PRESS RELEASE
September 18, 2006
ARLINGTON, VA — State regulators will soon start gathering information about state-chartered credit unions as requested by the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee. The Committee asked NASCUS and state regulators to collect information on the state credit union system as a part of its oversight of credit unions and other tax-exempt entities.
“We are pleased that the Committee came to NASCUS and state regulators as the authoritative voice on state-chartered credit union issues,” said NASCUS President and CEO Mary Martha Fortney. “The entire state system is committed to working cooperatively to provide accurate and objective information about state credit unions to the United States Congress.”
State regulators are using an online questionnaire and a software program with geocoding to respond to questions in the Committee’s four areas of inquiry: income characteristics of members, executive compensation, unrelated business income tax (UBIT) and credit union service organizations (CUSOs).
An expert statistician developed a representative sample of state credit unions for the project by applying different weights to unique credit union attributes including size, field of membership and charter type. NASCUS notified state regulators of the credit unions selected in their states, and those credit unions are being contacted.
“The laws governing credit unions vary in the states, as do the services provided to credit union members across the nation and within the state system,” said Fortney. “NASCUS and state regulators recognized this approach would ensure that the sample of state credit unions reflects the diversity of the state system.”
The state regulatory system has diligently prepared for the data collection project. State regulators and examiners have participated in training webinars and teleconferences on the software and questionnaire to ensure consistency in the execution of the state data collection project.
NASCUS and state regulators consider the project a valuable opportunity to further educate Congress about the importance of dual chartering and the differences between state and federal charters. NASCUS has updated the Committee on the progress of the project and the willingness of state regulators to provide the information to Congress.
Information
Contact:
Kate Hartig, Director of Communications,
(703) 528-0669 or kate@nascus.org
The
NASCUS mission is to enhance state credit union
supervision and advocate a safe and sound state
credit union system. Founded in 1965, NASCUS
represents all 48 state and territorial credit
union supervisors. NASCUS is advised by the NASCUS Credit Union
Advisory Council, which is made up of nearly
500 of the nation's more than 3,400 state-chartered
credit unions.
|
