The NCUA's Dec. 6 board meeting agenda includes a final rulethat was proposed nearly two years ago, a housekeeping ruleleftover from the elimination of RegFlex, two community charterapplications and the 2013 corporate stabilization budget.

The first item on the agenda is a final rule first introduced inFebruary 2011 that would remove references to credit ratings inNCUA regulations as they apply to the required internal creditanalysis of investments by credit unions.

The rule is mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act following theoverreliance financial institutions placed on credit ratings ofmortgage-backed securities; that practice still affects creditunions to this day as they continue to pay corporate assessments tocover losses on investments that were at one time rated AAA.

Back in May 2011, NAFCU General Counsel Carrie Hunt expressedconcern about the proposed rule, because it would increase thecosts associated with analyzing investments.

Hunt requested that the NCUA withdraw the proposed rule andinstead pursue changes to Dodd-Frank that would give the agencymore flexibility in revising regulations relative to credit ratingreferences.

“NAFCU believes that NCUA, as the Chair of the Federal FinancialInstitutions Examination Council, is in a strong position tofacilitate legislative changes to Dodd-Frank,” she wrote in thecomment letter still posted on the NCUA's website.

Also on the agenda is a final rule regarding fidelity bond andinsurance coverage for federal credit unions that was a byproductof the board's May rule that eliminated RegFlex.

Two credit unions – the $91 million Focus FCU of Oklahoma Cityand the $274 million The Atlantic FCU of Kenilworth, N.J. – willhave applications to convert to a community charter reviewed andapproved or denied by the board. Finally, the agenda includes thepresentation of the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund budget.

The closed meeting agenda includes a creditor's claim appeal,the termination of investment pilot programs, presumably includingthe pilot program that tested TIPS, which were approved for creditunions by the NCUA last month, and a personnel matter.