Poor decisions by management, including risky investments and inadequate oversight by examiners, caused the failure of Ensign FCU and Clearstar Financial CU, which cost the NCUSIF $42 million, according to reports by the NCUA's Office of Inspector General.

The failure of Ensign, which is likely to cost the NCUSIF $30 million, was caused by management's failure to "implement appropriate risk-management practices." These included allowing 40-year mortgages, letting loan-to-value ratios on HELOCs rise to as high as 100%, and not having a proper allowance for loan loss methodology.

In addition, the NCUA's examiners didn't downgrade the credit union's CAMEL ratings quickly enough as its problems escalated and thus "missed opportunities to mitigate losses to the NCUSIF."

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.

  • Critical CUTimes.com information including comprehensive product and service provider listings via the Marketplace Directory, CU Careers, resources from industry leaders, webcasts, and breaking news, analysis and more with our informative Newsletters.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM and CU Times events.
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including Law.com and GlobeSt.com.
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.