ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The NCUA will receive its regularly scheduled a report on the health of the National Share Insurance Fund at its meeting next Thursday.

Although the fund has been healthy, the woes of the economy coupled with the increase in the number of credit unions that have closed has caused the agency to monitor the fund even more closely than before. As of June 30, the fund had $7.6 billion in assets and a strong equity ratio. The agency had $334 million in its reserve accounts to pay out claims in the case of credit union failure.

The board is also slated to issue final rules to change the credit union chartering process that clarifies the procedures for determining whether an “underserved area” qualifies as a “local community.” The proposal also addresses how certain economic and demographic data can be used to determine if an area that combines geographic units qualifies as underserved. They also clarify data needed to show that a proposed area has “significant unmet needs for financial services.”

The board is also scheduled to issue final rules that would grant credit unions additional “incidental powers” such as the ability to add payroll services to its list of allowable activities in an “operational program” and allow credit unions to act as finders for financial products of other financial institutions.

The board is also scheduled to discuss a proposed rule about the use of the agency's official sign.

The meeting is scheduled to take place at 10:00 a.m. at the agency's headquarters here.