The National Credit Union Administration issued a final rule revising record preservation requirements for federally insured credit unions in the event of a catastrophic act. The changes to 12 CFR 749 are intended to reduce outdated and overly prescriptive obligations while preserving the requirement to retain the critical records needed to reconstruct operations after a disaster. The rule clarifies the regulation’s purpose, removes Appendices A and B, and updates certain definitions. The update revises a framework first adopted in 1972 and responds to industry feedback that parts of the rule had become unnecessarily burdensome, particularly given earlier requirements to keep physical copies of vital records. The measure was adopted largely as proposed, but with two changes after consultation. Credit unions will have more flexibility in determining the content of the vital records preservation log, and the final rule omits a proposed reference to consulting legal counsel on record retention periods. The rule takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. It follows public comments on the proposed rule published on March 11, 2026.
National Credit Union Administration2026-06-15
National Credit Union Administration eases catastrophic act record preservation requirements for credit unions
The National Credit Union Administration finalized changes to its catastrophic act record preservation rule for federally insured credit unions. The rule clarifies the framework, removes appendices, updates definitions and gives credit unions more flexibility over the vital records preservation log. It becomes effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.