NCUA Boardroom. Credit/NCUA
During its November meeting on Thursday, NCUA Board members unanimously approved the 2025-2026 budget for its Central Liquidity Facility (CLF), which currently has 431 regular members and 11 corporate credit union correspondents.
The total approved budget for the two years are $2,307,863 for 2025 and $2,448,263 for 2026.
NCUA Board Chairman Todd Harper said, “The CLF is a beneficial tool, and it should be part of any credit union’s liquidity risk management plans for a variety of contingencies, not merely during times of crises. Although it’s not required by our rules, having small and mid-sized credit unions with less than $250 million in assets join the CLF provides them access to this vital federal liquidity backstop during times of stress. Once markets freeze up, it’s difficult for institutions to quickly access emergency liquidity from market sources. Joining the CLF in advance of a liquidity event can better assist credit unions of all sizes to navigate unanticipated market situations.”
According to data presented to Board members Thursday, the CLF’s capacity stands at $21.7 billion compared to $20.1 billion approximately a year ago.
Harper added, “While the CLF is growing in capacity, the congressional restoration of the expired CLF statutory enhancements — like the agent-membership provisions for corporate credit unions to serve a subset of their members — would serve the whole system well. That’s why the NCUA Board continues to call upon Congress to reinstate these provisions. In fact, we’re unanimous in our views here.”
Board members were also briefed Thursday concerning the performance of the Share Insurance Fund (SIF) through the third quarter of this year. According to the NCUA’s financial team, the SIF reported a net income of $72.2 million for the third quarter, $22.6 billion in assets and $145.8 million in total income for the third quarter of 2024.
“Overall, the Share Insurance Fund’s performance in the third quarter of 2024 was strong. Yet, we continue to find ourselves in a good news, bad news scenario,” Harper said. “Since December 2022 until today, the fund has experienced a nearly $1 billion dollar increase. This change resulted in the fund’s total assets reaching nearly $22.6 billion. Adding to the financial strength of the fund, quarterly investment income has risen a healthy $12 million since the first quarter of 2024.”
He added, “We continue to see signs of financial strain on credit union balance sheets and consumer financial stress. And, we’re seeing this play out in the number of credit unions and the percentage of assets held by composite CAMELS code 3, 4 and 5 credit unions. Of greatest concern for me has been the large number of troubled CAMELS code 4 and 5 credit unions, especially the nine troubled complex credit unions with more than $500 million in assets. These conditions are another reason why our supervision of these and all federally insured credit unions must remain risk focused. They also highlight the need for the NCUA’s examiners to be ready to act expeditiously when identifying problems.”
As of the end of the third quarter, according to NCUA officials, two federally insured credit union failures cost the SIF approximately $2 million in losses.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
