Law and regulation

The industry will have to contend with thin margins on either side of the aisle in Congress and new priorities from regulators, experts said in a panel discussion held as part of CUNA's online Governmental Affairs Conference.

The Credit Union National Association’s Governmental Affairs Conference, normally the industry's biggest annual event, will be held this week in a virtual setting, a change that would have seemed unthinkable one year ago.

Todd Harper, chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, said new assessments are likely needed because of an influx of deposits, but industry groups and other board members say the agency should wait to see if the reserve ratio recovers on its own.

In a volume that is decades in the making, retired law professor Art Wilmarth tells the story of the Glass-Steagall Act — its origins, demise and aftermath. He also makes a case for restoring the separation between banks and securities firms, arguing that erecting such a barrier would reduce systemic risk and weaken the big banks’ political power.

The working group's final report is still forthcoming, but the trade association has already begun assembling a new team focused on the industry's digitization efforts in the wake of the pandemic.