NCUA Board Member Todd M. Harper provides remarks from his home during the agency's April 2020 Board meeting.
As Prepared for Delivery on April 16, 2020
Myra and Justin, thank you for your presentation today, and thank you to everyone who worked on this rule, including Amanda, Ian, and Ariel.
During these times of economic uncertainty, we must move quickly to prepare the credit union system for what lies ahead. One way we can do that is to provide sensible short-term regulatory relief.
I commend the teams in the Office of Examination and Insurance and the Office of General Counsel for their expeditious efforts to draft an Interim Final Rule providing regulatory relief in response to COVID-19. This temporary and targeted rule will create more tools that credit unions can use in case liquidity or certain operational issues arise during the pandemic.
In supporting this emergency rule, I want to make clear that we need to follow the normal rulemaking process of seeking public comment before making any of these changes permanent. The information obtained in any such rulemaking may affect my future views on the advisability and merit of these matters.
That said, agency experts have assured me that these changes are consistent with safety and soundness, and I will follow their advice.
I have no questions for Myra or Justin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have no further comments.