Compliance Blog

Yesterday, NCUA published an LUA that was issued to a small federal credit union in Texas.  The LUA indicates that the credit union's recordkeeping and lending practices were not up to NCUA expectations.  The credit union has roughly $750,000 in assets.  My general thoughts:

• An NCUA official told me that NCUA would be taking a tougher stance with credit union problems for the foreseeable futures.  Cease and desist orders. Public LUAs.  Conservatorships.  I cannot say for sure that the publication of this LUA is part of this new way of handling problems, but it did get my attention. 
• Small credit unions do not get a break when it comes to regulatory requirements.  A credit union is a credit union, so NCUA's requirements apply to all. In other words, "but we're small" is not necessarily a good defense to a problem.
• Usually, an LUA or a cease and desist order addresses an issue that has been festering between the credit union and NCUA.  NCUA officials have indicated that LUAs or cease and desist orders usually start as a finding following an NCUA exam.  If the credit union does not address the finding adequately, then NCUA escalates its response. 

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Here's a very good article on board development from the most recent issue of  The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel.   It is a short read, but it may give you a number of good ideas on how you can increase the effectiveness of your credit union's board of directors. 

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Here's a tip. Law firms often publish a ton of nice, free information.  It is a way for them to show their expertise. In a perfect world, an article they write saves your day, and you reach out to that attorney for additional help.  Here are a few sources for this wonderful information, in no particular order:

• Credit union newsletters from Weltman, Weinberg and Reis.
• Newsletters from Farleigh Wada Witt.  
• Articles from Messick and Weber, P.C.  
• The Kaufman and Canoles credit union legal update.

Why would we point you to other sources of information?  Here's why:

1. NAFCU's compliance team is not afraid to say the following: we do not know everything.  We probably do not know everything about any one thing.  We may know a few things about a lot of things, but we don't know something about everything.   We also are not afraid to admit the following: we are not the only people in this game. We try to be honest with you, and point you to sources of information that can make your job less grindyourteethandwaily.  If that is not a word, it should be.
2. There is no better way to get a great answer than to hear a number of good answers from a number of different people. When our thoughts are challenged and we listen to those with different ideas and positions, we get better results.
3. Let's be honest.  Now these guys owe me.  And I take payments in baseball tickets and pints of brew.  Seriously, though, all of the firms listed above know credit unions.  I think you'll see that knowledge reflected in their materials.