NAFCU is concerned that an NCUA proposed rule issued today could, if finalized in its current form, constrain federal credit unions’ ability to welcome legitimate, new associational common-bond groups into their fields of membership.

“While NAFCU appreciates the proposal’s efforts to streamline certain requirements for amending a federal credit union’s field of membership, NAFCU opposes the incorporation of a threshold determination requirement,” said Mike Coleman, NAFCU’s director of regulatory affairs.

Under the proposed rule, an application that fails based on the new “threshold” requirement – that is, the group was formed solely to expand credit union membership – could be rejected based on that measure alone. The other factors normally reviewed with such applications addressing association members’ engagement, governance, dues requirements and the like would not be considered.

“NAFCU supports all options for credit unions to have robust fields of membership,” Coleman said. “NCUA should be removing hurdles from its regulations. Instead, NCUA is making it more and more difficult to be a credit union.”

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