Takeaways from Regulatory Compliance School; CFPB’s Cordray Testifies and the Bureau Announces New TRID Webcast

Written by Brandy Bruyere, Director of Regulatory Compliance

Last week, NAFCU’s regulatory compliance team spent the week on site at our 2016 Regulatory Compliance School, an intense week of education and training on a variety of topics. For those who attended this year, I want to thank you again for coming and applaud all of our attendees for the hard work they put into this challenging, long, but rewarding week. I also extend my congratulations to all those who earned their NAFCU Certified Compliance Officer (NCCO) designation at the conference, or who will earn their NCCO in the near future by completing testing back at their credit union.

Here are a few takeaways from School this year:

• Compliance continues to be a challenging role as credit unions face regulatory burden as new rules continue to be proposed and implemented. Networking with colleagues can be helpful for building additional tools and resources for tackling new issues as they arise.
• Upcoming compliance implementation deadlines promise to pose some difficulties, including the Military Lending Act’s impending October 3, 2016 deadline (October 3, 2017 for credit cards), the overhaul of HMDA rules, and upcoming regulations on prepaid cards and mortgage servicing.
• Lending rules in general continue to present complex regulatory issues for credit unions with some choosing to have staff specialize in this area of compliance.
• Cybersecurity continues to be a dynamic area of risk that will likely remain a high priority for regulators for the foreseeable future.

Director Cordray Testifies, CFPB Announces TRID Webcast. While we were attending School, on Wednesday, March 16 the CFPB’s Director Richard Cordray testified before the House Financial Services Committee. Director Cordray discussed many topics and addressed numerous questions from members of Congress. For example, the director confirmed that a final rule on prepaid cards should still be expected sometime this spring. Director Cordray also addressed TRID and indicated that for the time being, the hold harmless period for these rules is indefinite. Also on March 16, and probably not coincidentally, the CFPB announced yet another upcoming TRID webcast that will cover “Frequently Asked Questions.” The webcast is scheduled for Tuesday, April 12 from 2:00 until 3:00 EST. So far, the exact topics or questions that will be addressed are unknown.

For now, webcasts are the Bureau’s preferred method of providing guidance on TRID, although it would be great if the CFPB would offer clarification in writing instead. Past webcasts have offered a few insights into the rule’s ambiguities so continuing to add to the webcasts this is a start. Stay tuned to this blog for another edition of “We Watched So You Don’t Have To” where we’ll sum up some of the highlights of the April 12 webcast.

Class Photo - Finally, here is our group photo from this year's Regulatory Compliance School!