An Important Message about your Insured Funds

With reports in the news of some financial institutions facing losses and other problems, you may be wondering about the financial stability of your credit union.

We'd like to reassure you that Credit Union of New Jersey remains strong, safe and secure. Your savings accounts are insured up to $500,000 and your retirement accounts are insured up to $500,000 in your credit union. This exceptional level of coverage is attained through a combination of federal insurance provided by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and private insurance by Excess Share Insurance Corporation (ESI).

Click here to find out more National Credit Union Share Insurance (NCUSIF) or Excess Share Insurance (ESI)

Dear Valued CUNJ Member:

The recent financial headlines are full of dire economic news. The current financial crisis is severe and American’s confidence in the financial system is shaken. Additionally, Federal Regulators recently shut down and sold Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU) to JP Morgan Chase. WAMU is the largest bank failure in U.S. history and had $309 billion in assets. This news, along with all of the other news about failures and a Government bailout undoubtedly has consumers nervous. As members and consumers are losing confidence in sectors of the financial system we would like to point out a few key facts about CUNJ:

1. Credit Union of New Jersey is very safe and sound - CUNJ has no exposure to the bad investments that would be included in the Government bailout. 81% of our assets are invested in our members in the form of member loans and the remaining assets are invested in Government backed bonds or other credit unions. Our Capital to Total Assets Ratio is well over the NJ Division of Banking minimum requirement of 7.00%. We are in absolutely no danger of failure and are not directly impacted by the current financial crisis.
2. National Credit Union Share Insurance (NCUSIF) and Excess Share Insurance (ESI) - these coverages provide up to $500,000 per member in share insurance. Member’s funds are well protected. Brochures are available in all of our lobbies. Please visit us or call to learn more about your insured funds.
3. CUNJ is not involved in Sub-Prime Mortgage Lending – we have never engaged in sub-prime mortgage lending. Sub-prime mortgages are generally described as mortgages to borrowers with low credit scores, are interest-only or Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM) loans with big payment adjustments, require little to no money down and in some cases didn’t require proof of income. This has allowed millions of borrowers to purchase homes they may not have been able afford after the payment adjustment. In many cases when borrowers went to refinance or sell, the value of the home was lower and they couldn’t refinance or sell for more than the mortgage balance, thus causing default. CUNJ does not have any of these loans and our loss ratio on our first mortgage portfolio is 0%. CUNJ is available to discuss options for members and encourage any member in this situation to call us and to act early if they are in financial trouble.

We want to assure you that CUNJ’s balance sheet is strong and contains no high risk assets. We have a 65 year track record of stewardship of our member’s assets. CUNJ is safe and sound and your funds are insured by both the Federal Government through NCUSIF and ESI. CUNJ is one of the safest places to deposit your funds.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and CUNJ Staff,

For more details about your insured funds visit National Credit Union Share Insurance (NCUSIF) or Excess Share Insurance (ESI)