ICBA Chairman Brad Bolton wrote in a new op-ed that the nation’s chief credit union regulator recently hinted at one of the problems with the growth of credit union acquisitions of community banks: the threat to U.S. cybersecurity.
Op-ed: Writing on Medium, Bolton said National Credit Union Administration Chairman Todd Harper’s calls for Congress to give his agency the same authority as banking regulators to supervise for cyber risk is yet another reason why policymakers should more closely examine credit union acquisitions.
NCUA Interview: Harper told Politico the lack of authority to examine credit union third-party service providers is a “regulatory blind spot” that means the agency doesn’t “necessarily know what is happening” with credit union cybersecurity and could leave his industry as the “soft underbelly” of the financial system. He also said the NCUA is the only financial services regulator that doesn’t do a “deep dive” consumer compliance exam.
Call to Action: “This regulatory imbalance—which Congress has failed to address through legislation—offers yet another reason why federal policymakers should respond to credit union acquisitions of community banks,” Bolton wrote.
