COLUMBIA, S.C.–Interstate branching for South Carolina state credit unions has become more accessible with the signing by the state of a cooperative agreement with 10 other states, according to Robert L. Davis, Commissioner of Banking with the South Carolina State Board of Financial Institutions.
The cooperative arrangement South Carolina has signed is the Southeastern Regional Cooperative Interstate Agreement. In addition now to South Carolina, the agreement includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Washington.
The agreement was developed by the engaged states with the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS).
“By entering into this agreement, South Carolina is promoting interstate commerce and cooperation on a reciprocal basis among the participating states, as well as fostering parity with the federal credit union charter for South Carolina state-chartered credit unions,” said Lucy Ito, NASCUS president and CEO.
According to NASCUS, the goal of the 2009 Southeastern cooperative agreement is to “promote fair and equitable commerce among state chartered credit unions based upon reciprocity, subject to appropriate safety and soundness provisions, in order to best serve the consumers” of the respective states that enter into the agreement.
Ito said that, in practice, the agreements ease the procedural impediments for credit unions and demonstrate “that this is a viable choice for them to extend their operations as state-chartered financial institutions, consistent with their strategic plans, should they choose to do so.”