WASHINGTON—The American Bankers Association has filed a notice of supplemental authority with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the NCUA's revised field-of-membership rule, which took effect in February.
The notice references two reports from the NCUA allowing credit unions to expand fields of membership, which the ABA argues are expansions outside of the scope allowed under the Federal Credit Union Act, reported NAFCU, which noted it supports the agency continuing to approve of credit union charters.
This is the latest move in a series of filings related to the lawsuit that the ABA filed last December. The NCUA has asked the court to dismiss the suit.
NAFCU said it believes NCUA’s field-of-membership rule is well within the agency’s legal authority and is in keeping with the Federal Credit Union Act. The association said it stands behind the NCUA’s decision to issue the final rule, which was the first meaningful update to the agency’s FOM rules over the past decade, the trade association said.
"This is another example of bankers taking aim on credit unions,” said Cooperative Credit Union Association President/CEO Paul Gentile in a league repot. “They do not want to admit that consumers are searching for options when it comes to their finances, and are turning to credit unions for relief from excessive fees and charges from the banking community."
NCUA approved the new FOM rules in October 2016. The rules, NCUA stated, provide credit unions with more flexibility to determine their fields of membership.