WASHINGTON–With both credit union trade groups pressing Congress to bring fintechs under the same regulatory umbrella as other financial institutions, one of the key questions to be asking is what happens when things go wrong, according to NAFCU.
Credit union trade groups have called on Congress to ensure a “level playing field” between unregulated fintechs and credit unions. A number of fintechs have in the last year seen strong user growth into the millions of customers. Congress held a hearing on the issue last week.
“What we saw from the hearing is there are still a lot of questions,” said NAFCU EVP and General Counsel Carrie Hunt. “We are going to see more hearings on this issue. I think, ultimately, there is going to be a lot of disagreement as to what that regulation should look like. There is agreement that traditional financial providers can find value in partners, including fintechs, which can innovate quickly. It’s when they go one step further that begs the question around safety and soundness. We think credit unions provide the best option for consumers cradle to grave. These apps to move cash around quickly have a very finite purpose. The consumer really likes them until there is a problem, such as fraud, and then they end up going back to their credit unions. This is about a fair playing field.”
Regulatory Rollbacks’
Separately, the Biden Administration continues to roll back a number of Trump Administration rules and regulations, most recently around fair housing
Hunt said NAFCU is watching the moves being made by the Biden Administration, as it strongly supports a “deregulatory agenda.”
“If there is re-regulation, we want it to be necessary regulation,” said Hunt. “That’s how we view these rollbacks. We strongly support fair housing. Generally, it’s not the intent of regulation we have an issue with, its regulatory burden and whether it’s necessary to achieve those goals. Generally, there are other ways to achieve those goals.”
Link Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often described as one of the invisible scars that firefighters and others accumulate after years of dealing with trauma in their jobs. Now the scars are invisible no longer. A new tool—the SPECT scan—is offering a new way for firefighters and others with PTSD to visualize their injuries. SPECT stands for single photon emission computed tomography, and it creates 3-D scans of the patient’s brain that look at blood flow and brain activity, KTLA reports. Those scans can then be used to generate a treatment plan tailored to the specific patient based on the visual effects of PTSD. Retired Firefighter-Paramedic Matthew Fiorenza, a PTSD sufferer, told the station that the scans also help make the illness more tangible. “Looking at a picture of my brain, it just took the stigma out of it,” he told KTLA. “It’s like, okay, I’m not crazy.”
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