WASHINGTON -- President Bush emphasized that the amount of credit union deposits covered by federal share insurance would temporarily increase under the bill working its way through Congress.
"A lot of people are watching the House of Representatives now to determine whether or not they will be able to act positively on a bill that has been improved. People say, what do you mean by that? Well, the insurance for the FDIC goes up to $250,000. That's an improvement to the legislation--not only for banks but for credit unions, as well," Bush said during a meeting with business leaders at the White House.
The Senate passed a measure last night that includes the insurance increase through Dec. 31, 2009. Credit unions won't have to pay more for the additional coverage. Instead, the NUCSIF will get an additional line of credit from the Treasury Department.
Retirement accounts will continue to be insured up to $250,000 at all federally insured credit unions.
The increase in deposit insurance was included to gain additional support for the e bill to create a fund to help the government buy illiquid assets from financial institutions.
The House of Representatives, which rejected a similar measure on Monday, is expected to consider the Senate-passed bill tomorrow.
