The World Council of Credit Unions called for flexibility from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision as the Committt considers the withdrawal of relief measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is important to allow national level regulators a great amount of flexibility to adjust to local conditions and economies when removing COVID-19 relief measures for credit unions.  Otherwise unnecessary shocks to their balance sheets could hinder their ability to serve communities trying to recover from the pandemic,” said WOCCU Sr. VP of Advocacy and General Counsel, Andrew Price.

In particular WOCCU urged the following actions by the Basel Committee that will benefit credit unions and set the framework for a measured and orderly withdrawal of relief measures:

1. Provide clear direction to national-level supervisors that a measured and orderly withdrawal is appropriate, without establishing any firm timelines or deadlines.
2. Allow national-level supervisors with ample discretion to adjust the withdrawal of relief based on local conditions and localized circumstances.
3. Provide direction to national-level supervisors urging patience and leniency erring on the side of leaving a relief measure in place versus the risk of harm that may result from an early withdrawal of a relief measure.
4. Allow supervisors to work with financial institutions on reasonable capital restoration plans that are appropriate for each institution while holding them harmless from any regulatory violation so long as the plan is being executed in good faith and absent any safety and soundness concern.

Additionally, World Council, in conjunction with FEDEAC, has issued “Financial Strategy to Mitigate the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis COVID-19 Global Response Committee Technical Paper”[1]; which provides additional insight into the specific areas of concern for credit unions during the COVID-19 recovery period. This is a beneficial tool that credit unions utilize that is comprised of recommendations for strategic methods to manage the impact of the social and economic crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic

A full copy of World Council's letter can be viewed here.

 

[1] See, https://www.woccu.org/newsroom/covid19_resources?post_id=2156#2156.