Bush highlights CU share insurance

WASHINGTON (10/3/08)—Correcting earlier omissions that the White House categorized as "oversights," President George W. Bush Thursday clearly and unequivocally included credit unions in his remarks following a meeting with business leaders about the pending economic rescue package.

The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) urged the President last week to instruct those within his administration to include federal credit union share insurance in messages meant to reassure Americans about the safety of their federally insured deposits.

In a message apparently intended to spur support in the House for the Senate-approved $700 billion rescue plan, Bush said:

"A lot of people are watching the House of Representatives now to determine whether or not they will be able to act positively on a bill that has been improved. People say, what do you mean by that? Well, the insurance for the FDIC goes up to $250,000. That's an improvement to the legislation -- not only for banks but for credit unions, as well."

John Magill, CUNA senior vice president of legislative affairs, said, "In addition to our letter to the President, we also talked to the White House at the highest levels and they agreed that credit union share insurance should be mentioned in future remarks. They are making good on that now."

Wednesday night, the Senate voted 74-25 in favor of the multi-billion dollar financial rescue package, which included a temporary increase in federal share and deposit insurance coverage to $250,000 for regular accounts. Retirement accounts continue to be covered up to $250,000 at federally insured depository institutions.

The Senate housing rescue includes an amendment barring the NCUA and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. from factoring the insurance ceiling increase into decisions about assessing a premium.

The House is widely expected to vote on the economic rescue plan Friday.

courtesy of cuna.org