NCUA Adds LICU Issues to Aug. 14 Webinar Topics

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is adding Low-Income Credit Union (LICU) issues to the agenda of its already announced Aug. 14 webinar on pending Central Liquidity Facility (CLF) changes and the agency's new proposed rule on credit union access to emergency liquidity.

The agency last week sent letters to more than 1,000 credit unions indicating they are eligible for low-income designation. While the letter confers no new abilities, it does streamline the process of becoming LICU-designated. That designation brings benefits that include the ability to accept supplemental capital and an exemption from the small business lending cap under certain circumstances.

Credit unions receiving letters may now opt-in with a simple reply that agrees to the LICU designation.

Tomorrow's webinar is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. (ET) and will be hosted by NCUA Division of Capital Markets Director and CLF President Owen Cole. And Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives Director William Myers will discuss the recent LICU announcement.

The NCUA suggested that webinar participants review background information on the CLF before the webinar. Information on the CLF will be released to credit unions in an upcoming letter, the NCUA said.

As background on the CLF and liquidity portions of the webinar, more than 6,000 natural person credit unions will lose access to the CLF, which serves as a liquidity lender to credit unions in need of emergency funding, when U.S. Central Bridge Corporate CU closes in late October. In anticipation of this closing, the NCUA last month proposed a new emergency liquidity access rule.

Webinar participants may submit their questions for NCUA staff to WebinarQuestions@ncua.gov. The subject line should read "CLF and Your Credit Union's Contingent Liquidity," the agency has said.