Records Preservation Program And Appendices—Record Retention Guidelines; Catastrophic Act Preparedness Guidelines

§ 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.

(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.

§ 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 month-end.

(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.

§ 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 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.

§ 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.

§ 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.

§ 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.