National Credit Union Administration

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is responsible for chartering, insuring, supervising, and examining federal credit unions (FCUs) and for administering the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. The NCUA also manages the Central Liquidity Facility, a mixed-ownership government corporation, the purpose of which is to supply emergency loans to member credit unions.

A credit union (CU) is a financial cooperative that aids its members by improving their economic situation through encouraging thrift among its members and providing them with a source of credit for provident purposes at reasonable rates of interest. Federal CUs serve occupational, associational, and residential groups, thus benefiting a broad range of citizens throughout the country.

The NCUA was established by an act of March 10, 1970 (84 Stat. 49, 12 U.S.C.A. 1752) and reorganized by an act of November 10, 1978 (92 Stat. 3641, 12 U.S.C.A. 226 note), as an independent agency in the EXECUTIVE BRANCH of the federal government. The NCUA regulates and insures all FCUs and insures state-chartered CUs that apply for and qualify for share insurance. As of 2003, total assets of federally chartered CUs exceeded $172 billion, and the assets of all federally insured state-chartered CUs exceeded $104 billion.