ALEXANDRIA, Va.–The banking industry may have filed a lawsuit over NCUA’s latest field of membership rule, but that hasn’t stopped the agency from moving forward with additional plans for FOM.
NCUA has released the agenda for its board meeting next Thursday, June 21, and it includes discussion of Final Rule, Part 701, Chartering and Field of Membership.
NAFCU welcomed the announcement that FOM has been included on the agenda.
"We thank Chairman [J. Mark] McWatters and Board Member [Rick] Metsger for their commitment to modernize FOM rules – credit unions must have the opportunity to grow and serve more Americans," said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger in a statement. "Strengthening the federal charter and pursuing regulatory relief for credit unions is at the core of NAFCU's advocacy efforts. As we stand by the agency in its lawsuit with the American Bankers Association over its first FOM reform in more than a decade, we will continue to work with the agency to pursue even more relief for the industry.
Also on the agenda are:
- Board Briefing, Enterprise Solution Modernization Program Update
- Board Briefing, Final Rule, Part 723, Member Business Loans
- Final Rule, Parts 701 and 708b, Voluntary Mergers
Both NAFCU and CUNA have expressed what they have called “concerns” around voluntary mergers. As CUToday.info reported here, NCUA said the proposal is aimed at providing greater transparency to members of federal credit unions that are seeking a voluntary merger when it comes to benefits and compensation that may be paid to executives and board members of the CU that is being acquired.
As CUToday.info further reported, those payouts have gone to the leadership teams at credit unions—often smaller CUs—that are disappearing as the result of a merger. These pay packages, which have also gone to volunteer board members, are typically not disclosed to members when they are voting on the merger.
"In regard to the final rule on voluntary mergers, NAFCU and our member credit unions have previously expressed concerns about the NCUA's proposed rule. We will be closely monitoring next week's board meeting to see what is included in the final rule," said NAFCU’s Berger in a statement.
The FOM proposal follows the October 2016 rules passed by the NCUA board that:
- Allow credit unions seeking approval to form, expand or convert to a community charter the option to submit a narrative as to why a particular area meets their field of membership
- Increase to 10 million the population limit on a well-defined local community
- Permit a credit union to designate an individual portion of a Core-Based Statistical Area as its community no matter the metropolitan division boundaries within the area
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET from NCUA’s headquarters in Alexandria, Va. CUToday.info will provide complete coverage.