NCUA Announces Seventh Round of Deregulation Proposals

The National Credit Union Administration today announced the seventh round of proposed regulatory changes associated with NCUA’s Deregulation Project. The project is an ongoing review of NCUA’s regulations to ensure regulations are focused on credit unions’ safety, soundness, and resilience.
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With today’s announcement, NCUA is requesting comments on one proposal that would clarify agency guidance or eliminate unduly burdensome or duplicative requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations.

The proposal includes:
Records Preservation Program and Appendices – Record Retention Guidelines; Catastrophic Act Preparedness Guidelines – 12 CFR 749

• Proposed Change 1: The Board proposes to remove Appendix A.
  • Impact on credit unions: Removing this section will give credit union boards of directors more discretion and flexibility to determine the process for records destruction.

• Proposed Change 2: The Board proposes to remove Appendix B because it’s meant as guidance. Having guidance within the regulation leads to potential misinterpretation about what is required.
  • Impact on credit unions: This change will provide clarity on what is required by regulation and what is meant to be guidance.

• Proposed Change 3: Define vital member services and vital records. (749.1)
  • The proposed rule provides definitions for the terms vital member services and vital records because the current rule only explains them through examples.
  • Impact on credit unions: Providing these definitions will give credit unions a better understanding of what is considered vital in their records preservation programs. 
• Proposed Change 4: The Board proposes to add the term vital to the heading of 12 CFR 749 so that it will read: Vital Records Preservation Program. The Board also proposes adding the term vital to 749.0 to further clarify the scope of part 749, which is vital records.
  • Impact on credit unions: This change will make it clear to credit unions that the scope of 12 CFR 749 is limited to vital records.
• Proposed Change 5: The Board proposes to make clear that a records preservation log may be in electronic format.
  • Impact on credit unions: This change will create more flexibility for credit unions to manage and store vital records.
• Proposed Change 6: The Board proposes to permit destruction of older versions of records unless required by other law or regulation.
  • Impact on credit unions: This change will allow credit unions to get rid of and no longer be responsible for unnecessary records.
• Proposed Change 7: The Board proposes to state clearly the NCUA’s expectation that, if a credit union contracts with a third-party service provider to maintain its vital records, the credit union must maintain effective oversight of the third-party service provider to ensure the credit union meets its obligations under part 749.
  • Impact on credit unions: This change would provide clarity about the meaning of the regulation in a way that makes the regulation less burdensome for credit unions. 

​To submit comments, type or paste the docket numbers into the search on the Federal Rulemaking Portal.
For more information about the NCUA Deregulation Project, visit: https://ncua.gov/news/deregulation-project

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