Fryzel Urges Unity, Action in Resolving
Corporate Issues
First speech since conservatorships calls for passage of Stabilization Plan
April 15, 2009, Alexandria, Va. – In his first public speech since the conservatorship of two corporate credit unions in March, NCUA Chairman Michael E. Fryzel called on credit unions to gain legislative support for the NCUA plan to replenish the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) and described the ongoing efforts by the Agency to stabilize and improve the corporate network. Chairman Fryzel sounded the note of determination and forward-looking optimism during his address to the Texas Credit Union League’s 75th Annual Meeting in Austin.
“These are difficult days and the industry has been put under serious stress due to corporate dislocations,” Chairman Michael Fryzel said. “NCUA has been, and will continue to be, interested in hearing from any and all responsible voices with ideas about how to mitigate the costs and renew the corporate network. Working together, we will show that all of us are smarter than any one of us. There's a saying that tough times don't last, but tough people do. I would modify that slightly to suggest that tough times test us, and reveal things about the vision, the knowledge and the abilities of all of us who are being tested. Moving forward, I am confident that the industry will emerge a great deal more savvy about what works and what doesn't work in the advocacy arena. I have personally gone to Capitol Hill and will do so again next week, expressing my strong belief that this proposal is not only workable, but also desirable. It is completely consistent with the admirable credit union tradition of taking care of our own problems. And our credit union friends in Congress are indicating their approval of its prudent use of NCUA borrowing authority to spread your costs over a more manageable period.
“The Corporate Stabilization Plan is what we need for credit unions today. I need you to roll up your sleeves and in that great credit union tradition of grassroots activism, get it enacted into law so we can mitigate the cost to the system and allow credit unions to continue to serve their members. When this stabilization proposal becomes law, our job will not be finished. I have made a commitment to the Administration, to Congress and to you in the industry that NCUA would undertake a broad and comprehensive reform of the corporate system. We have initiated a rulemaking process that I promise will yield results.”
Chairman Fryzel also encouraged the over 800 Texas credit union leaders to stay focused on future service to members as they assess the challenges presented by the difficulties in the corporate network.
“Whenever there are problems, the easiest thing to do is place blame and point fingers, Fryzel said. “With the corporate situation, there is enough blame for everyone to share. Rather than looking in the rear view mirror, I would prefer if everyone learned from past mistakes and set their vision forward. My goal as chairman has always been to protect the funds of the 90 million Americans who are credit union members and to maintain a safe, sound credit union system. The corporate structure is part of the system, it needs to be reformed, and NCUA is doing what needs to be done.”
The National Credit Union Administration charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, also operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), insuring the deposits of nearly 90 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the majority of state-chartered credit unions. NCUA is funded by credit unions, not federal tax dollars.
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