NCUA seeks to assure CU members of share safety

Oct. 1, 2008 – NCUA is touting its online information resources, sending posters to credit unions and readying a national advertising campaign to assure consumers of the safety of shares in credit unions backed by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which has the full faith and credit of the U.S. government behind it.

“Understandably, consumer confidence in our financial structures has been shaken by recent turmoil in the markets,” NCUA Chairman Michael Fryzel said. “Federally insured credit unions remain a safe and sound alternative, and I will do everything in my power as chairman of the National Credit Union Administration to make certain that accurate and useful information about the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund is available.”

NAFCU President Fred Becker echoed Fryzel’s concern for ensuring members remain confident in the safety of their savings and their credit unions. “I applaud NCUA and specifically Chairman Fryzel for actively championing credit unions’ soundness and stability,” he said.

NCUA said it is undertaking its activities in response to queries from credit union members, spreading the message that accounts in federal and most state-chartered credit unions are NCUSIF-protected.

Fryzel urged credit union CEOs to tell their members about NCUA’s Insurance Tool Kit, a section of the agency’s Web site that houses links to information about the NCUSIF and an online calculator to check account coverages. The agency is also distributing three large posters to each federally insured credit union to place in lobbies; the poster can also be downloaded for electronic use. It’s a red, white and blue “Uncle Sam” poster that states “This Credit Union is Federally Insured.”

NCUA is also launching a media campaign this week using similarly themed “Uncle Sam” advertisements (shown here) in many of the nation’s major newspapers to assure credit union members and the general public that most credit union member accounts are federally insured. Ads are scheduled begin running in USA Today this Thursday.

“There is too much at stake to allow misleading, incomplete or wrong information about NCUSIF insurance remain uncorrected,” said Fryzel. “Working together, NCUA and the industry can provide an important public service, and I call upon credit union volunteers and professionals to do their part to help members understand how their credit union funds are federally insured.”

NAFCU statement stuffers and posters are also available to help spread the word via statement mailings and in credit union lobbies.