On Deadline

House OKs Bill To Raise Deposit Insurance Cap

WASHINGTON-The House Financial Services Committee again approved a bill last week to reform the deposit insurance reform system by raising the coverage on all federally insured bank and credit union accounts to $130,000, from the current $100,000, and index future increases in coverage to the rate of inflation.

The bill would also double the coverage on retirement accounts to $260,000. The bill, which now goes to a vote by the full House, passed the House two years ago, but died when the Senate refused to act. The credit union lobby has been reluctant to push the bill but insists if the coverage is raised for bank deposits then it must also be increased for CUs, too.

NCUA Rejects ABA Request For Review

WASHINGTON-NCUA said it won't consider the American Bankers Association's request to reconsider a pilot program allowing CUNA Mutual Group to help create a new secondary market for credit union loans. NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson said NCUA has no intention of reconsidering its March 17 decision approving CUNA Mutual's CU Systems Fund, which will buy and pool member business loans from credit unions, then sell shares in the pool, or fund, to individual credit unions. "We feel it's a well-thought-out and very sound program," Johnson told The Credit Union Journal. Johnson said she sent the ABA aletter acknowledging their concerns on safety and soundness and the possibility the program could help CUs circumvent the cap on business lending, but NCUA will monitor the pilot closely.

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