National Credit Union Administration 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to its ongoing policy of reviewing regulations, NCUA is publishing a list of current and projected rulemakings, reviews of existing regulations, and completed actions as of February 24, 2010, to be included in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is issuing a proposed rulemaking covering several related subjects. The proposal documents and clarifies the fiduciary duties and responsibilities of Federal credit union directors. The proposal adds new provisions establishing the procedures for insured credit unions merging into banks. The proposal also amends some of the existing regulatory procedures applicable to insured credit union mergers with other credit unions and conversions to banks.

The OCC, FRB, FDIC, OTS, and NCUA (the agencies) in conjunction with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), are adopting this policy statement. The policy statement summarizes the principles of sound liquidity risk management that the agencies have issued in the past and, when appropriate, supplements them with the ``Principles for Sound Liquidity Risk Management and Supervision'' issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in September 2008.\1\ This policy statement emphasizes supervisory expectations for all depository institutions including banks, thrifts, and credit unions.

NCUA is amending its rules governing secondary capital accounts to permit low-income designated credit unions to redeem all or part of secondary capital accepted from the United States Government or any of its subdivisions at any time after the secondary capital has been on deposit for two years. The amendments will also allow early redemption, under the same terms and conditions, of secondary capital accepted as a match to the government-funded secondary capital. Finally, the amendments change the loss distribution provision that applies to secondary capital accounts so that secondary capital accepted under the 2010 Community Development Capital Program is senior to any required matching secondary capital accepted from an alternative source. Early redemption will continue to require approval of the appropriate Regional Director. The amended rule will accomplish the following: bring NCUA regulations into compliance with the Community Development Capital Program; and allow qualifying low-income designated credit unions that accept secondary capital pursuant to the Troubled Asset Relief Program through the Community Development Capital Program to avoid an accelerated interest rate on the secondary capital over the last five years to maturation.

On January 29, 2009, jointly with the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (FRB) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), the NCUA Board (Board) published a final rule and staff commentary amending its credit practices regulations (UDAP Rule). The UDAP Rule also included technical clarifications and was scheduled to become effective on July 1, 2010. The Board is now revising the UDAP Rule because its stipulations became unnecessary due to the enactment of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD Act) on May 22, 2009, and amendments to Regulation Z implementing the Credit CARD Act that will become effective on February 22, 2010. For procedural reasons, the substantive requirements of the UDAP Rule will be removed effective July 1, 2010, but it is the Board's intent that only the technical clarifications become effective and that the substantive requirements will not take effect. This final rule applies only to the NCUA Board's regulations and does not affect the rules issued by the OTS and FRB.