Final Rule Increases Exemption Threshold for Tax-Exempt Credit Unions
Washington, D.C. (July 18, 2019)—Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement on today's National Credit Union Administration final rule on commercial real estate appraisals.
"ICBA strongly opposes today’s National Credit Union Administration final rule that quadruples the threshold at which credit union commercial real estate transactions are exempt from appraisals. By increasing the appraisal threshold for tax-exempt credit unions from $250,000 to $1 million, this captive regulator has doubled the banking industry’s $500,000 CRE threshold—once again pushing the envelope to benefit the industry it is charged with regulating.
“Today’s 2-1 vote by the divided NCUA board is just the latest example of the NCUA acting as an advocate for tax-exempt credit unions. The NCUA has advanced a series of rules expanding credit unions’ ability to dodge membership restrictions, make commercial loans, and leverage their tax subsidy to raise capital from outside investors. It also has established bureaucratic obstacles and roadblocks to credit union conversions and mergers that make it more difficult for a bank to acquire a credit union than vice versa.
“ICBA continues its call for Congress to investigate credit union abuses, including the NCUA's role in the taxi medallion scandal exposed by The New York Times, in which irresponsible lending dominated by half a dozen credit unions led to financial ruin for thousands of families. Meanwhile, the ICBA Credit Union Task Force is working to address the disturbing trend of large credit unions buying up smaller community banks. ICBA looks forward to continuing our long-standing call for policymakers to re-examine the credit union industry’s tax and regulatory subsidies to achieve equity between tax-exempt credit unions and taxpaying community banks.”
More information on ICBA’s ongoing advocacy on credit union issues is available on the ICBA website.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® creates and promotes an environment where community banks flourish. With more than 50,000 locations nationwide, community banks constitute 99 percent of all banks, employ nearly 750,000 Americans and are the only physical banking presence in one in five U.S. counties. Holding more than $5 trillion in assets, nearly $4 trillion in deposits, and more than $3.4 trillion in loans to consumers, small businesses and the agricultural community, community banks channel local deposits into the Main Streets and neighborhoods they serve, spurring job creation, fostering innovation and fueling their customers’ dreams in communities throughout America. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at www.icba.org.
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