UPDATED: Proposed fidelity bond rule changes for credit unions out for comment until Jan. 22

A proposed rule to update and clarify the federal credit union regulatory agency’s requirements for fidelity bond coverages at corporate and natural-person credit unions was published Friday (Nov. 23) in the Federal Register, with comments due on or before Jan. 22.

Released during the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board’s Nov. 15 open meeting, the proposed rule has four objectives:

  • strengthen a board of directors’ oversight of a credit union’s fidelity bond coverage;
  • ensure that there is an adequate period to discover and file fidelity bond claims following a credit union’s liquidation;
  • codify a 2017 NCUA Office of General Counsel legal opinion that permits a natural person credit union’s fidelity bond to include coverage for certain credit union service organizations (CUSOs); and
  • clarify the documents subject to NCUA Board approval and require that all bond forms receive such approval every 10 years.

See NCUA’s Sept. 26, 2017, legal opinion here.

Fidelity bonds, proposed rule