Posted by Anthony Demangone
First of all, hats off to Sarah Loats. Last week, Steve and I were in Charleston for our annual regulatory compliance seminar. While we learned, spoke and ate our way through Charleston, Sarah held down the fort and wrote a number of blog posts during a busy week. Thanks, Sarah.
I thought the seminar went very well, as our speakers and the content were both top-notch. And there were roughly 180 attendees from around the country soaking it all in. If you haven't been to a NAFCU compliance conference (we do a certification school in the Spring and a seminar in the Fall), please consider it. Here's a list of next year's conferences.
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First, overdraft. As Sarah pointed out, Senator Dodd and Rep. Maloney introduced legislation in the Senate and House that would greatly limit our ability to collect overdraft protection fees. When I announced this news at seminar, you could feel the air leave the room. Some of you have asked what can be done to counter the legislation. Here's a thought: I wonder if any credit unions keep "thank you" letters from members who have used and enjoyed the credit union's overdraft protection program. If you have such letters, it might be something to share with your representative and senators. Of course, you'd want to redact any personal member information or seek their approval before sharing.
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I thought the next item was some cruel joke. It wasn't. Yesterday, Senator Dodd introduced legislation that would immediately freeze credit card interest rates on existing balances. I don't have a ton of details on this bill yet. At press time (when I'm typing this) it hadn't been introduced yet. It is my understanding that the freeze would only last until the Feb. 22 provisions of the Credit CARD Act take affect. But let me go out on a limb. I don't like it. Not one little bit.
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