Background
The Corporate Credit Union System
The corporate credit union system is a three-tiered system consisting of one wholesale
corporate credit union, 26 retail corporate credit unions, and nearly 7,600 natural person
credit unions. The wholesale corporate credit union (U.S. Central Federal Credit Union)
provided services to the 26 retail corporate credit unions, while the retail corporate
credit unions provide services to natural person credit unions, which serve the financial
needs of more than 90 million members, including individuals, associations and
businesses. Retail corporate credit unions provide essential support to natural person
credit unions through the delivery of liquidity, financial, payment, and correspondent
products and services.
A retail corporate credit union‘s primary responsibility is to serve as a liquidity depository
and facilitate the liquidity needs of its natural person credit union members. As such, an
inflow of deposits from member credit unions is ordinarily the primary source of liquidity
for retail corporate credit unions. Natural person credit unions generally invest their
excess liquidity when their members‘ loan demand is low and/or their members‘
deposits are high. Conversely, when their members‘ loan demand and/or deposit
withdrawals are high, natural person credit unions draw on funds previously invested for
liquidity or borrow funds as needed.
One of the many security types corporates can invest in are mortgage-backed securities
(MBS), which include residential mortgage-backed securities1
(RMBS) and commercial
mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)2
. An investor in RMBS owns an interest in a pool
of mortgages, which serves as the underlying asset and source of cash flow for the
security. 3
(For details on RMBS, see the summary starting on page 4 below).
In mid 2007, the mortgage market faced a mortgage market disturbance and credit
crisis (credit market dislocation) which has persisted, leading to unprecedented
reevaluation and re-pricing of credit risk.4
As a result, there has been virtually no
market for residential mortgage backed securities other than at distressed sales prices.
With the reduction in lendable value of retail corporate credit union securities, typical
collateralized funding from sources such as Federal Home Loan Banks has been
impaired and is, consequently, a less stable option for corporate credit unions.5
In
addition, waning member confidence throughout this period of unprecedented economic
and market disruption resulted in abnormal deposit outflows (before NCUA implemented
the share guarantee program).
1
A residential mortgage-backed security provides cash flows from residential debt such as mortgages, home-equity
loans and sub-prime mortgages.
2
A CMBS is security backed by mortgages on commercial properties.
3
Throughout the remainder of the report, we will use the term RMBS as synonymous with MBS.
4
The credit market dislocation started with sub-prime mortgages. However, by the end of 2007 and into early 2008,
the mortgage problem spread to Alt-A loans, Option ARM loans, and to prime mortgage loans.
5
The Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system is a government-chartered but member-owned enterprise that works
to increase the liquidity of mortgage markets. The FHLB increases liquidity by advancing funds to institutions that
originate mortgages; which, in turn, collateralize the advances.