What is the NCUA?
The NCUA, or the National Credit Union Administration, is a government agency created to supervise federal credit unions. However, the NCUA was not the first organization created to protect and promote credit unions. In 1921, Roy F. Bergengren and Edward Filene founded the Credit Union National Extension Bureau, designed to work towards establishing credit unions in all states and allow federal credit unions. President Roosevelt enacted the Federal Credit Union act of 1934 (FCU Act), and in 1942 the Federal Credit Union Division of the FCU Act was moved under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
In 1970, the NCUA formed the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) to insure credit union deposits. In 2010, the standard maximum share insurance amount (SMSIA) was increased to $250,000. The NCUA supports federal not-for-profit cooperatives designed to benefit Members and employees over shareholders. TDECU, while not a federal credit union, is state-chartered in the state of Texas and is protected under the NCUA.
The NCUA has made other changes over time, such as allowing credit unions to offer increased services like mortgage lending and certificate of deposits. In the 1980s, credit unions were allowed to broaden their reach beyond explicit members of the charter organization. If you are a part of TDECU (Texas Dow Employees Credit Union) and have never worked at Dow, you can thank the NCUA.
How does being a part of the NCUA affect my money at TDECU?
Since the NCUA insures TDECU, our funds, up to $250,000, are protected by the federal government. Since TDECU is not a federal credit union, we are not required to be insured by the NCUA, but we do so to give our Members an added layer of protection. You can estimate how much of your deposit is secured by using this insurance estimator.
The NCUA covers up to $250,000 per person, institution, and ownership category. Want to deposit more than $250,000 while being fully insured at TDECU? Contact our Member Care at (800) 839-1154, and they can help guarantee that your entire deposit is insured. Categories such as checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposits, money market accounts, IRA accounts, and some other accounts are covered under the NCUA. Other riskier investments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities, securities, and items such as life insurance policies are not covered. The products that have “Insurance products are not deposits, not NCUA insured, and not guaranteed” fall under the categories that are not covered by the NCUA.
Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/history-of-the-fdic
https://www.mycreditunion.gov/about-credit-unions/historical-timeline