Newsroom

October 19, 2015

2 issuers to pay NCUA $378M over faulty RMBS

NCUA on Monday announced $378 million in settlements, combined, with Barclay's Capital and Wachovia over now-defunct corporate credit unions' purchases of faulty residential mortgage-backed securities and said net proceeds will go toward a reduction in credit unions' corporate stabilization assessments.

"We appreciate NCUA's diligence and welcome the recovery of the funds on the sale of faulty securities that precipitated the downfall of five corporate credit unions," said Carrie Hunt, NAFCU's senior vice president of government affairs and general counsel. "NAFCU continues to encourage the agency to not only maintain its persistent legal recovery campaign, but we also urge NCUA to be fully transparent with the industry as to how these recoveries will eventually be returned to credit unions."

In these recent settlements – $325 million from Barclay's Capital and $53 million from Wachovia – neither institution admitted fault for losses related to the RMBS purchases that led to the failure of five corporate credit unions.

NCUA says it is continuing to pursue litigation in federal courts in New York, Kansas and California against financial firms, including Goldman Sachs, UBS, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, based on the sale of faulty securities that caused the collapse of five corporate credit unions. The agency says total recoveries from litigation against banks that sold faulty RMBS to the corporate credit unions will reach $2.2 billion after Monday's settlements.

NAFCU continues to urge NCUA to pursue all avenues available to offset the costs for credit unions of corporate stabilization. NCUA has also noted it's unlikely any future stabilization assessments will be needed.