|
April 17, 2008 - On April 17, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board held its monthly meeting and several Board actions affect state-chartered, federally insured credit unions.
Insurance Signage
The NCUA Board approved a proposed rulemaking to permit credit unions to use the basic form of the official advertising statement, a shortened form or the official sign in advertisements.
The basic form of the official statement is “This credit union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration.” Currently, the regulation permits shortening the official statement to “Federally insured by NCUA” if used with a reproduction of the official sign. The proposed rule would allow credit unions to use any or all of the options in their advertisements, including websites. This flexibility is consistent with regulations currently applying to banks through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
NCUA Access to CUSO Books and Records
Citing safety and soundness concerns, NCUA proposes extending part of its CUSO rule to state-chartered federally insured credit unions. The proposal would require state-chartered federally insured credit unions to comply with federal credit union requirements to obtain agreements from their CUSOs granting NCUA access to CUSO books and records.
While many state regulators have extensive examination authority over state credit union CUSOs, the NCUA proposal would provide books and records access for those states that do not. The proposed rule contains a reciprocity clause allowing state regulators access to books and records of a federal credit union CUSO that has state-chartered credit union investments, loans or a contractual agreement for products and services. To read more about this topic, click here.
Low-income Designation
Stemming from an NCUA Outreach Task Force recommendation, the NCUA Board approved a proposed rule to use median family income (MFI) instead of median household income (MHI) to determine if a credit union qualifies for a low-income designation and assistance from the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF). Those state-chartered, federally insured credit unions with a low-income designation would be affected by the change from MHI to MFI for CDRLF access. The proposed rule includes a grandfather provision to permit current low-income designated credit unions to retain the designation for five-years after the final rule becomes effective.
Quarterly Insurance Fund Report
NCUA Chief Financial Officer Mary Ann Woodson presented the board with a report on the state of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF).
As of March 31, 2008, the gross income of the fund was $24.9 million, only a small increase from February 2008 ($24.4 million). The NCUSIF equity ratio is 1.31 percent. The ratio is projected to remain at 1.31 percent for April and May; 1.25 percent for June; 1.30 percent for October; and 1.29 percent for December 2008.
The number of problem credit unions increased by 18 since December 2007, equaling 1.59 percent of total insured shares. Woodson reported that 66 percent of the problem credit unions are under $10 million in assets.
Other
A proposed rule was approved to update and clarify the procedures for requesting access to agency records and other rights and requirements under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (FOIA). The proposed rule incorporates recent amendments to FOIA, adds definitions and revises terminology. NCUA staff reported at the April meeting that 96 percent of NCUA FOIA requests are granted, and that requests are denied because the information is subject to examination and supervision confidentiality or due to privacy rights.
|
