ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA said it approved another 70 credit unions for low-income status over the past month, making more than 620 approved since the August push to expand the exemptions available under the LICU designation, including the exemption from the member business loan cap.
NCUA originally announced that 553 credit unions had been approved under the initial one-month period, during which NCUA was allowing eligible credit unions to opt-in in an expedited manner to LICU status, allowing them to accept non-member deposits, issue secondary capital, and exceed the 12.25% (of assets) cap on MBLs applied to all other federally insured credit union.
The additional 660 LICUs, combined with almost 1,200 approved LICUs prior to August, makes almost 1,900 credit unions – almost half of all federal charters – approved for the LICU designation.
NCUA says it also is working with state regulators to approve as many as 400 state charters for LICU status and the MBL exemption. The additional LICU members almost eliminates the necessity for proposed legislation to raise the MBL limit, as many of the credit unions nearing the cap are now granted unlimited MBL capacity via the LICU designation.
