| National Credit Union Administration |
 |
| Official seal |
| Agency overview |
| Formed |
March 10, 1970 |
| Preceding agency |
Bureau of Federal Credit Unions |
| Jurisdiction |
Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters |
Alexandria, Virginia |
| Employees |
952 |
| Annual budget |
$182.9 million USD (2009)[1] |
| Agency executives |
Deborah Matz[2], Chairman
Michael E. Fryzel, Board Member
Gigi Hyland, Board Member |
| Website |
| www.ncua.gov |
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is the United States independent federal agency that supervises and charters federal credit unions and insures savings in federal and most state-chartered credit unions across the country through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), a federal fund backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. It can be seen as the credit union equivalent of the FDIC.
As of November, 2008, there were 8,176 federally insured credit unions with over 92 million members and total assets of $833.7 billion and loans of $582.4 billion.[3]
Organization
The NCUA is governed by a three member board appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. The President also chooses which member will serve in the position of Chairman.[4] Board members serve six year terms, although members often remain until their successors are confirmed and sworn in.[4]
The NCUA is administered through five regional offices, each responsible for specific states and territories.[3]
| Region |
Headquarters |
Territory |
| Region I |
Albany, NY |
CT, ME, MA, MI, NH, NY, NV, RI, and VT |
| Region II |
Alexandria, VA |
AK, DE, DC, MD, NJ, PA, VA, and WV |
| Region III |
Atlanta, GA |
AL, FL, GA, IN, KY, MS, NC, PR, OH, SC, TN, and VI |
| Region IV |
Austin, TX |
AR, IL, IA, KS, LA, MN, MO, NE, ND, OK, SD, TX and WI |
| Region V |
Tempe, AZ |
AZ, CA, CO, GU, HI, ID, MT, NM, OR, UT, WA, and WY |
History
The chartering of credit unions in all states is owed to the signing of the Federal Credit Union Act by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1934 as part of the New Deal. The federal law sought to make credit available and promote thrift through a national system of nonprofit, cooperative credit unions.
At first the newly created Bureau of Federal Credit Unions was housed at the Farm Credit Administration. Responsibility of regulation would shift over the years as the agency migrated from the FDIC to the Federal Security Agency, then to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
In the ‘40s and ‘50s credit unions grew steadily - reaching a membership of more than six million people by 1960 - at over 10,000 federal credit unions.
1970s
The great growth resulted in an overhauling of the Bureau of Federal Credit Unions to form the modern independent federal agency that regulates under the present day title.
In 1970, the renaming to National Credit Union Administration was made possible by the creation of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) to insure credit union deposits. The NCUSIF was created without any tax dollars, capitalized solely by credit unions.
By 1977, services available to credit union members expanded, including share certificates and mortgage lending. In 1979, a three-member Board replaced the NCUA administrator. Congress added the finishing touches to this new administration by the addition of the Central Liquidity Facility, the lender of last resort for chartered credit unions.
The decade of the 1970s saw substantial growth for credit unions, with membership doubling and assets tripling to over $65 billion.
1980s on
The high interest rates and unemployment in the early 1980s brought insurance losses; the enhancement of member services in the 1980s accompanied deregulation and increased flexibility in merger and field of membership criteria. Previously, membership in credit unions was generally limited to groups with a pre-existing common bond, often employees of a particular company or trade. Membership eligibility was opened up to include much larger, loosely-defined groups, such as all residents of a geographical area. The National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund experienced strain, and credit unions lobbied for Congressional oversight to recapitalize the Fund.
In 1985 the plan was enacted, and federally insured credit unions recapitalized the NCUSIF by depositing 1 percent of their shares into the Share Insurance Fund. The fully-capitalized National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund has "fail safe" features. Only once in 1991, when equity level dipped below 1.23 percent, has the Board charged credit unions a premium to insure deposits.
During the previous decade and into the 21st century, credit unions are steadily growing. Failures remain low, and the Share Insurance Fund maintains a healthy equity level.
Financial crisis
As the insurer and regulator of Federally chartered credit unions, the NCUA oversees credit union safety and soundness, much like the FDIC. It is sometimes required to place credit unions in conservatorship. On March 20, 2009, during the financial crisis of 2007–2009, the NCUA took over the two largest wholesale credit unions with combined assets of $57 billion because of the losses on their investments in mortgage-backed securities.[5]
Insurance coverage
This sign, displayed at all credit unions, informs members that their savings are insured by the NCUA
Most properly established share accounts in federally insured credit unions are insured up to the Standard Maximum Share Insurance Amount (SMSIA), which has been $100,000 since the passage of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act in 1980. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act passed in October 2008 to address the subprime mortgage crisis increased the insurance coverage on regular share accounts to $250,000 until the end of 2013. Certain retirement accounts, such as IRAs and Keoghs, are insured separately, and had their coverage raised to $250,000 under the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005. Generally, if a credit union member has more than one account in the same credit union, those accounts are added together and insured in the aggregate.[6]
Credit unions may also offer an array of additional financial services which are not covered by federal insurance.
See also
Notes
External links
