A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts, share draft accounts, credit cards, credit, share term certificates, and online banking. Normally, only a member of a credit union may deposit or borrow money. In several African countries, credit unions are commonly referred to as SACCOs.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is an American government-backed insurer of credit unions in the United States, one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. depository institutions, the other being the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures commercial banks and savings institutions. The NCUA is an independent federal agency created by the United States Congress to regulate, charter, and supervise federal credit unions. With the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, the NCUA operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of more than 124 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions. Besides the Share Insurance Fund, the NCUA operates three other funds: the NCUA Operating Fund, the Central Liquidity Facility (CLF), and the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF). The NCUA Operating Fund, with the Share Insurance Fund, finances the agency's operations.
The Federal Home Loan Banks are 11 U.S. government-sponsored banks that provide liquidity to financial institutions to support housing finance and community investment.
The Expedited Funds Availability Act was enacted in 1987 by the United States Congress for the purpose of standardizing hold periods on deposits made to commercial banks and to regulate institutions' use of deposit holds. It is also referred to as Regulation CC or Reg CC, after the Federal Reserve regulation that implements the act. The law is codified in Title 12, Chapter 41 of the US Code and Title 12, Part 229 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
The Federal Home Loan Bank Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law 72–304, 47 Stat. 725, enacted July 22, 1932, is a United States federal law passed under President Herbert Hoover in order to lower the cost of home ownership. It established the Federal Home Loan Bank Board to charter and supervise federal savings and loan institutions. It also created the Federal Home Loan Banks which lend to building and loan associations, cooperative banks, homestead associations, insurance companies, savings banks, community development financial institutions, and insured depository institutions in order to finance home mortgages.
The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) is a U.S. trade organization representing the nation's federally-insured credit unions. The NAFCU hosts conferences, publishes original research on issues relating to the credit union industry, and provides testimony before the United States Congress on issues relating to credit unions and the financial services industry.
Credit unions in the United States served 100 million members, comprising 43.7% of the economically active population, in 2014. U.S. credit unions are not-for-profit, cooperative, tax-exempt organizations. The clients of the credit unions become partners of the financial institution and their presence focuses in certain neighborhoods because they center their services in one specific community. As of March 2020, the largest American credit union was Navy Federal Credit Union, serving U.S. Department of Defense employees, contractors, and families of servicepeople, with over $125 billion in assets and over 9.1 million members. Total credit union assets in the U.S. reached $1 trillion as of March 2012. Approximately 236,000 people were directly employed by credit unions per data derived from the 2012 National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Credit Union Directory. As of 2019, there were 5,236 federally insured credit unions with 120.4 million members, and deposits of $1.22 trillion.
Call Federal Credit Union is a federally insured, not-for-profit financial cooperative headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. It is regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) of the U.S. federal government. Call Federal Credit Union is the second-largest Richmond-based credit union. As of December 31, 2022, Call Federal Credit Union had $522 million USD in assets and 30,000 members. In accordance with the Federal Credit Union Act of 1934, Call Federal Credit Union is a tax-exempt, federally chartered, federally insured, not-for-profit financial cooperative. Call Federal Credit Union accounts are insured up to $250,000 through the NCUA, which is comparable to the insurance provided to accounts at traditional banks via the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
A community federal credit union, is a credit union in the United States that are based upon the cooperative concept but differs in its scope of membership in that it is based on geographical membership. Unlike the majority of credit unions, the community credit union is based upon geographical membership and not worksite or union commonality.
The National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) is an organization that was formed in 1965 to serve as the primary resource and voice of the state governmental agencies that charter, regulate and examine the nation's state-chartered credit unions. NASCUS membership is made up of state regulators, state-chartered credit unions, and other supporters of the state credit union system. The organization operates out of its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
The Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act is a bill that would amend the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act would improve the ability of banks to use swaps as a tool for hedging risk. If Dodd-Frank is not amended, non-bank institutions will have to do many of the swap trades instead. H.R. 992 passed the House during the 113th United States Congress.
The Consumer Financial Protection Safety and Soundness Improvement Act of 2013 is a bill that would restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by transforming it into a five-person commission and removing it from the Federal Reserve System. The CFPB would be renamed the "Financial Product Safety Commission." This bill is also intended to make overturning the decisions about regulations that the new commission makes easier to do.
The Capital Access for Small Community Financial Institutions Act is a bill introduced in the U.S. Congress that would enable credit unions that are privately insured to become members in the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system. In March 2014, the bill was approved by the House Financial Services Committee by a unanimous vote of 55-0. The legislation amends parts of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act. Under current U.S. law, only credit unions that are federally insured can join the FHLB system.
The Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2014 is a bill that would modify the budgetary treatment of federal credit programs. The bill would require that the cost of direct loans or loan guarantees be recognized in the federal budget on a fair-value basis using guidelines set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The bill would also require the federal budget to reflect the net impact of programs administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The changes made by the bill would mean that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were counted on the budget instead of considered separately and would mean that the debt of those two programs would be included in the national debt. These programs themselves would not be changed, but how they are accounted for in the United States federal budget would be. The goal of the bill is to improve the accuracy of how some programs are accounted for in the federal budget.
The Credit Union Share Insurance Fund Parity Act is a bill that would expand federal deposit insurance to include Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTAs) and similar escrow accounts housed within credit unions.
The CFPB Rural Designation Petition and Correction Act is a United States bill that would amend the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish an application process that would allow a person to get their county designated as "rural" for purposes of a federal consumer financial law. One practical effect of having a county designated "rural" is that people can qualify for some types of mortgages by getting them exempted from the CFPB's qualified mortgage rule.
The Money Remittances Improvement Act of 2014 is a bill that passed in the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress. The bill would "allow the Treasury secretary to use state examinations for certain financial institutions instead of federal reporting requirements." The bill would make it easier for nonbank financial institutions such as money service businesses to provide remittance payments internationally.
The Mortgage Choice Act of 2013 is a bill that would direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to amend its regulations related to qualified mortgages to reflect new exclusions made by this bill. The CFPB released new regulations regarding the definition of a Qualified Mortgage that took effect in January 2014, a definition that this bill would modify.
The American Savings Promotion Act is a United States federal statute that authorizes some financial institutions to conduct a contest, known as a "savings promotion raffle," in which the sole consideration required for a chance of winning designated prizes is obtained by the deposit of a specified amount of money in a savings account or program, where each ticket or entry has an equal chance of being drawn. Such accounts are also known as prize-linked savings accounts.
America's Credit Unions is a national trade association for both state- and federally chartered credit unions located in the United States. It was launched in 2024 as part of the merger between the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU). Once fully operational in 2025, America's Credit Unions will provide its member credit unions with trade association services, such as lobbying, regulatory advocacy, professional development, and professional services management. The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
