Appearing before a House committee, CFPB head Richard Cordray wouldn’t give a definite answer on extending the TRID grace period, and insisted that credit unions are undervaluing their own success
The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wouldn’t give a definite answer on the TRID grace period, according to a HousingWire report. He also said the agency’s regulations aren’t hurting the financial industry, pointing to credit unions’ increased market share in the mortgage sector. Unfortunately, credit unions don’t agree.
CFPB Director Richard Cordray testified before the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday, defending the agency from lawmakers’ assertion that its regulations were hurting business. But leaders in the financial services industry beg to differ.
Wednesday morning – before Cordray had even testified – the National Association of Credit Unions released a letter from President and CEO Dan Berger to Financial Services Committee Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).
“Unfortunately, many of our concerns about the increased regulatory burdens that credit unions would face under the CFPB have proven true,” Berger wrote. “As expected, the breadth and pace of the CFPB’s rulemaking is troublesome, and the unprecedented compliance burden placed on credit unions has been immense.”
Cordray, however, dismissed Berger’s claims, saying that press releases from trade groups often don’t reflect economic fact.
“Credit Union membership is at an all-time high,” Cordray told the committee. He said that credit unions are currently gaining market share – especially in the mortgage space – from the big banks. That fact “is not consistent with ‘killing the credit unions,’” Cordray said, according to HousingWire.
But Berger hit back, claiming that Cordray wasn’t being accurate.
“The assertion that credit unions are not being negatively affected by the tidal wave of overregulation arising from CFPB and Dodd-Frank could not be more wrong,” he said. “Director Cordray’s denial that the tide of regulation is not contributing to the continued trend of credit unions being forced to cut back on member services, merge or go out of business flies in the face of facts.”
During the hearing, Rep. Bradley Sherman (D-Calif.) also asked Cordray to extend the grace period on TRID. Cordray would not agree or disagree to do so, according to the HousingWire report. He said that the conversation with the mortgage industry over TRID remains ongoing.
CFPB Director Richard Cordray testified before the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday, defending the agency from lawmakers’ assertion that its regulations were hurting business. But leaders in the financial services industry beg to differ.
Wednesday morning – before Cordray had even testified – the National Association of Credit Unions released a letter from President and CEO Dan Berger to Financial Services Committee Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).
“Unfortunately, many of our concerns about the increased regulatory burdens that credit unions would face under the CFPB have proven true,” Berger wrote. “As expected, the breadth and pace of the CFPB’s rulemaking is troublesome, and the unprecedented compliance burden placed on credit unions has been immense.”
Cordray, however, dismissed Berger’s claims, saying that press releases from trade groups often don’t reflect economic fact.
“Credit Union membership is at an all-time high,” Cordray told the committee. He said that credit unions are currently gaining market share – especially in the mortgage space – from the big banks. That fact “is not consistent with ‘killing the credit unions,’” Cordray said, according to HousingWire.
But Berger hit back, claiming that Cordray wasn’t being accurate.
“The assertion that credit unions are not being negatively affected by the tidal wave of overregulation arising from CFPB and Dodd-Frank could not be more wrong,” he said. “Director Cordray’s denial that the tide of regulation is not contributing to the continued trend of credit unions being forced to cut back on member services, merge or go out of business flies in the face of facts.”
During the hearing, Rep. Bradley Sherman (D-Calif.) also asked Cordray to extend the grace period on TRID. Cordray would not agree or disagree to do so, according to the HousingWire report. He said that the conversation with the mortgage industry over TRID remains ongoing.
