NAFCU on Tuesday outlined a five-point regulatory relief planthe trade will pursue this year.

President/CEO Fred Becker penned the letter to the HouseFinancial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee thatincludes initiatives that would hold merchants accountable for thecosts of data breaches and provide better access to the Central Liquidity Facility.

The five points detailed in the plan include administrative,structural and operational improvements, as well as reforms tocapital rules and data security.

In addition to better access to the CFL, administrativeimprovements include the ability for safe and sound federal creditunions to seek “parity under broader state rules.” NAFCU is alsopushing for the NCUA to modify rules that result in unexpectedlyhigh costs, and for the agency to address the potential ill effectsof CFPB rules.

Structural improvements include a congressionally mandated NCUAreport on changes to corporate governance rules, improvedfield-of-membership expansion processes and more flexibility formerging credit unions and those that wish to serve underservedareas.

Operational improvements include increased member businesslending authority and more flexibility on other loan rules, revisedinvestment powers, insurance coverage for Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts and the elimination ofannual privacy notice mailings when policies do not change.

H.R. 5817, a bill that would eliminate the annual privacymailing, passed the House in December but died in the Senate.

NAFCU also proposed that the NCUA, with input from the creditunion industry, conduct a study on prompt corrective action andreport recommended changes to Congress. Access to supplementalcapital for some credit unions and a risk-based net worthrequirement that accounts for material risks also were on NAFCU'scapital reform wish list.

Finally, in addition to seeking accountability for merchant databreaches, NAFCU will pursue requiring merchants to disclosure theirdata security policies to customers and provide timely disclosuresin the event of a breach, and will seek national standards forsafekeeping of all financial information.