ARLINGTON, Va. – The 113 credit unions that participated in NAFCU's October 1 audio conference on risk exposure in a time of rising interest rates heard officials from Fannie Mae and the NCUA urge them to take care that they are not overly exposed to possibly rising interest rates. The speakers urged credit unions to follow certain key guidelines for guarding against the loss that can result from unexpected interest-rate hikes, NAFCU said. These included identifying the credit union's current exposure; measuring interest rate risk according to the credit union's asset/liability management program based on current data; carefully monitoring interest rate exposure limits; and controlling risk exposures through mitigating activities. J. Owen Cole, NCUA's Director of the Office of Strategic Program Support and Planning, urged credit unions to test beyond the 300 points usually recommended in the NCUA prescribed interest rate shock test, so they can anticipate the worst.