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Industry Wary of Proposed

House Bill HR 3904

Not Good Public Policy Says Former NCUA Chief



On October 30, 2009, the House Financial Services Committee listened to testimony from both industry as well as consumer advocacy groups on proposed bill HR3904 which would put severe regulatory restrictions on overdraft payment programs for financial institutions. Dennis Dollar, former Chairman of the NCUA and now Principal Partner of Dollar Associates, commented on a number of issues surrounding the new bill in his formal remarks to the committee (CLICK HERE FOR ARCHIVED TAPING).



He argued that overdraft payment services, when administered properly, are a valued service that credit union members and consumers appreciate over the traditional handling of NSF transactions. With overdraft protection, rather than being charged a NSF fee, the member is charged a comparable fee to honor the overdrawn item. "It is important to remember that an overdraft fee is not an additional fee above and beyond the NSF fee," according to Dollar.

"Credit union members see value in these programs because they are able to realize the additional cost savings associated with avoiding late fees, merchant charges, and cancellations of service. In addition, these programs prevent the embarrassment and potential legal liability of writing a check that is returned for insufficient funds," he explained.

Dollar also questioned the claim by critics that consumers see little to no advantage to these programs and feel ripped off by them. He contends that if consumers feel the services have no worth, why are they so popular and utilized by so many credit union members?

"And the fact that financial institutions have increased earnings from these programs should not automatically be viewed as suspect, but rather should be seen as evidence that the consumer appreciates overdraft services and is comfortable utilizing them when needed," he contends.

While the former regulator supports the financial institutions' right to offer overdraft services, he is quick to point out that he only supports programs that are fair and responsible.

"Program disclosures should be well defined and easy to understand. Consumers should always be afforded the right to opt out upon request. Ongoing cumulative totals of overdraft fees should be clearly disclosed. Check processing order should also be disclosed; perhaps even providing options for the processing order left to the discretion of the consumer. And when technology allows it, an 'opt out' at the point of sale would be a best practice worth implementing."

Most of these standards are the way responsible financial institutions handle their overdraft programs today. "Because some do not follow best practices does not, in my view, make a case to over-regulate those who do with punitive or burdensome legislation," he adds.

"My background as a federal regulator who sat on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council from 2001 to 2004 leads me to believe that the regulatory agencies are best positioned to police this arena and to eliminate substandard overdraft services. I strongly urge that any statutory or regulatory action be focused on program abuse. Legislation that would largely dismantle these services through untenable restrictions, I emphasize again, would not be good public policy," he concludes.

Strunk & Associates – Genuine Expertise

Early in the development of its Overdraft Privilege Service Program, Strunk & Associates recognized that there was only one way to deal with the projected continual issuance of regulatory actions dealing Safety and Soundness and Consumer Protection in the financial industry – significant and ongoing investments in compliance and legal expertise with nationally recognized law firms.

lawbooksStrunk clients are provided with the most comprehensive up-to-date and detailed set of best practices, policies and disclosures in the industry. Our guidance package is designed to assist our clients in their compliance efforts to ensure that their practices and processes with the Strunk discretionary overdraft payment service program is reliably compliant, prudent, safe and responsible.

Our ability to recognize and address the dynamics of regulatory forces and provide reliably compliant, prudent, safe, flexible and responsible solutions is an important Strunk core competency. More importantly, it provides a strategic set of assets for credit unions that differentiates Strunk & Associates from other overdraft payment service third party providers.

Our Track Record

For almost two decades, Strunk & Associates has provided nearly 2000 clients with the leading discretionary overdraft payment service. During this period, our clients’ practices and processes have remained compliant, prudent, safe and responsible.

Our clients have undergone thousands of federal and state examinations without a single reported issue. Furthermore, no Strunk client, who has followed our recommended program guidelines, has ever been subject to negative press during their implementation or continued management of Strunk’s Overdraft Privilege Service Program.

If you're looking to refresh, renew and improve underperforming areas of your existing overdraft payment program, call Strunk & Associates today at 800.728.3116.

For additional information on Overdraft Privilege from Strunk & Associates, CLICK HERE.

The Strunk Overdraft Privilege Service support and compliance programs go far beyond the "legal minimum." The Strunk program includes support for the broader issues of risk management, business continuity and the delivery of a sustained and a superior member service level.

Contact Strunk & Associates today at 800.728.3116

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Posted by John B. Frank Monday, November 23, 2009

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