NEWS: A recent Compliance Courier covered some long-awaited changes to Wisconsin’s member business loan (MBL) regulations. Along with those changes, the Wisconsin Office of Credit Unions (OCU) also updated several other regulations to correct out-of-date cross-references, repeal obsolete provisions, and make other minor modifications.
One change was this: The OCU has repealed DFI-CU 59, “Miscellaneous investments by credit unions.” That 1972 rule authorized credit unions to invest in “securities issued by hospitals, churches, sanatoria, seminaries, dioceses, and similar type institutions,” subject to some restrictions.
Such investments are uncommon for state credit unions today, making the regulation obsolete. The rule was also unnecessary, because credit unions can ask the OCU to approve investments in specific instruments under Wis. Stats. §186.11(1), which says:
The board of directors may invest credit union funds in any of the following:
- United States government direct and agency obligations.
- Municipal bonds.
- A corporate central credit union organized under s. 186.32 or under any other state or federal law.
- Deposits and debt instruments of federally insured banks, credit unions, savings banks and savings and loan associations.
- With the approval of the office of credit unions, other investment instruments.
Your credit union’s policies and procedures should be updated if they refer to DFI-CU 59 or copy its wording. The League is removing references to the repealed rule from its online compliance materials.