The Safety & Soundness Report Home Page

NCUA Pushes for Intensified IRR Policy at Big CUs
May 14, 2012

Saying it wanted to promote transparency and ease implementation, the NCUA issued new guidance on a rule requiring most large credit unions to have formal interest-rate risk policies starting this September. What’s clear, however, is that, especially for large, complex CUs, that... Continued...

Indexed by: Asset Quality | Exams/Enforcement | Regulation | Risk Monitoring

CUs, Examiners Focus on Efficiency
May 14, 2012

We’re about as efficient and productive as we can be. Our existing cost structure? We can justify that because our business model comes with above-average expenses. We’re also relatively immune from the leveling effect of technology facing other financial institutions. That, more or... Continued...

Indexed by: Earnings | Exams/Enforcement | Management

Building CUSOs to Fight Regulatory Burden
May 14, 2012

It is arguably credit unions’ most vexing problem: the growing regulatory burden. It’s not just new expectations from the principal regulators. There are new cops on the beat now, too, which means that CUs devote more and more resources to compliance issues. The costs are measured in... Continued...

Indexed by: Regulation

NCUA Examiners too Focused on Best Practice-Based Exam Findings, Industry Claims
April 30, 2012

Are examiners too focused on “best practices”? It has become one of the leading complaints among CUs, large and small, in the wake of the recession and the subject of a growing rift between trade groups and the regulators. To CUs, the demand for best practices has become a vehicle for... Continued...

Indexed by: Exams/Enforcement | Regulation

Overdraft Suits Hit CU Industry
April 30, 2012

Plaintiffs’ lawyers have launched what is believed to be the first lawsuit against a credit union over allegedly unfair practices and excessive fees in handling overdrafts, and they are aggressively trolling for more. The lawsuit alleges that Xceed Financial Credit Union ($756 million), El... Continued...

Indexed by: Legal

Thrivent CEO on Bank-to-CU Conversion
April 30, 2012

Some time, before year-end, Thrivent Financial Bank is expected to defy conventional wisdom – and convert to a credit union. Why would a profitable $500 million bank with a loyal and growing customer base want to do such a thing? The momentum seems to be all in the other direction –... Continued...

Indexed by: Exams/Enforcement | Management | Regulation

New proposed disclosures for payment protection products, recently released by the Fed, may cut drastically into CUs' non-interest income. Find them here.

Earlier this summer, the NCUA issued internal guidance to NCUA examiners announcing the agency's intention to intensify exam scrutiny. The guidance also detailed every method avilable to examiners when pushing a CU to conform with corrective action. You can find the letter right here.

The NCUA asked the Kamakura Corporation to vet its proposed corporate rule. You can find its report here.

The NCUA issued FFIEC guidance on liquidity risk twice. The guidance provides a very comprehensive list of strategies to monitor liquidity risk.

Indirect lending losses have the NCUA so concerned, the agency issued guidance dedicated explicitly to it. Have you seen it?