Periodically we receive inquiries regarding how long you should keep old records. In general, record retention periods are the same for electronic records and their hard copy counterparts.

It’s been a difficult year for many credit unions. Due to the struggling economy in 2009, delinquency has increased 0.25%, charge-offs and bankruptcies continue to rise in numbers and because of status of the economy, many credit unions have had to increase their allowance for loan loss reserve in order to absorb some of these increased losses.

Enforcement of the rule has been extended to November 1, 2009 to give additional time for developing and implementing written identity theft prevention programs. There are no criminal penalties for failure to comply, however violators may be subject to financial penalties. In addition, compliance assures the entity’s customers that they are doing their part to fight identity theft.

Effective October 3, 2008, the basic limit on the FDIC amount was increased from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor through December 31st, 2009. On May 20, 2009, the FDIC extended the coverage date through December 31, 2013. (However, the extension does not apply to the Transaction Account Guarantee Program. The unlimited coverage under the Transaction Account Guarantee Program is only in effect for depositors at participating institutions through December 31, 2009.) On January 1st, 2014, coverage will revert to $100,000, except for certain retirement accounts.

Businesses now have until August 1st, 2009 to comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) “Red Flags Rule.” The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 directed financial regulatory agencies, including the FTC, to create rules requiring “creditors” and “financial institutions” with covered accounts to implement identity theft prevention programs.

PolicyWorks recently notified credit unions that the 2008 tax year would be their last year of filing a group Form 990. PolicyWorks sighted a number of reasons, one being that “due to increasing complexity, we feel credit unions are better served seeking advice from professionals with tax/accounting expertise”.