Corporate credit unions should be limited to providing a defined set of services, according to a joint task force formed by two trade groups for credit unions in the wake of two large failures this year.
Those services would include payments and settlements, liquidity and short-term investments, the task force said in a report issued last week. It also recommended trimming the breadth and maturities of corporate credit unions' investment offerings.
U.S. Central Corporate Federal Credit Union in Lenexa, Kan., and Western Corporate Federal Credit Union in San Dimas, Calif., were seized in March after regulators became worried about mounting losses on mortgage-backed securities.
The report envisions "a reduced number of corporates in the future." Credit unions should be required to contribute capital in order to become members and use the services of corporate credit unions, the report said. It also said the National Credit Union Administration must improve its oversight of corporate credit unions.
The task force was formed by the National Association of Federal Credit Unions and the Credit Union National Association.
