The Bureau of Federal Credit Unions was a federal agency in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

that supervised and chartered federal

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...

s from 1934 until 1970. The Bureau was created through the

Federal Credit Union Act The Federal Credit Union Act is an Act of Congress enacted in 1934. The purpose of the law was to make credit available and promote thrift through a national system of nonprofit, cooperative credit unions. This Act established the federal credit ...

as part of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

. It was self-financing and did not receive appropriations from general

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...

funds. In 1970, the Bureau was replaced by the

National Credit Union Administration The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is a government-backed insurer of credit unions in the United States, one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. depository institutions, the other being the Federa ...

(NCUA).

History

On June 26, 1934, President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

signed the

into law as part of the

. The Act sought to promote thrift in the aftermath of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and allowed the establishment of federally chartered

s in the United States as part of the Federal Credit Union System. Responsibility for administration of the Act shifted several times over the years. Initially, the

Farm Credit Administration The Farm Credit Administration is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States. Its function is to regulate the financial institutions that provide credit to farmers. Authority The Farm Credit Administration is an indep ...

was responsible. Administration of the Act was transferred to the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cred ...

(FDIC) in 1942 under

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...

9148. On June 29, 1948, Public Law 813 transferred administrative responsibility of the Act to the

Federal Security Agency The Federal Security Agency (FSA) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1939 pursuant to the Reorganization Act of 1939. For a time, the agency oversaw food a ...

, which established the Bureau of Federal Credit Unions in the

Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...

. The Bureau migrated to the

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

in 1953. By 1962, the Bureau regulated more than 21,000 federally chartered credit unions with assets equal to $3.43 billion. During the Johnson Administration, the Bureau conceived of and implemented Project Moneywise, a training program for community leaders in impoverished areas that taught money management alongside cooperative and credit union organization. The Project was funded by a $125,000 grant from

Office of Economic Opportunity The Office of Economic Opportunity was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda. It was established in 1964 as an i ...

as a part of the

War on Poverty The war on poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national ...

. In March 1970, as the number of credit unions in the U.S. approached 24,000, oversight of credit unions was transferred to the

(NCUA), an independent federal agency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bureau Of Federal Credit Unions Credit unions of the United States Bank regulation in the United States New Deal agencies Government agencies established in 1934

History

See also

References