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Washington State Division of Credit Unions


Conference on Preparing for Disaster	Worksheet

What's New

Accreditation For The Division Of Credit Unions
The Division of Credit Unions has successfully completed its 2009 re-accreditation review. The Division is accredited for an additional five years. View full bulletin.
New Rulemaking & Recommended Approach to OREO Management
As foreclosures and defaults continue to increase, it is essential that credit unions manage their risk carefully. In order to enhance the safe and sound operation of state-chartered credit unions that handle OREO as the result of foreclosure, the Division of Credit Unions has started the rulemaking process by filing the CR-101 WSR 09-09-076 on April 14, 2009.

Rulemaking & Task Force Documents
Bulletin - Teleconference/Meeting Timeline
OREO Rulemaking Bulletin
Red Flags Rule Compliance
On May 1, 2009, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Division of Credit Unions (DCU) will include a new compliance factor when examining credit unions. Credit unions must comply with the federal “Red Flags Rule.” View full bulletin.
Quarterly Asset Assessment Worksheet
Second quarter 2009. ACH debit will be originated on April 23, 2009.
Download Asset Assessment Sheet (Excel)***
Loan Originators Working For CUSOs Can License Via The NMLS
Residential mortgage loan originators working for Credit Union Service Organizations (CUSOs) can obtain a license via the NMLS. To sponsor their loan originators, CUSOs must register as exempt mortgage brokers on the NMLS. Please see DCU Bulletin B-09-01 for additional information about this federal licensing requirement.

Apply For A Loan Originator License
Register Your CUSO As An Exempt Mortgage Broker
NCUA Announces Plans To Protect Corporate Credit Union System
On Jan. 28, 2009, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) announced their plan to protect the corporate credit union system with $1 billion capital note and restructuring. See NCUA's press release for more information.

FAQs For Credit Union Customers
DFI Statement Regarding NCUA's Announcement
NCUA Press Release
NCUA Temporarily Increases Insurance Coverage To $250,000
On October 03, 2008 President Bush signed the Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 which raises the NCUA insurance coverage from $100,000 per account to $250,000 until December 31, 2009. Learn more.
MBL Report for 2008 - Unsecured Member Business Loans under WAC 208-460-060(1)(b)
Due to the Division of Credit Unions at the same time 5300 call reports are due.
Download Report (PDF)*.
VISA® or MasterCard® Share Authorization Request
The VISA® or MasterCard® Share Authorization Request is an application for a state-chartered credit union to receive, hold or transact shares of VISA, Inc., or MasterCard, Inc., in accordance with the conditions specified in DCU Interpretive Letters I-07-05 (PDF)* and I-07-06 (PDF)*.

Download Share Authorization Request Application (Word)**

Who We Regulate

Credit unions are cooperative, nonprofit organizations created for the purpose of promoting thrift among their members and providing a source of credit to them. Credit unions may be chartered under state or federal law.

Examination and Supervision

The Division of Credit Unions examines and supervises the state credit unions that do business in Washington State, in order to protect their members’ financial interests. About 71 state credit unions do business here, with aggregate assets of more than $23.5 billion. The shares and deposits at our state credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). The NCUSIF is administered by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).

The NCUA also examines and supervises federal credit unions. About 55 federal credit unions do business in Washington State. You can usually identify federal credit unions by the word “Federal” in their name. The NCUA processes consumer complaints against federal credit unions. The regional office of the NCUA may be reached at 1230 W. Washington St., Suite 301, Tempe, AZ 85281 (602) 302-6000.

Mission Statement

We examine and supervise state credit unions for safety and soundness and compliance with applicable credit union law in order to protect members' financial interests. Although state credit unions are our customers, we recognize that the citizens are the ultimate beneficiaries of our work.

The Division of Credit Unions administers the Washington State Credit Union Act and the Central Credit Union Act, chapters 31.12 and 31.13 RCW, respectively. The Division's rules are set forth in Title 208 WAC.

Consumer Protection

Many of the federal consumer protection laws that apply to banks also apply to credit unions. In general, the NCUA has authority to enforce most of these laws against state and federal credit unions. Our Division works with the NCUA to monitor compliance with consumer protection laws by our state credit unions.

The Division also processes consumer complaints against state credit unions. View our policy on handling consumer complaints.