Despite the tumult in Washington, a lot of attention is beingpaid to the issue of regulatory burden and the need to promoteeconomic growth for Main Street America. Credit unions, as MainStreet champions, are all too aware of the regulatory compliancehurdles they must clear on a daily basis, and while talk aboutrelief is certainly heartening, what the industry needs now isaction.

Progress is slow, but there are signs this message is beingheard.

Despite the lack of movement on the House-passed CHOICE Act,several key provisions we like in that package can be found inother, smaller bills and in the June Treasury report addressingeconomic growth through changes in depository institutionregulatory policy.

The Treasury report, which heavily cites NAFCU's 2016 Report onCredit Unions, offers recommendations for promoting growth throughmuch-needed regulatory relief for our industry, including morereasonable capital requirements, reined-in CFPB authority andtailoring of rules. It also suggests revisiting FASB's approach tocurrent expected credit losses.

We're using every opportunity to keep these and other reliefideas in front of policymakers. During meetings at the White Houseand Treasury, NAFCU and member credit unions have been engaging ina frank give-and-take of information with top officials, includingTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, about credit unions' experiencesin the current environment and ways to improve it.

We also see promise in the focus and tenor of the congressionalhearings held this year. During the six hearings in which NAFCUwitnesses have testified, House and Senate lawmakers have expressedgrowing interest in learning about what rules and structuresconstrain credit unions' efforts and how to fix them.

The NCUA's own actions deserve recognition. Since late spring,NCUA Chairman J. Mark McWatters has engaged directly and openlywith CFPB Director Richard Cordray, urging that more of theregulating and supervising of credit unions be left to creditunions' prudential regulator. Testifying before the Senate BankingCommittee, McWatters stated a commitment to providing more relieffor credit unions. He also said the agency needs more flexibilityto decide how to implement rules.

These developments are encouraging. Moving relief from proposalto final action will take time, but we know support is growing foran easing in unnecessary regulatory burden to ensure that creditunions can thrive.

To drive momentum, we need everyone in the industry – creditunions, credit union organizations as well as theirconsumer-members – to engage with lawmakers, regulators andpolicymakers on ways to help the nation's Main Street credit unionsreach more consumers and small businesses – and help grow oureconomy.

NAFCU begins each year with a set of top priorities that all tieback to ensuring a positive environment for credit unions that isconducive to economic growth. We are pursuing this goal with fivetenets in mind:

A regulatory environment that allows credit unions togrow. Credit unions need a regulatory environment thatneither stifles innovation nor discourages access to credit forconsumers and small businesses. This means an environment thatallows credit unions to establish healthy fields of membership aswell as modernized capital standards.

Appropriate, tailored regulation for credit unions andrelief from growing regulatory burdens. Credit unions areswamped by an ever-increasing regulatory burden from the CFPB,where rules target bad actors but fail to accommodate communityinstitutions' needs. Rules should be subject to stringentcost/benefit analysis, easily implemented and, if found to be toocomplex or costly, fixed or removed. Enforcement orders cannot takethe place of regulation and guidance.

A fair playing field. Credit unions should haveas many opportunities as banks and non-regulated entities toprovide provident credit to consumers. Similarly situateddepositories should be held to the same rules of the road.Unregulated entities, such as payday lenders, must not escapeoversight. We need a federal regulatory structure for non-bankfinancial services market players (including fintechs) that lack aprudential regulator.

Transparency and independent oversight. Regulators must betransparent in their actions, should provide the opportunity forpublic input and must respect different viewpoints. A bipartisanleadership structure offers the best form of regulatory governancefor independent agencies and all stakeholders should have inputinto the regulatory process.

A strong, independent NCUA as the primary regulator for creditunions. NAFCU has been unwavering on this point: Due to creditunions' unique nature, the NCUA, as an independent federalregulatory agency, is best situated and has the knowledge andexpertise needed to regulate this industry. The agency's structure,with its three-person board, has a long track record of success. Wemay not always agree with its decisions, but we firmly believe theNCUA should be credit unions' sole federal regulator and, whenappropriate, work with other depository institution regulators.Congress should ensure the NCUA has the tools and powers it needsto be effective.

These tenets are the focus of the hundreds of credit unionleaders from around the country who are in Washington this week forNAFCU's Congressional Caucus. They have been learning from thepolicymakers who shape their environment and meeting with theirlawmakers on issues that have the greatest impact on theiroperations and the nation's 110 million credit unionmember-consumers.

It's an exciting week, and our hope is that it energizes creditunions – and credit union members – to keep this work going throughthe coming year.

Carrie Hunt is Executive Vice President ofGovernment Affairs & General Counsel for NAFCU. Shecan be reached at 703-842-2234 or [email protected].