The failure last year of Nevada's $98 million Ensign Federal Credit Union and a defaulted $1.5 million loan apparently made to non-members and at the center of a lawsuit filed last month is firing up bankers' tax exemption talk.

The latest barrage comes from one of the American Bankers Association's chief front men, Keith Leggett, vice president/senior economist, who in his "Credit Union Watch" blog complains about Ensign making real estate loans to a group of three non-member borrowers via a broker. Leggett, a frequent CU critic, based his claims on media reports about the Sept. 30 lawsuit filed in a Las Vegas federal court in which NCUA is plaintiff to recover loan payment guarantees.

The NCUA made no comment on the Leggett blast or on the suit filed by a Las Vegas firm, Hutchison & Steffen. "Whenever a credit union failure occurs, we evaluate all outstanding obligations and make a determination as to whether to take legal action," the agency said.

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