After receiving a torrent of criticism from credit unions and trade associations, the NCUA announced Friday it was reversing course and would post comments received about its proposal to allow for prepayment of premiums for corporate credit union rescues.
“Concern that some comments might include sensitive business or financial information led NCUA to originally decide not to post the comments publicly. A review of the comments received to date, however, indicates that none of them contain such sensitive information,” NCUA spokesman David Small wrote in an email.
Small said the agency will begin posting comments on its website on June 10. He said that anyone who has submitted comments so far and don’t want to have made public can notify the agency before then.
Several credit union CEOs criticized the agency for not planning to publicize the comments and NAFCU President/CEO Fred Becker wrote a letter Thursday urging that the comments be made public.
The agency’s proposed plan, which would allow credit unions to prepay between $10,000 and 36 basis points of insured shares, was unveiled at the NCUA Board meeting last months. Comments are due to the agency by June 20.
Credit unions wouldn't earn any interest on the money and the total collected in prepayments would have to be at least $300 million for the program to take effect.
