Credit union executives told CU Times the levels of capital proposed by the NCUA in its risk-based capital rule that got preliminary approval last month are manageable, but the rule could use some fine tuning.

"While Wescom's capital rating would decline from 'well capitalized' to 'adequately capitalized' under the proposal, it would not be difficult for us to make some minor shifts in our balance sheet to attain the 10.5% risk-based equity ratio necessary to be considered well capitalized," said Darren Williams, CEO of the $2.5 billion Wescom Credit Union in Pasadena, Calif.

"I suppose we'll have to ask ourselves if those shifts would be in our members' best interest. We certainly don't want to see a regulation that discourages credit unions from meeting the needs of their members," Williams added.