The NCUA placed the $23.1 million Community United FederalCredit Union into conservatorship Thursday and installedexperienced management to correct the operational weaknesses thatis affecting the Waycross, Ga.-based cooperative's safety andsoundness.

While NCUA financial performance reports do not show that CommunityUnited is financially troubled, its investments declinedsubstantially over the last three years.

At the end of 2012, the credit union posted total investments of$2.8 million, which increased to $3.1 million in 2014. By the endof 2015, however, the credit union's investments dropped to $1.9million and plummeted to $259,275 by December 2016, according toNCUA financial performance reports.

In 2014, the credit union's December Call Report posted $2.4million in short-term deposit investments, $496,000 in loans to andinvestments at other credit unions, $250,000 in held-to-maturitysecurities and $11,275 in membership capital at a corporate creditunion. In 2016, Community United's December Call Report shows only$248,000 in short-term deposit investments and $11,275 inmembership capital at a corporate credit union.

The credit union's total loan revenue increased from $10.1million in 2012 to $17.4 million in 2016, and its loan income grewfrom $663,489 to $1 million in the same years. Community United'semployee compensation costs also increased over the last fiveyears, however.

In December 2012, the credit union posted $208,404 incompensation costs and had six full-time employees. By the end of2016, the Georgia credit union had 17 full-time employees andcompensation costs that totaled $566,131, according to the creditunion's Call Reports and NCUA financial performance reports.

The NCUA said member services will continue at Community UnitedFederal Credit Union, which will keep its current office hours.

Community United is the second credit union the NCUA has placedinto conservatorship in the past week.

Last Thursday, the NCUA placed the $106 million ShreveportFederal Credit Union into conservatorship to resolve itsunspecified safety and soundness issues while the Louisianacooperative remains open to serve its 22,235 members.

While NCUA financial reports show Shreveport FCU's loan incomehas been declining over the last five years, the credit union'stotal investments dropped substantially from $13.4 million inDecember 2013 to $5 million at the end of 2016.