NAFCU Presses NCUA For Accounting Clarification
ARLINGTON, Va.-NAFCU is pressing NCUA for clarification on accounting issues should Congress pass legislation creating a Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund.
Specifically, said NAFCU, the issue is how credit unions would treat or reverse the present write-down resulting from the impairment of the 1% National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) deposit if and when the NCUSIF is no longer impaired.
"While the accounting bulletins and supervisory memorandum that NCUA has issued have been helpful to resolving certain matters, NAFCU has found that many credit unions still remain uncertain about how to reverse the impairment of the NCUSIF 1% deposit upon the implementation of Stabilization Fund," said NAFCU President Fred Becker. "In fact, some credit unions question whether the impairment can be reversed."
USDA Details Economic Impact Of Credit Unions
WASHINGTON-The USDA issued the "first ever" study showing the economic value various cooperatives-including credit unions-brings to the nation.
The study sought to define the economic impact by looking at the jobs produced, the wages paid, and other factors but noted that perhaps the most fundamental point cannot be measured: the value of the cooperative difference.
Among the top line findings:
* Number of Cooperatives: 29,284
* Total Revenue: More than $654 billion
* Income: $133 billion
* Wages: $75 billion
* Number of Employees: More than 2 million
Credit union findings include:
* 8,344 CUs accout for $760 billion in assets
* There are nearly 100 million CU members-about one-third the nation's population.
* Including indirect and induced impacts, CUs account for nearly $75 billion in revenue, 500,000 jobs, $20 billion in wages paid and just under $42 billion in value-added income.
At right is a chart showing the distribution and concentration of credit union membership across the country by county.
CU Leader Gallagly Passes Away
TAMPA, Fla.-Ed Gallagly, who for 44 years served as CEO of Florida Central Credit Union and who was an outspoken advocate of low-income people, has died.
Mr. Gallagly, 72, died of liver cancer. In September 2008, Mr. Gallagly outlined for Credit Union Journal alternative plans for helping those without sufficient downpayments to get mortgages, including a rent-to-own proposal. He was also active in cooperatives on the international level.
Mr. Gallagly, who oversaw growth to 37,000 members during his career, was also not afraid to challenge credit unions to stay true to their roots.
His comments were even used in testimony by the American Bankers Association before the House Ways & Means Committee, to support the ABA's contention credit unions had lost their reason for being. The ABA quoted Mr. Gallagly as saying, "There's no question that subconsciously-and even consciously-some credit unions are trying to run off unprofitable members. I hate to use that term 'run off,' but that's what's happening."
2 Florida CUs Plan Merger
SARASOTA, Fla.-The $235-million Sarasota Coastal Credit Union said it will be absorbed via merger by the $1.4-billion MidFlorida Federal Credit Union, based in Lakeland, Fla. All 74 of Sarasota Coastal's employees are being offered positions with MidFlorida. Plans call for the merger to be completed by June 30, with MidFlorida reporting it will remodel the existing Sarasota Coastal branches "into more traditional banking centers" and to increase staffing at each office.
