Failure happens, often again and again. When the nation was beset with a huge wave of savings and loan failures in the late 1980s–747 institutions were shuttered by regulators–lawmakers and regulators assured the public it had taken steps to prevent this from happening again. And then the recent more expensive and more devastating banking crisis threatened to push the planet into a global depression.

This history is why Fred Becker, CEO of NAFCU, said, "There is no silver bullet to prevent future failures of corporate credit unions."

Regulators are taking measures to attempt to prevent future corporate credit union collapses, but the reality is that it probably is impossible to create perfect protections. "You cannot take all the risk out of a corporate credit union. It's just not possible," said Dave Chatfield, chair of the corporate realignment task force, which is chiefly concerned with the future of Western Bridge. "What you can do is try to make sure the risks will be well-managed."