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NCUA Continues Share Insurance Outreach

Alexandria, Va., December 4, 2008 – The National Credit Union Administration has continued its active promotion of the safety of federally insured credit union deposits through a nationwide advertising campaign.

“At times of economic difficulty and uncertainty surrounding the financial services system, it is more important than ever for the NCUA and other federal agencies to step forward and remind consumers of the strength and safety of federal deposit insurance.  While the crisis that intensified during the summer has been unsettling, it has also served as an opportunity for NCUA to increase our educational efforts.  I am gratified that, based on feedback from credit union members and leaders, the advertising campaign has succeeded in enhancing public awareness,” noted NCUA Chairman Michael E. Fryzel.

Throughout the past two months NCUA has remained steadfast in its efforts to furnish the public with the information they need regarding share insurance, the following list describes October, November and December initiatives:

• NCUA provided nearly 9,000 radio stations across America with 90 second and  30 second public service announcement (PSA) regarding NCUSIF insurance.

• NCUA supplied each federally insured credit union with an “Uncle Sam” federal insurance poster.  The poster, intended for display in credit union lobbies, informed members of the recent change in coverage to $250,000 and emphasized the safety of insured funds.

• A newspaper ad featuring the same “Uncle Sam” motif appeared in 23 major newspapers nationwide between October 1 and November 17.

• Ten second radio ads were aired in six major-market radio stations throughout the month of November and December, again describing the changes and share insurance coverage and the security of member funds in a federally insured credit union.

• NCUA continued to update its Share Insurance Toolkit. Several updates were made including but not limited to; Chairman Fryzel’s video message to credit unions, Board Member Hyland’s Share Insurance Webinar, brochures reflecting the new changes in insurance coverage, an updated share insurance estimator, an NCUA fact sheet, and most recently the easy to use share insurance power point, “Share Insurance and You.”

• Board Member Gigi Hyland hosted “Share Insurance 101,” an interactive webinar describing share insurance and its changes.

The National Credit Union Administration is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of over 88 million accounts in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions.

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