ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA said it is continuing to work with federally insured credit unions in Louisiana to help them better serve flood victims and ensure continuity of operations.
“Louisiana’s credit unions can and should work with their members, many of whom have lost everything they own, to help them recover and rebuild their lives,” NCUA Board Chairman Rick Metsger said in a statement. “Working constructively with credit union borrowers who may experience financial difficulty as a result of this extraordinary flooding is in the long-term best interest of both the credit union and the member. In this time of great need, credit unions also may extend a helping hand to nonmembers.”
NCUA said its staff is working with credit unions in a variety of ways to help keep the doors open and provide the services that flood victims need.
NCUA is encouraging credit unions to work with their members and consider options for assisting them that include offering new loans with special loan terms or rates and reduced documentation, providing payment flexibility for current loans, or potentially restructuring existing loans. Federal credit unions with questions about these options should contact their examiners.
The agency noted that NCUA Letter to Credit Unions 11-CU-13 states federal credit unions also may provide emergency financial services to nonmembers as part of their authority to engage in charitable activities under their incidental powers. Such services could include check cashing for nonmembers, access to ATM networks, or other means to cash to meet the short-term, emergency needs of nonmembers. Federal credit unions providing these emergency services must do so on a charitable basis, meaning that service charges cannot exceed direct costs.