Illinois CUs get secondary capital provision

CHICAGO – Gov. George Ryan signed into law July 1 a credit union-based bill that amends the state’s credit union act to include, among other provisions, a definition of net worth as “the retained earnings balance of the credit union, as determined under generally accepted accounting principles, and forms of secondary capital approved by the Director .” Among the other provisions of H.B. 4357 it: * authorizes CUs to accept trusts under the Corporate Fiduciary Act; * removes the requirement that a credit union receive approval from the Department of Financial Institutions before making loans to, investing in, or delegating management responsibilities to a credit union service organization; * Defines that a CU is in “danger of insolvency” if its net worth-to-asset ratio falls below 2%; * allows CU directors to rely in good faith on advice from officers, employees, and other persons; * establishes requirements for out-of-state CUs that want to conduct business in Illinois.