Credit unions

WARRENVILLE, Ill. – Members United Corporate FCU, one of three corporate failures seeking to revive itself, has received approval from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to begin anew as Alloya Corporate FCU.

SAN DIMAS, Calif. — The rebuilding of the former Western Corporate FCU (WesCorp) took another step last week with the election of a new board.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Amid widespread opposition, the NCUA Board last week voted amendments to its corporate credit union rule that eliminates the controversial provisions limiting credit unions to one corporate and encouraging corporates to assess charges for the corporate bailout on privately insured credit unions and CUSOs.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Amid widespread opposition, the NCUA Board this morning voted amendments to its corporate credit union rule that eliminates the controversial provisions limiting credit unions to one corporate and encouraging corporates to assess charges for the corporate bailout on privately insured credit unions and CUSOs.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA said this morning that all corporate credit unions–including the three major failures seeking a rehabilitation–must give their members not wanting to participate in a recapitalization at least six months written notice before termination of their membership.

LOS ANGELES – Claiming that “hindsight is 20/20,” the former directors of WesCorp FCU asked a federal court yesterday to dismiss NCUA’s negligence suit against them over the failure of the one-time $34 billion corporate.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Although at press time the agency was not releasing details, NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz has indicated there will be "significant changes" in the corporate rule iunveiled at its April 21 open board meeting.

WALL STREET – NCUA plans to hit the Street again this week with another offering of NCUA Guaranteed Notes, this time of $1.165 billion backed by residential mortgage bonds held by the five failed corporate credit unions.

WASHINGTON — The FDIC proposed a rule last week that will require borrowers to make a down payment of at least 20% on their mortgages in order for the mortgages to be exempt from new "Skin in the Game" rules on securitizations.

VISTA, Calif. — Companies that provide item processing confirm they, too, are seeing a trend by CUs to look to providers beyond corporate CUs for the service.

CLEVELAND — From tips on getting started with the Federal Reserve Bank on item processing to time-savings steps in the conversion process, three experts provided advice on working with the Fed.

HOUSTON — Working directly with the Federal Reserve Bank has given JSC FCU better control of its item processing, saved money, and eliminated worry over recapitalizing the corporates.

CLEVELAND — For those credit unions lacking the appetite to recapitalize the corporates, many are considering going directly to the Federal Reserve for item processing.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Central FCU borrowed billions of dollars in dozens of short-term emergency loans from the Federal Reserve’s discount window as losses on the central bank for credit unions continued to grow in the summer and fall of 2008, according to records made public by the Fed yesterday. The increased lending from the discount window came as the Fed cut the loan rate by 50 basis points and as mounting losses on investments were making it increasingly expensive for the Lenexa, Kan., corporate giant to borrow in the public markets by selling short-term commercial paper, or at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka, where it had almost exhausted a $7 billion line of credit. The one-time $52 billion corporate was also tapping into the Fed’s specially created short-term Term Auction Facility for billions of dollars at the time, topping out at a $5 billion 28-day loan, the Fed’s records show. The Fed’s lending, however, was not enough to save the one-time central bank for credit unions, as NCUA was needed to chime in with an emergency $1 billion loan of its own in January 2009, just two months before the increasing losses required it to take over U.S. Central in the biggest credit union failure ever. Several other credit unions also tapped into the Fed’s discount window during the heightening financial crisis in 2008, but growing losses barred some from accessing the emergency loans, including Members United Corporate FCU, which was also eventually taken over by NCUA. The Fed’s records show an extraordinary use of the discount window by banks large and small, and many foreign institutions during the growing financial crisis. Among the largest borrowers were European banks Dexia SA and Depfa, a subsidiary of German Hypo Real Estate Group. Banks from Spain, France and Japan also tapped into the Fed’s discounted loan facility. The Fed usually keeps the records of its lending activities secret so as not to trigger a run on any one institution but the extraordinary records of activity during the financial crisis were ordered made public by a federal court after a lawsuit by several leading news organizations. WASHINGTON – U.S. Central FCU borrowed billions of dollars in dozens of short-term emergency loans from the Federal Reserve’s discount window as losses on the central bank for credit unions continued to grow in the summer and fall of 2008, according to records made public by the Fed yesterday.

LENEXA Kan. – A group of 14 corporate credit unions is submitting a bid to NCUA to acquire the payment products and services currently operated by U.S. Central Bridge FCU, one of the surviving parts of the one-time $52 billion corporate.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA last week indicated it would proceed with litigation against major Wall Street financial institutions unless some $50 billion in mortgage-backed securities are refunded.

WALL STREET – Goldman Sachs is among a handful of Wall Street banks negotiating with NCUA on potential compensation for toxic mortgage backed securities the investment banks sold to the five failed corporate credit unions.