NCUA Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Do
all credit unions have charter numbers?
Q2: What
organization assigns charter numbers?
Q3: If
a credit union goes out of business, is the charter
number reissued to a new credit union that comes
into existence later?
Q4: Are
all credit unions required to report to NCUA? If not, what types of
credit unions do?
Q5: How
can I get a complete list offederally insured credit unions?
Q6: How
can I get a list of the credit unions that don't report to NCUA?
Q7: Approximately
how many credit unions are there that don't report to NCUA?
Q8: Which
credit unions (or types of credit unions) report to NCUA annually,
semi-annually, and any other frequency that is required?
Q9: Which
cycles contain which credit unions (or types of credit unions)?
Q10: How
current is the data from each cycle? For example, cycle 12/98 would
contain data that is reported between which two dates?
Q11: Where
can I download NCUA's call report data?
Q12: How
do I know when the data is available for downloading?
Q13: Where
would I find the CAMEL Rating of a credit union?
Q14: What
is a credit union?
Q15: How
do I start a credit union?
Q1:
Do all credit unions have charter numbers?
A1:
Yes they all have charter numbers.
Q2:
What organization assigns these charter numbers?
A2:
We (the National Credit Union Administration
-- NCUA) assign them as follows:
1
= Federal (charter numbers 0-59999)
2 =federally Insured
State Chartered (charter numbers 60000-79999)
3 = Non-Federally Insured
(charter numbers 80000+)
Q3:
If a credit union goes out of business, is the
charter number reissued to a new credit union
that comes into existence later?
A3:
No. NCUA generally issues charter numbers in
consecutive order. If a credit union goes out of business, that charter number is never reused.
Q4:
Are all credit unions are required to report
to NCUA? If not, what types of credit unions
do?
A4:
All federal credit unions and state credit unions
that arefederally insured must report to us. Some non-federally insured credit unions also report to NCUA at the request
of their state regulator.
Q5:
How can I get a complete list offederally insured
credit unions?
A5:
The Credit Union Directory is complete as of
December 1998. It is located at http://www.ncua.gov/download/cudir.html. Financial Data on individual credit unions can be found at http://www.ncua.gov/indexdata.html.
Q6:
How can I get a list of the credit unions that
don't report to NCUA?
A6:
Only non-federally insured state credit unions
are not required to report financial data to
the NCUA. To get a list of them, contact the state regulator in the states where they
are located. These states are Alabama, California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada,
Ohio, and Puerto Rico.
Q7:
Approximately how many credit unions are there
that don't report to NCUA?
A7:
There are currently fewer than 500 non-federally
insured state chartered credit unions.
Q8:
Which credit unions (or types of credit unions)
report to NCUA annually, semi-annually, and any
other frequency that is required?
A8:
Allfederally insured credit unions are required
to file call reports semiannually as of June
30 and December 31. federally insured credit unions are noted as type 1 (federal charter) and type
2 (state charter with federal insurance) within
the database. All cycles for June and December will contain data for allfederally insured
credit unions.
In
addition to the semiannual reporting noted above,federally
insured credit unions with assets greater than
$50 million (as of the preceding year end) are
required to file call reports quarterly as of
March 31 and September 30. All cycles for March and September will contain data for these credit unions.
Non-federally
insured credit unions (noted as type 3 within
the database) follow the filing requirements
of their respective state regulator. Some states use NCUA's call report system and require every credit union to
file every quarter. Other states do not use NCUA's call report system for their non-federally insured
credit unions.
Q9:
Which cycles contain which credit unions (or
types of credit unions)?
A9:
| March |
1
= Federal (charter numbers 0-59999) with assets greater than $50 million as of
the preceding year end.
2 =federally Insured
State Chartered (charter numbers 60000-79999) with assets
greater than $50 million as of the preceeding year end
and those with assets under $50 million at the discretion
of their state regulator.
3 = At the discretion
of the state regulator. |
| June |
1
= Federal (charter numbers 0-59999)
2
=federally Insured State Chartered (charter numbers 60000-79999)
3
= Non-Federally Insured (charter numbers 80000+) at the discretion of the state
regulator. |
| September |
1
= Federal (charter numbers 0-59999) with assets greater than $50 million as of
the preceding year end.
2 =federally Insured
State Chartered (charter numbers 60000-79999) with assets
greater than $50 million as of the preceeding year end;
and those with assets under $50 million at the discretion
of their state regulator.
3 = At the discretion
of the state regulator. |
| December |
1
= Federal (charter numbers 0-59999)
2
=federally Insured State Chartered (charter numbers 60000-79999)
3
= Non-Federally Insured (charter numbers 80000+) at the discretion of the state
regulator. |
NOTE: Non-federally
insured credit unions (noted as type 3 within
the database) follow the filing requirements
of their respective state regulator. Some states
use NCUA's call report system and require every
credit union to file every quarter. Other states
do not use NCUA's call report system for their
non-federally insured credit unions.
Q10:
How current is the data from each cycle? For
example, cycle 12/98 would contain data that
is reported between which two dates?
A10:
Each cycle's data contains data as of the cycle
date. For example, the December 1998 cycle includes the balance sheet data as of 12/31/98
and the income statement data for 1/1/98 through
12/31/98. Depending on what the data is, it may be year-to-date or as of the reporting
date.
The
entire database is updated when we load data
for a current cycle. For example, the database loaded to the website for the June 1999 cycle will
include all of the December 1998 data as well. This keeps the database current and allows it to reflect corrections made after
the cycle's data was originally posted.
Q11:
Where can I download NCUA's call report data?
A11:
The entire database can be downloaded at http://www.ncua.gov/data/FOIA/foia.html. Data for individual credit unions can be found at http://www.ncua.gov/indexdata.html.
Q12:
How do I know when the data is available for
downloading?
A12:
Scheduled dates for data posting are noted at http://www.ncua.gov/data/FOIA/foia.html or http://www.ncua.gov/indexdata.html.
Q13:
Where would I find the CAMEL Rating of a Credit
Union?
A13:
CAMEL ratings are confidential and are not published.
You may find information about CAMEL ratings
in Letters to Credit Unions Numbers 161 and 167 , issued in December 1994 and May 1995, respectively.
Q14:
What is a credit union?
A14:
A federal credit union is a nonprofit, cooperative
financial institution owned and run by its members.
Organized to serve, democratically controlled
credit unions provide their members with a safe
place to save and borrow at reasonable rates.
Members pool their funds to make loans to one
another. The volunteer board that runs each credit
union is elected by the members. Not for profit, not for charity, but for service is a credit union motto.
More
Information About Credit Unions
Q15:
How do I start a credit union?
A15:
For immediate details on forming a federal credit
union, Chapter 1 in the NCUA Chartering and Field of Membership Manual can guide you through the steps to organize a federal credit union and the manual
includes the necessary forms. The National Credit
Union Administration charters federal credit
unions.
NCUA
has six regional offices across the country that
charter federal credit unions in the states that
they oversee. To get assistance from an NCUA
regional office to help you form and charter
a credit union:
- Go
to the Organizational Chart
- Link
to the NCUA regional office located in or
close to your home state, then
- Contact
the appropriate regional office for specifics.
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