ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Industry health and historical trends are key factors that go into the NCUA's calculations and analysis when determining what assessment level is needed to keep the NCUSIF healthy.

Citing the provisions that would allow the Federal Reserve to regulate interchange fees, CUNA and NAFCU both expressed opposition to the regulatory restructuring bill that the Senate passed 59-39 last night.

On a mostly party-line vote, the Senate voted today to spend no more than 30 additional hours debating the bill that will overhaul the regulation of financial services.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- There is a good chance that the reserves set aside for losses in the NCUSIF "won't be sufficient," to cover the losses at some of the large credit unions.

Consumer prices fell 0.1% last month, the Labor Department reported today. It follows six months in which prices either increased or were unchanged.

That's what the NCUA advises credit unions to do as they begin the process of preparing for the hurricane season. It favors an optimistic, yet realistic, approach.

GREENBELT, Md. -- Combine an uncertain economy with an unknown size of the NCUA assessments to pay for the problems of corporate credit unions and you have a recipe for rocky days ahead.

At press time, CUNA and NAFCU and their allies were fighting to kill an amendment to further regulate interchange fees that their adversaries were couching in populist terms.