WASHINGTON–One bankers’ group is expressing what it is calling “strong opposition” to the NCUA board vote in favor of a second field of membership proposal.
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) issued a statement saying “the final rule significantly increases the powers of tax-exempt credit unions beyond their statutory limits amid a court challenge.”
“(The June 21) National Credit Union Administration final rule further expanding the rights of tax-exempt credit unions beyond their statutory limits comes on the heels of a March court ruling that vacated two of its provisions,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said in a statement. “Unwilling to wait for its latest unlawful power grab to be settled in the courts, the NCUA continues working to extend the industry’s taxpayer-subsidized competitive advantage over taxpaying community banks. This captive regulator is once again pushing the envelope and cheerleading the industry it is supposed to regulate.”
‘Undermines the CU Mission’
The ICBA said the final rule allowing credit unions to use a “narrative statement” to apply for membership fields “with no population limits whatsoever (undermines) the credit union industry’s mission to serve people of small means with a common bond and forfeiting its claim to a tax exemption valued at $2.9 billion this year alone.”
ICBA said it and the nation’s community banks will continue working to raise awareness of the credit union industry’s federal tax subsidy and the NCUA’s attempts to drastically increase the powers of these tax-exempt financial firms beyond their statutory limits.