NCUA Chairman Todd M. Harper Statement on the Safety and Soundness of the Credit Union System

As Prepared for Delivery on March 16, 2023

Last weekend, federal banking regulators took decisive actions to protect the U.S. economy by strengthening public confidence in our banking system. Their actions will ensure that the U.S. banking system continues to perform its vital roles of protecting deposits and providing access to credit to households and businesses in a manner that promotes strong and sustainable economic growth. I know that these interventions have led some to ask how this news impacts the NCUA, credit union members, and credit unions overall.

First, I want to assure everyone that the credit union system remains well-capitalized and on a solid footing. What’s more, the NCUA is well positioned to address any issues that may arise from broader market concerns about liquidity in the financial services sector. The NCUA is prepared because of our team’s hard work and dedication throughout the years and a steadfast commitment to being risk focused and ready to act expeditiously at credit unions.

We will continue to monitor credit union performance through the examination process, offsite monitoring, and tailored supervision. In addition, the agency continues to coordinate with other federal financial institution regulators to ensure the overall resiliency and stability of our nation’s financial services system.

It’s also important to remember that credit unions have access to a wide range of liquidity sources, including important federal liquidity backstops. The NCUA’s Central Liquidity Facility can serve as a backup source of liquidity to member credit unions. The Federal Reserve’s Discount Window and the newly created Bank Term Funding Program are also available to well-run and well-capitalized credit unions. Information about the CLF is available at ncua.gov/CLF, and background about the Federal Reserve’s Discount Window and funding facility can be found at frbdiscountwindow.org.

As always, the NCUA is committed to protecting credit union members and the safety and soundness of the credit union system. No one has ever lost a single penny of insured share deposits within the credit union system. In fact, more than 91 percent of all share deposits are currently federally insured. Credit union members can find more information on their share insurance coverage by visiting MyCreditUnion.gov.

Nevertheless, recent events provide a good reminder of the dangers of concentration risk and the need for effective risk-management policies and practices in the areas of capital, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and credit risk. Those fundamentals have remained true throughout all economic and regulatory cycles. And these risks were already highlighted as areas of focus in the NCUA’s supervisory priorities for this year and the last several years.

In sum, credit unions must remain diligent in managing risk and ensuring their safety and soundness. Consumers can remain confident that their hard-earned deposits at federally insured credit unions are safe, just as they always have been, and that the NCUA will continue to act expeditiously, when needed, to preserve the stability of the credit union system.

That concludes my opening comments. I now recognize the Vice Chairman.