Good morning. I appreciate this opportunity to speak with you today.

In my first address to the GAC as NCUA Chairman two years ago, the credit union system teetered on the brink of collapse. We had only begun to sort out our options for overcoming the crisis facing the corporate system. At the same time, we were confronting hundreds of CAMEL code 4 and 5 credit unions, 14 of which were over one billion dollars. I was told several of these might not survive.

Flash forward to today. What a difference! Assets, shares, and return on assets have all increased. Delinquencies and charge-offs have declined. And the corporate resolution is moving forward as planned, with no interruption of service to members.

These successes resulted from an improving economy and the efforts of credit union officials and NCUA – individually and together.

Now that the credit union system is stabilized, we need to look forward, together, and capitalize on the strengths of the system.

However, when you open any newspaper these days, you see an array of attention-getting headlines, good and bad...