Oversight of third-party vendors would be granted to the federal credit union regulator under legislation approved by a House committee Wednesday, spurring the leader of the agency to praise the move.
The House Financial Services Committee approved H.R. 7022, the Strengthening Cybersecurity for the Financial Sector Act of 2022. The legislation, long sought by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), would allow the agency to review third-party vendors offering services to federal credit unions, including access to computer networks, among other things.
The legislation, however, still has a long path before it, including consideration by the full House.
“The Committee’s passage of H.R. 7022 is an important step forward in closing a regulatory blind spot,” said NCUA Board Chairman Todd Harper in a statement. “The NCUA’s Inspector General, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office have all called for the NCUA to have the same authority over third parties as federal banking agencies. This authority is critical for mitigating the very real national security, cybersecurity, anti-money laundering, consumer protection, safety-and-soundness, and other risks to the credit union system and the broader financial services sector.”
Also approved by the committee (and similarly lauded by Harper) was H.R. 7003, the Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act. That legislation would allow all federal credit unions to add underserved areas to their fields of membership.
NCUA Statement on Committee Passage of Vendor Authority and Underserved Areas Bills