WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush signed the latest depositinsurance reforms into law in February 2006.

The agencies wasted no time approving implementing regulations.For NCUA's part, in swiftly approved regulations codifying the law,which provides for inflationary adjustments to the maximumcoverage, currently set at $100,000; increased coverage forretirement accounts from $100,000 to $250,000 per account; limitsthe acceptance of shares in employee benefit plans to credit unionsthat are "well capitalized" or "adequately capitalized;" andauthorizes the agency to update its official signage for federallyinsured credit unions. NCUA and FDIC were also required to performa study and report to Congress within one year on the feasibilityof a variety of changes to the federal deposit insurance, includingprivatization.

The legislation also merged FDIC's Bank Insurance Fund and theSavings Association Insurance Fund; authorized the FDIC Board toset assessments; and establishes a reserve ratio range of 1.15% to1.50% for a given year rather than the strict 1.25% target.