CU account insurance increase part of bailout bill

Friday, October 3 — The U.S. House of Representatives passed the economic rescue/bailout bill, including a temporary increase in the federal deposit insurance limit for both banks and credit unions to $250,000 per accountholder. The new limit is good for one year.

This legislative update was posted 10/03/2008

Credit unions are safe, secure

In today’s financial marketplace, consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the safety and soundness of their money. The recent failure of several financial institutions and current financial crisis, as well as the overall economy, have people very anxious. It is critically important for consumers to have confidence in their financial institution and the regulatory safeguards that are in place to help protect them.

The public should know that New Mexico credit unions are safe and sound financial institutions. The deposits of New Mexico’s 615,630 credit union members are federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Every member’s account is federally insured up to $100,000 and retirement accounts are insured up to $250,000. And as some lawmakers recommend raising that coverage to $250,000 for bank accounts, national credit union representatives are working to make sure the coverage will extend to credit unions.

In the history of the insurance fund, not one penny of insured savings has ever been lost by a member of a federally insured credit union. In addition New Mexico credit unions as a whole are in very strong shape and very well capitalized. Credit unions set aside extra capital to serve as a safety net should any losses occur. New Mexico credit union members can rest assured that their deposits are safe and sound.

In economically challenging times, consumers not only need a good deal, but also a provider they can trust. Who better to help them than an organization whose mission is people helping people?

To learn more about your insured savings, visit the following websites:

Share Insurance (NCUA)

NCUA Share Insurance Estimator

This legislative update was posted 10/03/2008

2008 New Mexico Legislature over, poses no threats to CUs

Juan E. Fernández Ceballos
CUANM Vice President, Governmental Affairs

The 2008 session of the New Mexico Legislature is over. I am glad to report that there was no legislation passed that will adversely affect your credit union’s ability to serve its members.

I want to bring to your attention to the fact that there will be a legislative interim committee formed to study financial institutions and predatory lending practices in New Mexico. This committee will report back to the Legislature, and most likely legislation will be introduced next year to address the committee’s findings. I met with the proponent of this committee and we will work together in the months ahead to ensure that credit unions’ voice and concerns are heard in that panel. I invite you to look over the summary included below, and keep in mind that our work merely begins as we gear up for an election year that will be of paramount importance to our movement in New Mexico

Session at a glance…
The year touted as the year of health care saw none of the health care bills going anywhere; in fact, virtually nothing in Gov. Bill Richardson’s agenda went anywhere (though he has called for a special session to deal with his health care proposal). As I have notified you during the past several weeks, there were various bills that had an impact on financial institutions. We closely monitored these bills to ensure credit unions were not negatively impacted. Again, none of these bills became law. Here’s a list of the bills that were under consideration that could have had some level of impact on credit unions:

HB 9 - Domestic Partnership Bill — This bill would have required all businesses in the state to extend the same benefits to domestic partners that they extend to married couples. This bill narrowly passed the House, but failed to pass the Senate Judiciary Committee as some Democrats joined Republicans to kill the bill.

HB 21 — This bill was intended to curb predatory mortgage lending. Even though the intentions of this bill were kindhearted, the bill was plagued with technical issues that would have caused unintended consequences in the mortgage lending industry. For instance, FHA and VA guaranteed mortgages risked being outlawed in the state had this bill passed in its original form. These issues coupled with the shortness of the session led the bill to be tabled indefinitely in its first committee.

HB 388 — In its first form, it would have required lenders (including credit unions) to disclose what the property taxes are currently on the property and do a two-year projection. We worked with the legislator that introduced this legislation to change the bill so that the title companies would be required to disclose these facts. This bill passed the House, but time ran out for this bill to get out of the Senate Finance committee.

SB 445 — Mortgage Loan Originator Licensing Act. — Credit union employees are explicitly exempt from compliance. This bill would have required all mortgage loan originators to apply for licensing and receive continuing education. The bill was tabled in its first committee.

IDAs — An additional $500,000 in IDA recurring funding from the general fund was approved and signed by the governor.

Again, thank you for all your help during this legislative session and I hope to count on you during the year ahead as we gear up for elections and next year’s 60 day session to ensure credit unions are protected and promoted in government. Please contact me at 338-4233, 1-800-366-6628, ext. 2233, 518-698-7842, or via e-mail at should you have any questions.

This legislative update was posted 02/28/2008

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