ALEXANDRIA, VA -- NCUA says it began posting savings and loan rate data on its Web site after it noticed that some credit unions were referencing data from converted CU's as part of the conversion process.

Agency documents show the agency had been posting saving and lending data from all CUs and banks generally since it promulgated the rule requiring such data to be part of charter conversion disclosures in 2006 but that the addition of data from converted CUs is relatively new.

"NCUA noted in 2007 is that the converting credit unions were using rate data from the few credit unions that had converted to banks to support their conversion proposals," NCUA director of public and congressional affairs John McKechnie wrote in an e-mail response to questions. "NCUA began started tracking rates of converted credit unions as well, and posted that data for January 2008 and again for March 2008 to ensure that future credit unions contemplating conversion had access to this data."

Further confusion might have arisen, McKechnie explained, when the NCUA webmaster took the data off the site as part of routine maintenance and the agency reposted it, inadvertently making it appear new.

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