Under the amended rule FICUs with an investment in, or loan to, a CUSO must obtain a written agreement with the CUSO addressing accounting, financial statements, audits, reporting, and legal opinions. The rule limits the ability of a ``less than adequately capitalized'' FICU to recapitalize an insolvent CUSO. All CUSOs are required to annually provide basic profile information to NCUA and the appropriate state supervisory authority (SSA). CUSOs engaging in certain complex or high-risk activities are also required to report more detailed information, including audited financial statements and customer information.

The NCUA Board is issuing a final Interpretive Ruling and Policy Statement to establish a Minority Depository Institution Preservation Program for federally insured credit unions.