The NCUA's February 8, 2017 advance notice drew a line between capital already permitted and capital it might permit later. Secondary capital was available to low-income-designated credit unions and could qualify for both the net-worth ratio and the risk-based net-worth requirement. Supplemental capital was under consideration, not newly authorized by the notice. [2017-01713][2015-26790]
The distinction concerned which measure an instrument could satisfy. The agency said contemplated supplemental instruments would count toward the risk-based requirement alone. Its discussion did not turn them into net worth for the separate ratio. Existing secondary capital also carried conditions: it was uninsured, subordinate to other claims and subject to a capital plan approved by the agency. [2017-01713][2015-26790]
The earlier final rule, published October 29, 2015, explained the forthcoming risk-based measure. Section 702.103 used quarter-end total assets exceeding $100 million in the latest Call Report to identify complex credit unions for that measure. The risk-based provisions applied to federally insured natural-person credit unions; the threshold was not a blanket limitation on all prompt-corrective-action revisions. [2017-01713][2015-26790]
That final rule specified January 1, 2019 as its future effective date. Read as of February 8, the record therefore combined a scheduled capital framework with an open question about additional instruments. It did not establish that the future framework had taken effect or that supplemental issuance was permissible. Both sources belonged to the same agency's policy chain. [2017-01713][2015-26790]
Source documents
- Alternative Capitalhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-02-08/html/2017-01713.htm
- Risk-Based Capitalhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-10-29/html/2015-26790.htm