WASHINGTON and DUBLIN, Ohio -- The Federal Trade Commission has approved the acknowledgment of disclosure forms American Share Insurance had suggested for privately insured credit unions.

The Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006 required that members of non-federally insured credit unions obtain acknowledgements that they understand that their deposits are not federally insured.

The acknowledgment reads in part, "I acknowledge that my deposit accounts are insured up to $250,000 per account by American Share Insurance, the nation's largest private deposit insurer. Furthermore, I acknowledge that this institution is not federally insured and if the institution fails, the Federal Government does not guarantee that I will get back my money."

Credit unions that maintained records of their original acknowledgments from members back in 1994 when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvements Act became law, do not have to obtain new ones from members, according to a Q&A on ASI's Web site (www.americanshare.com). The first wave of acknowledgements had to be mailed on or before Jan. 11, 2007. A second set has to be mailed between 30 and 90 days after the first mailer for those who did not sign and return the acknowledgment of disclosure. ASI, the sole remaining private primary deposit insurance provider in America, is offering to provide the necessary acknowledgments as approved by the FTC to member credit unions as needed at no cost.