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NCUA Supervisory Priorities for 2020

michaelchristians • January 11, 2020

Recently, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) published its supervisory priorities for the new year in a letter to credit unions. The agency’s primary areas of supervisory focus for 2020 are identified below.

Bank Secrecy Act

No surprise here as I believe BSA compliance has been on every list of supervisory priorities since the Thomas Jefferson administration. Specifically, examiners will focus on:

  • Compliance with the CDD/beneficial ownership rule that went into effect in May 2018; and
  • The proper and timely filing of currency transaction reports (CTRs) and suspicious activity reports (SARs).

Consumer Financial Protection Regulations

NCUA examiners will specifically review an institution’s compliance efforts in connection with the following consumer protection regulations:

  • Regulation E (Electronic Fund Transfer Act) – initial disclosure requirements and error resolution procedures
  • Regulation V (Fair Credit Reporting Act) – policies and procedures regarding the accurate reporting of information to a consumer reporting agency
  • Regulation P (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) – the protection of non-public personal information about consumers
  • Regulation Z (Truth in Lending Act) – accurate disclosure of finance charges, charging late fees only as permitted and application of a consumer’s payment consistent with contractual terms
  • MLA (Military Lending Act) and SCRA (Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act) – lending to active duty servicemembers

In addition, federal credit unions originating payday alternative (PAL) loans under Part 701.21 can expect that topic to come up during their next examination.

Credit Risk

Examiners plan to review each credit union’s underwriting standards and procedures; particularly, whether the credit union adequately determined a borrower’s ability to repay his/her loan.

CECL

Although the mandatory compliance date for the current expected credit losses standard has been delayed yet again, examiners will continue to discuss with credit unions the steps they have taken and/or will be taking to implement the new accounting approach in January 2023.

Cybersecurity Maturity Assessments

The NCUA’s work to assess a credit union’s cybersecurity maturity will continue in 2020. NCUA plans to finish this year the cybersecurity assessments for institutions with over $250 million in assets. All assessments should be completed by the end of 2021.

LIBOR Cessation Planning

Publication of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) index is not guaranteed beyond 2021. As a result, credit unions with adjustable rate loan products tied to this index must begin planning now for the transition. Items on the to-do list include selecting a replacement index and planning for advance notice to your affected borrowers.

Liquidity Risk

And finally, during the 2020 examination cycle credit unions can expect the NCUA to review their liquidity management and planning practices.

The full text of NCUA Letter to Credit Unions 20-CU-01 can be found here.

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