WASHINGTON-Credit unions have until April 6 to file comments on NCUA's proposed Corporate Stabilization Plan, and NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland outlined several areas on which the agency is particularly interested in getting CU input.
Promising to read every single comment letter filed, Hyland urged credit unions to offer their thoughts on:
* Capital. "It is imperative to resolve this issue once and for all," she said, echoing other sentiments about getting some sort of supplemental capital for credit unions. Of particular concern, she said, is how to determine what the appropriate ratio of core capital to supplemental capital should be.
* Risk management. In particular, Hyland questioned whether the reliance on the ratings agencies should be reconsidered.
* Corporate governance. One of the issues to explore, she said, is whether there should be a new class of directors from outside of the credit union industry.
* Usage. "Tell us how you use corporate credit unions what you need from them now, and what you will need from them in the future," Hyland said.
Though it is not unusual for political appointments like NCUA board members to go to people with no real previous ties to the industry in question, Hyland reminded the GAC audience that she has long been a part of the movement she now regulates.
"When I make a regulatory decision, it affects me, personally, because I'm a member," she said. "You financed my education. You financed my first car, my second car, and my current car. You helped me transition from a renter to a homeowner."
