The NCUA on Monday liquidated the $778,129 Olean Tile EmployeesFCU of Olean, N.Y. The federal regulator said it made the decisionto pull the plug on OTEFCU after determining the credit union wasinsolvent and had no prospect for restoring viable operations.

The credit union's sponsor organization, the Dal-Tile plant inOlean, closed its doors on Dec. 12 after nearly 100 years inoperation, according to the Olean Times Herald. Thecredit union was located onsite at the plant.

In a Dec. 5 editorial in the paper, tile worker Keri L. Simonwrote, “I'm not real sure exactly why we are closing. Maybe it'sNew York state taxes. Maybe the package local officials puttogether wasn't as meaty as what the suits wanted. Maybe it'sbecause we're union. Maybe the other site really makes better tileand it's more cost-effective. Maybe it's because we only have twokilns. Who knows for sure?”

The 550-member institution reported 8.94% net worth as of Sept. 30and a $939 net profit, according to its financial reports posted onthe NCUA's website. However, total loans had fallen fromnearly $340,000 in September 2011 to only about $230,000 one yearlater, resulting in an anemic 32.68% loan-to-share ratio.

Delinquencies were a problem, reaching a peak of 4.34% as ofMarch 31, but had fallen to 1.90% as of Sept. 30. Manager NormaGold reported reversed charge offs during the first three quartersof the year: -0.83%, -0.88% and -0.62% in the first, second andthird quarters respectively. Prior to that, there had been nocharge offs since December 2010.

Chartered in 1936, OTEFCU had served the plant's employees for76 years. It is the 13th federally insured credit union liquidation in 2012.