RALEIGH, N.C.–Despite strong opposition from the state’s bankers, North Carolina’s House Banking Committee has voted topass House Bill 410, “Credit Union Update.”
For state-chartered CUs, the bill provides the ability to credit unions to accept as members people below the poverty line and residents of areas with no bank branch within 200 square miles.
The Carolinas Credit Union League noted banks have closed more than 600 branches in North Carolina since 2011, many of them in rural parts of the state.
“Credit unions, which are not-for-profit cooperatives, have the right model and the desire to serve North Carolinians with dwindling financial services options. House Bill 410 would permit them to do so,” the league said. “The N.C. Bankers Association, which represents banks that have shuttered branches in rural North Carolina, opposes allowing credit unions to serve people of modest means. They have not explained why.”
As CUToday.info reported here, there is considerable tension in the state capitol between credit unions and banks.
The league quoted that during the hearing, Rep. Julia Howard (R-Davie), a bill sponsor, said, “If the banks for business reasons choose not to go into these districts, I understand it. But allow the credit unions to do the job.”
‘North Carolina Not Alone’
John Kolhoff, SVP-policy and supervision at the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors, added, “North Carolina is not alone in their endeavor to modernize their credit union act. Several states have recently, or are currently, reviewing their statutory framework for credit unions. The proposed expansion of membership eligibility in House Bill 410 would bring North Carolina on par with numerous states while still more modest than some of the most inclusive state FOMs.”
In a statement, the CCUL stated, “Some have suggested that House Bill 410 would allow ‘anybody in the world’ to join a North Carolina credit union. But that’s not true. The bill extends membership only to those living below the poverty line and residents of “banking deserts,” defined as areas without a bank branch within roughly 200 square miles.
Additional Provisions
According to the CCUL, in addition to offering financial services to rural residents, House Bill 410 also:
- Modernizes some credit union laws that haven’t been updated since the 1970s. For example, it allows credit unions to keep records electronically.
- Streamlines the process through which state-chartered credit unions can gain permission to operate in ways already allowable for federally-chartered credit unions.
- Strengthens the powers of the North Carolina’s credit union regulator, which also haven’t been updated since the 1970s.
Feeling the FOMO Fever? CUToday.info Has a Prescription
Are you missing out on the latest news in credit unions? Missing the trends and developments you need to be aware of? We can help. Each morning CUToday.info delivers its daily Fresh Today news update offering the latest headlines and breaking news right to your email, with the easy-to-read headlines format allowing you to click on the stories that interest you most in order to learn more.
And it’s free!
If you haven’t yet signed up for the new email solution on which CUToday.info has partnered with ResponseGenius, you can do so here. Signing up requires less than one minute of your time—and it’s free!
Please note that after signing up you may need to go to your Spam/Junk folder and mark the morning headlines email as safe. CUToday.info does not provide its list of readers and emails to outside parties, and we will not be contacting you to sell you an extended warranty or sending you any links so you may cash in on an inheritance you didn’t know was coming.
And did we mention it’s free?
Please note and/or make your IT department or email administrator aware the emails will be coming from the domains CUTodayinfo.com and CUTodayinfoReply.com