WASHINGTON, DC (June 6, 2018) — National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) President and CEO Dan Berger issued the following statement responding to the American Bankers Association (ABA) decision to file a cross appeal to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia following the NCUA’s appeal of the court’s decision on the agency’s field-of-membership (FOM) rule. NAFCU stands behind the NCUA’s decision to issue the final rule, which was the first meaningful update to the agency’s FOM rules over the past decade.
“As we have said previously, NCUA’s field-of-membership rule is well within the agency’s legal authority and is in keeping with the Federal Credit Union Act,” said Berger. “We stand solidly in support of this rule.
“This suit, and the ABA’s appeal, is just another effort by bankers to distort the truth and stymie credit unions’ ability to provide consumers with the choice of a financial institution that puts them first,” Berger added.
Late last month, the NCUA appealed the court’s March ruling, which upheld two challenged portions of the rule and struck down two provisions in a lawsuit filed against the agency by the ABA. The court ruled the provisions that exceeded the NCUA’s statutory authority include those that automatically qualify a combined statistical area (CSA) with fewer than 2.5 million people to be a local community and the increase to 1 million people the population limit for rural districts.
The court ruled in favor of the NCUA’s rule on all other provisions.
The NCUA’s FOM rule took effect in February 2017.
NAFCU, CUNA and CUNA Mutual Group filed an amicus brief supporting NCUA’s FOM rule last June. The association believes the NCUA’s FOM rule is well within the agency’s legal authority and is in keeping with the Federal Credit Union Act.
In December 2016, the ABA filed suit against the NCUA over this rule.
The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation’s federally-insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance. For more information on NAFCU, go to www.nafcu.org or @NAFCU on Twitter.
