Links in “NCUA”

The largest player in the St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union massive embezzlement scheme has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $16 million in restitution.  NCUA lost $167.2 million when the credit union collapsed in 2010, making it the largest credit union failure in U.S. history. [12/24/15]

NCUA has returned control of the A.E.A. Federal Credit Union of Yuma, AZ back to its members. NCUA had placed the credit union into conservatorship in 2010. On the same day, NCUA announced that  it has liquidated Bethex Federal Credit Union of the Bronx, NY. The loans, assets, and shares of the credit union were immediately assumed by $1.07 billion USAlliance FCU. [12/21/15]

Internet Archive FCU, a three-year old credit union, has opted for a voluntary liquidation rather than continue to be subject to what it describes as restrictive regulations and oppressive oversight on the part of NCUA. NCUA had originally given the credit union permission to serve the non-money business side of Bitcoin, but then later began to focus intently on that aspect of the credit union’s activities. [12/21/15]

NCUA and other federal partners have launched a new Fraud Prevention Center. The easy-to-use site is designed to provide consumers with a variety of resources and information so they can learn about how to recognize common scams, what actions to take if they believe they have been a victim of fraud, and how to protect their finances. [12/17/15]

The omnibus spending agreement passed by lawmakers on Tuesday includes several credit union backed bills in addition to a provision to encourage the sharing of cybersecurity information. The agreement would, among other things, require NCUA to report to Congress on the impact the final RBC rule will have on mortgage servicing assets and on credit unions’ ability to compete. The agreement is expected to pass Congress next week and then head to the President’s desk for his signature. [12/17/15]

That is the question on the minds of many this morning as the FDIC announced that is has approved a budget reduction of 4.7%, while the NCUA just approved a budget increase of 4.1%. The FDIC stated that because the economy is improving and the number of bank failures are declining prudent budget management calls for cost reductions. Shouldn’t that be the case for NCUA, as well? [12/16/15]

NCUA Board Member Mark McWatters says that the low number of exam appeals is because credit unions are concerned about reprisals if they appeal their exams to NCUA headquarters under the current process. McWatters is calling for a new rule to establish an impartial independent tribunal where credit unions could appeal exam reports and where both sides could be represented by counsel. [12/16/15]

A closed NCUA board meeting scheduled for tomorrow had an item, publicly disclosed as a "supervisory matter," added to its agenda. [12/16/15]

NCUA's December 2015 Report includes a call for a better examination appeal process for credit unions. [12/15/15]

The NCUA reached a settlement with Morgan Stanley for $225 million to resolve claims arising from losses related to corporate credit unions’ purchases of faulty residential mortgage-backed securities. The action continues a series of settlements with various financial/securities firms with additional pursued actions still pending. [12/11/15]