12 CFR Part 749 (1-1-16 ED)

National Credit Union Administration

§ 749.2
(b) Appendix A to this part provides
guidance concerning the appropriate
length of time credit unions should retain various types of operational
records. Appendix B to this part also
provides guidance for developing a program for responding to a catastrophic
act to ensure duplicate vital records
can be used for restoration of vital
member services.
[72 FR 42273, Aug. 2, 2007]

PART 749—RECORDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM AND APPENDICES—RECORD
RETENTION
GUIDELINES; CATASTROPHIC ACT
PREPAREDNESS GUIDELINES
Sec.
749.0 Purpose and scope.
749.1 Definitions.
749.2 Vital records preservation program.
749.3 Vital records center.
749.4 Format for vital records preservation.
749.5 Format for records required by other
NCUA regulations.
APPENDIX A TO PART 749—RECORD RETENTION
GUIDELINES
APPENDIX B TO PART 749—CATASTROPHIC ACT
PREPAREDNESS GUIDELINES
AUTHORITY: 12 U.S.C. 1766, 1783 and 1789, 15
U.S.C. 7001(d).
SOURCE: 66 FR 40579, Aug. 3, 2001, unless
otherwise noted.

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§ 749.0

Purpose and scope.

(a) This part describes the obligations of all federally-insured credit
unions to maintain a records preservation program to identify, store and reconstruct vital records in the event
that the credit union’s records are destroyed and provides recommendations
for restoring vital member services. All
credit unions must have a written program that includes plans for safeguarding records and reconstructing
vital records. To complement these
plans, it is recommended a credit union
develop a method for restoring vital
member services in the event of a catastrophic act as defined in § 748.1(b) of
this chapter. Additionally, the regulation establishes flexibility in the format credit unions may use for maintaining writings, records or information required by other NCUA regulations.

§ 749.1

Definitions.

For purposes of this part:
Vital member services mean informational account inquiries, share withdrawals and deposits, and loan payments and disbursements.
Vital records refer to the following
records:
(a) A list of share, deposit, and loan
balances for each member’s account as
of the close of the most recent business
day that:
(1) Shows each balance individually
identified by a name or number;
(2) Lists multiple loans of one account separately; and
(3) Contains information sufficient to
enable the credit union to locate each
member, such as address and telephone
number.
(b) A financial report, which lists all
of the credit union’s asset and liability
accounts and bank reconcilements,
current as of the most recent monthend.
(c) A list of the credit union’s accounts at financial institutions, insurance policies, and investments along
with related contact information, current as of the most recent month-end.
(d) Emergency contact information
for employees, officials, regulatory offices, and vendors used to support vital
records.
[72 FR 42273, Aug. 2, 2007]

§ 749.2 Vital records preservation program.
The board of directors of a credit
union is responsible for establishing a
vital records preservation program
within 6 months after its insurance
certificate is issued. The program must
be in writing and contain procedures
for maintaining duplicate vital records

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§ 749.3

12 CFR Ch. VII (1–1–16 Edition)

at a vital records center. The procedures must include: designated staff responsible for vital records preservation, a schedule for the storage and destruction of records, and a records
preservation log detailing for each
record stored, its name, storage location, storage date, and name of the person sending the record for storage. It is
recommended credit unions include in
these procedures a method for using
duplicate records to restore vital member services in the event of catastrophic act. Credit unions which have
some or all of their records maintained
by an off-site data processor are considered to be in compliance for the
storage of those records if the service
agreement specifies the data processor
safeguards against the simultaneous
destruction of production and back-up
information.
[72 FR 42273, Aug. 2, 2007]

§ 749.3 Vital records center.
A vital records center is defined as a
storage facility, which may include another federally-insured credit union, at
any location far enough from the credit
union’s offices to avoid the simultaneous loss of both sets of records in the
event of a catastrophic act. A credit
union must maintain or contract with
a third party to maintain any equipment or software for its vital records
center necessary to access records.
[72 FR 42273, Aug. 2, 2007]

§ 749.4 Format for vital records preservation.
Preserved records may be in any format that can be used to reconstruct
the credit union’s records. The format
used must accurately reflect the information in the record, remain accessible
to all persons entitled to access by
statute, regulation or rule of law, and
be capable of reproduction by transmission, printing, or otherwise.

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[72 FR 42273, Aug. 2, 2007]

§ 749.5 Format for records required by
other NCUA regulations.
Where NCUA regulations require
credit
unions
to
retain
certain
writings, records or information, credit
unions may use any format that accurately reflects the information in the

record, is accessible to all persons entitled to access by statute, regulation or
rule of law, and is capable of being reproduced by transmission, printing, or
otherwise. The credit union must
maintain the necessary equipment or
software to permit an examiner to access the records during the examination process.
[72 FR 42273, Aug. 2, 2007]

APPENDIX A TO PART 749—RECORD
RETENTION GUIDELINES
Credit unions often look to NCUA for guidance on the appropriate length of time to retain various types of operational records.
NCUA does not regulate in this area, but as
an aid to credit unions it is publishing this
appendix of suggested guidelines for record
retention. NCUA recognizes that credit
unions must strike a balance between the
competing demands of space, resource allocation and the desire to retain all the
records that they may need to conduct their
business successfully. Efficiency requires
that all records that are no longer useful be
discarded, just as both efficiency and safety
require that useful records be preserved and
kept readily available.
A. What Format Should the Credit Union Use
for Retaining Records?
NCUA does not recommend a particular
format for record retention. If the credit
union stores records on microfilm, microfiche, or in an electronic format, the stored
records must be accurate, reproducible and
accessible to an NCUA examiner. If records
are stored on the credit union premises, they
should be immediately accessible upon the
examiner’s request; if records are stored by a
third party or off-site, then they should be
made available to the examiner within a reasonable time after the examiner’s request.
The credit union must maintain the necessary equipment or software to permit an
examiner to review and reproduce stored
records upon request. The credit union
should also ensure that the reproduction is
acceptable for submission as evidence in a
legal proceeding.
B. Who Is Responsible for Establishing a System
for Record Disposal?
The credit union’s board of directors may
approve a schedule authorizing the disposal
of certain records on a continuing basis upon
expiration of specified retention periods. A
schedule provides a system for disposal of
records and eliminates the need for board approval each time the credit union wants to
dispose of the same types of records created
at different times.

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National Credit Union Administration

Pt. 749, App. B

C. What Procedures Should a Credit Union
Follow When Destroying Records?

F. What Records Should a Credit Union
Designate for Periodic Destruction?

The credit union should prepare an index
of any records destroyed and retain the index
permanently. Destruction of records should
ordinarily be carried out by at least two persons whose signatures, attesting to the fact
that records were actually destroyed, should
be affixed to the listing.

Any record not described above is appropriate for periodic destruction unless it must
be retained to comply with the requirements
of consumer protection regulations. Periodic
destruction should be scheduled so that the
most recent of the following records are
available for the annual supervisory committee audit and the NCUA examination.
Records that may be periodically destroyed
include:
(a) Applications of paid off loans.
(b) Paid notes.
(c) Various consumer disclosure forms, unless retention is required by law.
(d) Cash received vouchers.
(e) Journal vouchers.
(f) Canceled checks.
(g) Bank statements.
(h) Outdated manuals, canceled instructions, and nonpayment correspondence from
the NCUA and other governmental agencies.

D. What Are the Recommended Minimum
Retention Times?
Record destruction may impact the credit
union’s legal standing to collect on loans or
defend itself in court. Since each state can
impose its own rules, it is prudent for a credit union to consider consulting with local
counsel when setting minimum retention periods. A record pertaining to a member’s account that is not considered a vital record
may be destroyed once it is verified by the
supervisory committee. Individual Share and
Loan Ledgers should be retained permanently. Records, for a particular period,
should not be destroyed until both a comprehensive annual audit by the supervisory
committee and a supervisory examination by
the NCUA have been made for that period.

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E. What Records Should Be Retained
Permanently?
1. Official records of the credit union that
should be retained permanently are:
(a) Charter, bylaws, and amendments.
(b) Certificates or licenses to operate under
programs of various government agencies,
such as a certificate to act as issuing agent
for the sale of U.S. savings bonds.
2. Key operational records that should be
retained permanently are:
(a) Minutes of meetings of the membership, board of directors, credit committee,
and supervisory committee.
(b) One copy of each financial report,
NCUA Form 5300 or 5310, or their equivalent,
and the Credit Union Profile report, NCUA
Form 4501, or its equivalent as submitted to
NCUA at the end of each quarter.
(c) One copy of each supervisory committee comprehensive annual audit report
and attachments.
(d) Supervisory committee records of account verification.
(e) Applications for membership and joint
share account agreements.
(f) Journal and cash record.
(g) General ledger.
(h) Copies of the periodic statements of
members, or the individual share and loan
ledger. (A complete record of the account
should be kept permanently.)
(i) Bank reconcilements.
(j) Listing of records destroyed.

[66 FR 40579, Aug. 3, 2001, as amended at 74
FR 35769, July 21, 2009]

APPENDIX

B

STROPHIC
GUIDELINES

TO
ACT

PART 749—CATAPREPAREDNESS

Credit unions often look to NCUA for guidance on preparing for a catastrophic act.
While NCUA has minimal regulation in this
area, 1 as an aid to credit unions it is publishing this appendix of suggested guidelines.
It is recommended that all credit unions develop a program to prepare for a catastrophic act. The program should be developed with oversight and approval of the
board of directors. It is recommended the
program address the following five elements:
(1) A business impact analysis to evaluate
potential threats;
(2) A risk assessment to determine critical
systems and necessary resources;
(3) A written plan addressing:
i. Persons with authority to enact the
plan;
ii. Preservation and ability to restore vital
records;
iii. A method for restoring vital member
services through identification of alternate
operating location(s) or mediums to provide
services, such as telephone centers, shared
service centers, agreements with other credit
unions, or other appropriate methods;
iv. Communication methods for employees
and members;
1 See 12 CFR 748.1(b) concerning a FICU’s
reporting of any catastrophic act that occurs
at its office to its regional director and 12
CFR 749.3 concerning the location of a
FICU’s vital records center to avoid the simultaneous loss of both sets of records in the
event of disaster.

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Pt. 750
v. Notification of regulators as addressed
in 12 CFR 748.1(b);
vi. Training and documentation of training
to ensure all employees and volunteer officials are aware of procedures to follow in the
event of destruction of vital records or loss
of vital member services; and
vii. Testing procedures, including a means
for documenting the testing results.
(4) Internal controls for reviewing the plan
at least annually and for revising the plan as
circumstances warrant, for example, to address changes in the credit union’s operations; and
(5) Annual testing.

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[72 FR 42274, Aug. 2, 2007, as amended at 77
FR 71085, Nov. 29, 2012]

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