On October 15, the NCUA board issued three proposed rules that would revise its regulations on federal credit unions’ (FCUs’) incidental powers, fidelity bond coverage for federally insured credit unions (FICUs), and the Central Liquidity Facility. Comments on each proposal are due by December 14.

The first proposal would clarify, by deleting language, that FCUs do not have to seek an advisory opinion from the NCUA’s Office of General Counsel before asking the board to approve an activity outside their preapproved incidental powers. The agency said the current rule’s statement that a credit union “should” seek such an opinion had confused credit unions about whether the step was mandatory, even though its 2001 rulemaking made the opinion optional.

The second proposal would ease fidelity bond rules for FICUs, with parallel changes for corporate credit unions. It would let a credit union’s board delegate review and approval of bond purchases and renewals to one member of the board or of the supervisory or audit committee. The final signature would still have to come from someone who is not an employee. The proposal would also end the 2019 requirement barring the same board member from signing consecutive bond agreements, which the NCUA said is especially burdensome for smaller credit unions. It would remove the automatic 10-year expiration of NCUA approval for bond forms, while keeping the agency’s power to review and rescind approvals at any time. Finally, it would drop advisory language, including a formula for extra coverage tied to daily cash on hand or money in transit.

The third proposal would make final two interim final rules that the NCUA adopted on April 29, 2020, and March 24, 2021, respectively, to expand access to Central Liquidity Facility liquidity during the COVID-19 pandemic. It would also remove provisions that lapsed under those rules’ terms, including provisions tied to the CARES Act. It would make permanent the elimination of the six-month waiting period before a new regular member can receive advances. It would also keep the switch from a flat 110 percent collateral requirement to the facility’s published collateral margins table. Separately, the proposal would remove certain membership filing requirements and approval criteria for FICUs, citing information the NCUA already obtains through examinations. It would also give members 90 calendar days after receiving an invoice to pay capital stock subscription adjustments, replacing the current March 31 deadline.