National Credit Union Administration 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NCUA is issuing a final rule amending its credit union service organization (CUSO) regulation. The amendment adds two new categories of permissible CUSO activities: Credit card loan origination and payroll processing services. The amendment also adds new examples of permissible CUSO activities within existing categories and expands the permissible scope of certain services to include persons eligible for credit union membership. The amendment imposes new regulatory limits on the ability of credit unions to recapitalize their CUSOs in certain circumstances. Although the CUSO rule generally only applies to federal credit unions (FCUs), the amendment revises and extends to all federally insured credit unions the provisions ensuring that credit union regulators have access to books and records and that CUSOs are operated as separate legal entities; however, the rule also contains a procedure through which state regulators may seek an exemption from the access to records provisions for credit unions in their state. The amendment clarifies that CUSOs may buy and sell participations in loans they are authorized to originate. Finally, the amendment deletes as unnecessary the section in the current rule concerning amendment requests. These amendments clarify the rule, enhance CUSO operations, and address safety and soundness concerns.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) will accept applications for participation in the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund's [Fund] Loan Program in the last quarter of 2009, subject to availability of funds. The Fund's total appropriation is $13.4 million. Because the CDRLF will be fully loaned in early 2009, new loans will be awarded from loan repayments made throughout the year in 2009. Based on the CDRLF's aggregate loan amortization schedule, approximately $3.1 million will be repaid and available for loans in late 2009. Therefore, the loan application period will open in the last quarter of 2009. Application procedures for the 2009 Fund Loan Program will be posted to the NCUA Web site.

The NCUA intends to submit the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). This information collection is published to obtain comments from the public.

NCUA is submitting the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35. The information collection is published to obtain comments from the public.

The OCC, FRB, FDIC, OTS, and NCUA (the Agencies), request comment on the proposed Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines (proposed Guidelines). The proposed Guidelines, which would supersede the 1994 Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines (1994 Guidelines), reflect revisions to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and the evolution of collateral valuation practices, such as the use of automated valuation models (AVMs). The proposed Guidelines also incorporate refinements made by the Agencies to the supervision of regulated institutions' appraisal and evaluation programs since 1994 and reflect the participation of the NCUA, which was not a party to the 1994 Guidelines. The proposed Guidelines are intended to clarify the Agencies' real estate appraisal regulations and promote a safe and sound real estate collateral valuation program.

This notice contains information about the National Credit Union Administration's Temporary Corporate Credit Union Liquidity Guarantee Program (TCCULGP).

NCUA is amending its regulation governing a federal credit union's (FCU's) incidental powers by adding illustrations of permissible activities under the categories of correspondent services, operational programs, and finder activities. These amendments will provide useful information to FCUs by clarifying and updating the illustrations regarding permissible activities.

Section 740.4 of NCUA's rules requires that a federally insured credit union continuously display the official NCUA sign at every teller station or window where insured funds or deposits are normally received. Section 740.4(c) requires that tellers accepting share deposits for both federally insured credit unions and nonfederally insured credit unions also post a second sign adjacent to the official NCUA sign. Currently, the rules require this second sign to list each federally insured credit union served by the teller along with a statement that only these credit unions are federally insured. Due to the evolution of shared branch networks it is now difficult for some tellers to comply with this second signage requirement and, accordingly, NCUA is proposing to revise the rule to replace the required listing of credit unions with a statement that not all of the credit unions served by the teller are federally insured and that members should contact their credit union if they need more information.

The NCUA Board is amending its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act regulations. The final rule reflects recent amendments to the FOIA addressing fee practices, time limits for complying with requests, and new reporting requirements. The changes to the Privacy Act provisions reflect the agency's efforts to clarify the procedures whereby individuals may obtain notification of whether an NCUA system of records contains information about the individual and how to access or amend a record.

NCUA proposes to amend its Regulatory Flexibility (RegFlex) Program to provide additional flexibility to qualifying federal credit unions (FCUs) when acquiring unimproved land for future expansion. Currently, when an FCU acquires unimproved land for future expansion and does not fully occupy the completed premises within one year, it must partially occupy the completed premises within three years or obtain a waiver. The proposed amendment would increase the three years to six years for RegFlex FCUs without a waiver. NCUA also proposes to make conforming amendments to its fixed asset rule to be consistent with the RegFlex changes.

The NCUA is submitting the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). This information collection is published to obtain comments from the public.

The NCUA intends to submit the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). This information collection is published to obtain comments from the public.

The NCUA is submitting the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). This information collection is published to obtain comments from the public.

NCUA requests public comment on a proposed rule implementing a statutory amendment to the definition of a natural person credit union's ``net worth'' that applies solely to NCUA's system of regulatory capital standards, known as ``prompt corrective action.'' The amendment expands the definition of ``net worth'' to allow the acquiring credit union, in a merger of natural person credit unions, to include the merging credit union's retained earnings with its own to determine the acquirer's post-merger ``net worth.'' In a merger of corporate credit unions, the proposed rule similarly redefines corporate credit union capital to allow an acquiring credit union to include with its capital the retained earnings of the merging credit union to determine the acquirer's post-merger capital.

NCUA is considering amending its member business loans (MBL) rule to clarify or revise current provisions including those related to: loan-to-value (LTV) ratio requirements; collateral and security requirements; credit union service organization (CUSO) involvement in the MBL process; MBL loan participation; and waivers. NCUA seeks comment on these issues and any others commenters think NCUA should consider.

NCUA seeks public comment on four proposals to modify its Chartering and Field of Membership Manual to update and clarify the process of approving credit union service to ``underserved areas.'' The first proposal clarifies the procedure for establishing that an ``underserved area'' qualifies as a local community. The second addresses the application of the economic distress criteria that determine whether an area combining multiple geographic units is sufficiently ``distressed'' to qualify as ``underserved.'' The third would update the documentation and clarify the scope requirements for demonstrating that a proposed area has ``significant unmet needs'' for loans and applicable financial services. The final proposal recognizes that meaningful data from NCUA and the federal banking agencies will be available to assess whether an area is ``underserved by other depository institutions.''

NCUA proposes to amend its regulation governing a federal credit union's (FCU's) incidental powers by adding illustrations of permissible activities under the categories of correspondent services, operational programs, and finder activities. These amendments will provide useful information to FCUs by clarifying and updating the illustrations regarding permissible activities.

NCUA is amending a number of its regulations by making minor technical corrections and grammatical changes. The amendments delete duplicate words, add proper punctuations, and make other grammatically necessary corrections. The amendments are intended to provide helpful changes to NCUA's regulations.

The Board, OTS, and NCUA (collectively, the Agencies) are proposing to exercise their authority under section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act to prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The proposed rule would prohibit institutions from engaging in certain acts or practices in connection with consumer credit cards accounts and overdraft services for deposit accounts. This proposal evolved from the Board's June 2007 Notice of Proposed Rule under the Truth in Lending Act and OTS's August 2007 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The proposed rule relates to other Board proposals under the Truth in Lending Act and the Truth in Savings Act, which are published elsewhere in today's Federal Register.

The NCUA is proposing to use median family income (MFI) to determine if a credit union qualifies for a low-income designation and assistance from the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF). The proposed rule will eliminate the confusion associated with adjusting median household income (MHI) in metropolitan areas with higher costs of living. Additionally, it will better align NCUA criteria for a low-income designation with the criteria for the addition of an underserved area to a federal credit union (FCU) field of membership and certification as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).

The NCUA Board is proposing changes to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act regulations. The changes to FOIA provisions largely relate to recent amendments to the Freedom of Information Act addressing several procedural issues concerning fee practices, time limits for complying with requests, and new reporting requirements. The changes to Privacy Act provisions reflect the agency's efforts to clarify the procedures whereby individuals may obtain notification of whether an NCUA system of records contains information about the individual and access or amend a record.

The NCUA is proposing to adopt an Interpretive Ruling and Policy Statement (IRPS) regarding prohibitions imposed by Section 205(d) of the Federal Credit Union Act (FCU Act) (12 U.S.C. 1785(d)(1)). Section 205(d) of the FCU Act prohibits a person who has been convicted of any criminal offense involving dishonesty or breach of trust, or who has entered into a pretrial diversion or similar program in connection with a prosecution for such offense, from participating in the affairs of an insured credit union except with the prior written consent of the NCUA Board. The proposed IRPS provides direction and guidance to federally insured credit unions and those persons who may be affected by Section 205(d) because of a prior criminal conviction or pretrial diversion program participation by describing the actions that are prohibited under the statute and describing the procedures for applying for NCUA Board consent on a case-by-case basis.

The NCUA is submitting the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). This information collection is published to obtain comments from the public.