Many credit unions, like other businesses, find that retirement and other employee benefits are integral for purposes of recruiting and retaining good executives, managers, and staff. For that reason, the Office of Credit Unions has long permitted credit unions to offer such benefits to employees under section 186.113(17) of the Wisconsin Statutes, which authorizes a credit union to “make contracts necessary and proper to meet its purpose and to conduct its business.”
Some types of employee benefits, however, involve the acquisition of life insurance, annuities, or other investment instruments by the credit union. Unless those investments are included among the pre-authorized investments specified in section 186.11 of the Wisconsin Statutes or *section DFI-CU 59 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code (entitled Miscellaneous Investments by Credit Unions), the credit union must seek and obtain approval of this Office before acquiring them. See Wis. Stat. § 186.11(1)(e).
This guidance is intended to describe factors that the Office will consider when evaluating requests for credit union approval for certain investments used to pre-fund future benefit obligations or implement deferred compensation programs, including credit union-owned life insurance (CUOLI)1 , collateral assignment split-dollar (CASD)2 arrangements, and other investment products.
*REPEALED