Credit unions

LOS ANGELES – A federal judge today rejected claims by Standard & Poor’s that its boasts of its ratings impartiality were nothing more than public relations “puffery” aimed at but not to be relied on by investors like WesCorp FCU and Eastern Financial Florida CU to buy what turned out to be billions of dollars of faulty mortgage-backed securities that led to their failures.

WICHITA, Kan. – Faced with diminishing prospects on its multi-billion dollars of corporate credit union claims, NCUA filed yesterday to appeal last week’s ruling by the U.S. District Court here dismissing the credit union regulator’s $555 million of claims against Barclays Capital for the sale of faulty mortgage-backed securities to U.S. Central FCU and WesCorp FCU, the two biggest credit union failures ever.

LOS ANGELES – A federal court on Friday denied a request by NCUA to reconsider a March ruling dismissing the vast majority of $491 million of claims against Goldman Sachs for mortgage-backed securities the Wall Street bank sold to corporate credit union failures U.S. Central FCU and WesCorp FCU, the latest in a growing list of losses for NCUA’s corporate suits.

WICHITA, Kan. – A federal court this afternoon dismissed a suit brought by NCUA against Barclay’s Capital for the sale of $555 million of faulty mortgage-backed securities to U.S. Central FCU and WesCorp FCU, one of nine suits NCUA has filed against Wall Street banks over the failure of the two corporate giants.

LOS ANGELES – A federal judge yesterday rejected Standard & Poor’s bid to dismiss a Justice Department suit claiming the Wall Street rating agency intentionally ignored its own standards rating risky investments sold to WesCorp FCU and Eastern Financial Florida CU, and others, moving the landmark case closer to trial.

Just 17 days before a team of NCUA representatives descended on the offices of WesCorp here to place it into federal conservatorship, its CEO, Bob Siravo, was still holding on to the possibility the corporate giant would suffer no investment losses as a result of the mortgage meltdown.

In the next five years, Lee Butke of Corporate One expects "a few" more mergers among the remaining corporate CUs.

Four years after a crisis among some corporate credit unions began, the corporate CU marketplace has been forever changed.

Corporate CUs have had to make a number of adjustments to their product mixes and the services they offer, especially as closure of U.S. Central leaves a void.

Credit Union Journal asked three corporate credit union CEOs, "What is the value proposition of your corporate?"

As reported by Credit Union Journal, June 17, information on the performance of five failed corporates' so-called "legacy assets" are now available online.

Addressing its decisions to place five corporates into conservatorship in 2009, NCUA restated that its actions were the best for the industry.

Credit unions can now pull back the curtain on the so-called "legacy assets" and gain a better understanding of the performance of securities once held by the five failed corporate credit unions.

The FDIC told a federal court here last week it should allow NCUA to extend the nominal statute of limitations on securities claims against several Wall Street banks that sold mortgage-backed securities to five failed corporate credit unions because the 1989 S&L bailout law allows for the extension.

WICHITA, Kan. – The FDIC told a federal court here this morning it should allow NCUA to extend the nominal statute of limitations on securities claims against several Wall Street banks that sold mortgage-backed securities to five failed corporate credit unions because the 1989 S&L Bailout law allows for the extension.

Credit unions can now pull back the curtain on the so-called "legacy assets" and gain a better understanding of the performance of the securities that were once held by the five failed corporate credit unions.