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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 17, 2020) – Federally insured credit unions can join a meaningful conversation on the importance of financial inclusion for persons with disabilities and the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act during a webinar hosted by the National Credit Union Administration on Thursday, July 23, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern.

“As we commemorate the anniversary of the ADA, the NCUA reaffirms its commitment to creating an inclusive work environment for all employees and ensuring equal access to the 12.2 percent of our staff who report having a disability,” NCUA Chairman Rodney E. Hood said. “We are committed to providing access to services, tools, and needed resources to perform their jobs effectively and reach their full career potential.”

During the webinar, Chairman Hood will discuss how organizations can expand their efforts to ensure the disable have equal access to opportunities and resources with Michael Morris, Director of the National Disability Institute, and Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, a disabilities rights advocate and President of RespectAbility.

Online registration for this two-hour webinar is now open (opens new window). Participants will be able to log into the webinar and view it on their computers or mobile devices using the registration link. They should allow pop-ups from this website.

Please email technical questions about accessing the webinar to [email protected]. This webinar will be closed captioned and archived online approximately three weeks following the live event.

Credit Unions May Still Apply for Urgent Needs Grants Related to Natural Disasters

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 15, 2020) – Funding for the COVID-19 urgent need grants initiative has been fully utilized and new applications will no longer be accepted, the National Credit Union Administration announced today.

The NCUA will complete the review process for COVID-19 urgent need grant applications that are currently pending, and the agency will notify credit unions of its decisions on those applications by email.

Urgent need grants will remain available for events not related to the pandemic. Federally insured, low-income-designated credit unions may apply for grants up to $7,500 for emergency and natural disaster relief.

Eligible credit unions wishing to apply for urgent needs grants should review the NCUA’s Urgent Need Grants Guidelines (opens new window). Apply through the agency’s CyberGrants portal (opens new window).

Credit unions with questions should contact the Office of Credit Union Resources and Expansion by email at [email protected].

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 8, 2020) – The financial services industry must make an institutional commitment to the values of diversity, equity, and financial inclusion, National Credit Union Administration Chairman Rodney E. Hood said today.

“It’s time to start telling a new story about the financial service industry’s contributions to society,” Chairman Hood said. “And, just to be clear, I’m not suggesting another shiny marketing or public relations campaign. Rather, I’m talking about taking action to realize what’s best in this industry through service to your clients and stakeholders. That story, and that action, must focus on the values of financial inclusion — bringing more people into the mainstream financial system.”

Hood delivered the keynote address during the Institute of International Bankers’ Virtual Summit on Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion: How Foreign Banks Can Support Inclusive Growth. His remarks are available on the NCUA’s website.

During his remarks, Hood said his more than 20 years in the financial services industry has shown the significant role it can play in helping families achieve financial freedom, creating small businesses, and supporting local communities. A vibrant and healthy financial services sector is essential, he noted, but it can and should do more to foster greater inclusion.

Specifically, Hood outlined three steps the financial industry should do to encourage and incentivize financial inclusion. They include:

• Making a real institutional commitment to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion;
• Continuing to explore the promise of financial technology to create the conditions that will nurture greater financial inclusion; and
• Creating innovative financial products that promote greater inclusion.

“When we talk about addressing inequities that are hurting our societies, we must move beyond offering soothing platitudes and ethereal, pie-in-the-sky statements of support,” Hood said. “What we must focus on instead is action. We must focus on what we can do to address those inequities. We must identify and implement solutions at a concrete level, within our realm of influence, to make the changes we need to see.

“We can’t simply sit back and wait for someone else to come along and fix it. It begins with leadership, and it begins with recapturing the best sense of finance as a force of good that’s innovative, productive, constructive, and dedicated to problem-solving and making a positive difference in our world.”

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 9, 2020) – Federally insured credit unions generally saw asset, share-and-deposit, and loan growth over the year ending in the first quarter of 2020, according to the latest NCUA Quarterly U.S. Map Review (opens new window).

Nationally, median asset growth over the year ending in the first quarter of 2020 was 3.0 percent. Membership in federally insured credit unions overall continued to grow during the year, though at the median, membership declined slightly. The median growth rate of loans outstanding was 2.0 percent over the year ending in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 5.8 percent over the year ending in the first quarter of 2019.

During the first quarter of 2020, 80 percent of federally insured credit unions had positive net income, compared to 86 percent during the first quarter of 2019. Nationally, the median annualized return on average assets was 41 basis points during the first quarter of 2020, compared to 56 basis points during the first quarter of 2019.

The NCUA’s Quarterly U.S. Map Review tracks performance indicators for federally insured credit unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and includes information on two important state-level economic indicators: the unemployment rate and home prices.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 6, 2020) – Following the regulatory enhancements provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and changes to the agency’s regulations, the Central Liquidity Facility experienced a significant increase in its membership and borrowing capacity, the National Credit Union Administration announced today.

“The growth in the number of CLF’s members and its borrowing authority is a testament to our nation’s credit unions coming together in a time of crisis to strengthen the national system of cooperative credit,” NCUA Chairman Rodney E. Hood said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe economic and financial distributions, and having a reinforced CLF will ensure the credit union system can continue to support its members and communities should the need for contingent liquidity arise.”

At the end of May, the number of regular members of the CLF, which consists of natural-person credit unions, was 297, up from 283 members in April. All 11 corporate credit unions became agent members in May, meaning their member credit unions also have access to CLF loans. In total, 3,797 credit unions, or 73 percent all federally insured credit unions, have access to the CLF, either as a regular member or through their corporate credit union.

New memberships have added $945.8 million in additional subscribed capital stock to the facility. Under the temporary authority granted by the CARES Act, the CLF can borrow sixteen times its total capital. As of May 31, the facility’s borrowing authority stood at $25.8 billion, an increase of $15.3 billion since April.

The Central Liquidity Facility is a mixed-ownership government corporation that provides the credit union system with a contingent source of funds to assist with system-wide liquidity events. The CLF also serves as an additional liquidity source for the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which helps to ensure the system and the Share Insurance Fund remain strong. Member credit unions own the CLF, which exists within the NCUA. Joining the facility is voluntary.

The NCUA encourages all credit unions to consider joining the CLF to bolster the system’s access to emergency liquidity, should the need arise. For additional information on joining the facility, please visit www.ncua.gov/clf or email [email protected].

(July 1, 2020) – The members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today highlighted the risks that will result from the transition away from LIBOR, and encouraged supervised institutions to continue their efforts to transition to alternative reference rates in order to mitigate financial, legal, operational, and consumer protection risks.

The financial services industry uses LIBOR as a reference rate for many financial products and instruments that include loans, investments, and deposits to a range of customers, as well as borrowings and derivatives. While some smaller and less complex institutions may have limited exposure to LIBOR- denominated instruments, the transition to alternative reference rates will affect almost every institution.

The statement also highlights the legal and consumer compliance risks associated with inadequate fallback language, when the contractual language does not contemplate LIBOR’s permanent discontinuance. Institutions should take steps to identify and address existing contracts with inadequate fallback language to mitigate potential legal risk as well as safety and soundness risk.

Financial institutions should have risk management processes in place to identify and mitigate their LIBOR transition risks that are commensurate with the size and complexity of their exposure and third-party servicer arrangements. The statement identifies areas where supervisory staff will focus their reviews of LIBOR transition planning and risk mitigation efforts at regulated institutions.

Attachment: Joint Statement on Managing the LIBOR Transition (opens new window)

Agency	Contact	Phone
Federal Reserve	Darren Gersh	202.452.2955
CFPB	Marisol Garibay	202.384.8538
FDIC	Julianne Breitbeil	202.898.6895
NCUA	Ben Hardaway	703.518.6333
OCC	Stephanie Collins	202.649.6870
SLC	Jim Kurtzke	202.728.5733

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 1, 2020) – The National Credit Union Administration Board has rescheduled its July open and closed meetings, originally set for Thursday, July 16.

Both meetings are now scheduled for Thursday, July 30. The open meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern, and the closed meeting will follow immediately after the open meeting has concluded.

The July open meeting will be available through a live audio webcast only.

Information about NCUA Board meetings, including memorandums and other documents, is posted on NCUA’s website.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 1, 2020) – The National Credit Union Administration Board has rescheduled its July open and closed meetings, originally set for Thursday, July 16.

Both meetings are now scheduled for Thursday, July 30. The open meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern, and the closed meeting will follow immediately after the open meeting has concluded.

The July open meeting will be available through a live audio webcast only.

Information about NCUA Board meetings, including memorandums and other documents, is posted on NCUA’s website.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 1, 2020) – Data on the financial performance of federally insured credit unions for the quarter ending March 31, 2020, are now available (opens new window) from the National Credit Union Administration.

The NCUA’s Quarterly Data Summary Reports include an overview of the quarterly Call Report data as well as tables showing the recent history of major credit union performance indicators.

The NCUA also makes extensive credit union system performance data available in the Credit Union Analysis section of NCUA.gov. The analysis section includes quarterly data summaries as well as detailed financial information, a graphics package illustrating financial trends in federally insured credit unions, and a spreadsheet listing all federally insured credit unions as of March 31, 2020, including key metrics.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 1, 2020) – Data on the financial performance of federally insured credit unions for the quarter ending March 31, 2020, are now available (opens new window) from the National Credit Union Administration.

The NCUA’s Quarterly Data Summary Reports include an overview of the quarterly Call Report data as well as tables showing the recent history of major credit union performance indicators.

The NCUA also makes extensive credit union system performance data available in the Credit Union Analysis section of NCUA.gov. The analysis section includes quarterly data summaries as well as detailed financial information, a graphics package illustrating financial trends in federally insured credit unions, and a spreadsheet listing all federally insured credit unions as of March 31, 2020, including key metrics.