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.

WALL STREET – NCUA is expected to hit the Street Thursday with an offering of $1.5 billion of NCUA Guaranteed Notes being used to finance the corporate credit union bailout, the first offering in three weeks. This week’s offering, the tenth since October, makes a total of more than $25 billion of the notes sold, the proceeds of which are being used to pay off credit union depositors in the five failed corporates: U.S. Central FCU, WesCorp FCU, Members United Corporate FCU, Southwest Corporate FCU and Constitution Corporate FCU. NCUA plans to offer another $3 billion of the notes as part of the program. The notes are federally guaranteed and are backed by the cash flows on toxic mortgage-backed securities owned by the five corporate failures. The latest offering is backed by residential MBS. Barclays Capital is the lead underwriter of the offering.WALL STREET – NCUA is expected to hit the Street Thursday with an offering of $1.5 billion of NCUA Guaranteed Notes being used to finance the corporate credit union bailout, the first offering in three weeks.

ONTARIO, Calif.-The Western States Corporate Realignment Task Force said Western Bridge Corporate CU should move forward to apply for a new charter as a stand-alone corporate credit union.

ONTARIO, Calif. – The Western States Corporate Realignment Task Force, which includes credit union leaders from eight Western states, said Western Bridge Corporate FCU should move forward to raise new capital from members and apply for a new charter as a stand-alone corporate credit union, putting aside, at least temporarily, plans to combine with Members United Bridge Corporate FCU.

WASHINGTON – With the credit union movement showing little appetite to punish or banish executives responsible for the crash of the corporate system, there is a high likelihood that many of the same people involved in one or more corporate failures will have a prominent future in the future of the corporate network.

WASHINGTON-Credit union executives, mindful of the losses they realized on the collapse of the corporate credit union system, are slowly calculating whether to recapitalize the corporates.

WASHINGTON – Credit unions executives, mindful of the losses they realized on the collapse of the corporate credit union system, are slowly calculating whether to recapitalize the corporates.

WASHINGTON – Despite public announcements of three corporate credit union mergers, NCUA said yesterday it has yet to receive applications for any corporate combinations, with a March 31 deadline for every corporate to submit a business plan approaching.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — NCUA has approved updates to its chartering rules for corporate CUs, the first time it has done so in 30 years.