National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) President and CEO Dan Berger issued the following statement in response to the National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) finalization of its proposed rule for implementing last year’s Federal Credit Union Act revisions ensuring parity in coverage of Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts and “other similar escrow” accounts.
“NAFCU and our members appreciate the agency’s efforts to incorporate the “Credit Union Share Insurance Fund Parity Act” into its rules and regulations,” said Berger. “However, we believe the agency could have done more in adopting a more flexible definition of “other similar escrow accounts.”
The final rule would insure IOLTAs and “other similar escrow accounts,” which are defined as accounts where a licensed professional or other individual serving in a fiduciary capacity holds funds on behalf of another. Accounts do not need to be specifically enumerated in the rule to receive coverage, but instead just need to meet this definition.
NCUA also changed the previous term “realtor escrow accounts” to “real estate escrow accounts” after NAFCU’s suggestion to do so.