NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz renewed her call for supplemental capital for credit unions in a letter to the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees. The credit union trades heralded the letter while the ABA's Keith Leggett took a swipe at it in his blog, "Credit Union Watch."

Matz proposed allowing credit unions meeting certain NCUA-established criteria to exclude zero-risk assets, such as Treasury securities from the definition of total assets. The NCUA would set a minimum net worth requirement and determine whether share growth is the cause of declining net-worth, and not poor management or unsafe practices, before a credit union would be allowed to exercise this exclusion.

She also suggested authorizing qualifying credit unions to issue supplemental capital. This supplemental capital would be subject to strict regulatory prescriptions that address safety and soundness criteria, protect investors and preserve the cooperative credit union governance model.