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Oct. 25, 2013 – The NCUA Board on Thursday approved a final rule requiring credit unions with $250 million or more in assets to apply by March 31, 2014, to become members of the Central Liquidity Facility or to submit the necessary documentation to obtain access to the Federal Reserve discount window.

Credit unions with less than $250 million in assets have until March 31 to have a contingency plan, policy and or take other measures contained in the rule. Credit unions with less than $50 million in assets must, by that date, have a written policy in place for managing liquidity, plus a list of contingent liquidity sources. Those with $50 million or more must have a contingency funding plan showing strategies for addressing liquidity shortfalls in emergency situations.

According to NCUA staff, approximately 374 insured credit unions will need to act to either become a member of the CLF or secure access to the Fed's discount window. They said the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank has been designated to work with affected credit unions seeking discount window access.

NAFCU supports effective liquidity programs in credit unions, but it believes this final rule is unnecessary. "Credit unions are well-equipped to determine their own liquidity needs," said NAFCU Senior Regulatory Affairs Counsel Tessema Tefferi.

In its official comment on the proposed rule, NAFCU also urged that the agency provide sufficient time to comply in the event the rule was finalized.

The board approved the final rule on a vote of 3-0. NCUA said it will issue a Letter to Credit Unions providing guidance on how to comply.

The board's open meeting also dealt with the issues of stress testing, electronic filing of call reports and a quarterly report on the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.