NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz has expressed doubt that a conversion of the $1.8 billion HarborOne Credit Union to a bank charter would be good for the majority of the 140,000 members of the Brockton, Mass., institution.
Matz made her comments to a reporter from the Boston Globe during a May 3 interview.
“I am concerned when they say they are doing it for the benefit of the members,’’ the paper quoted Matz as saying. “There is no reason to think that members will be better served by a bank than a credit union.”
The article summarized the reasons HarborOne CEO James Blake has given in favor of the conversion, such as the ability to serve a broader geographical area and escape the regulatory cap on member business lending.
It also summarized Matz' objections to those reasons, including the possibility to obtain a charter to serve a larger geographic area and the fact that Harbor One is not close to reaching the MBL cap now.
The newspaper also quoted Matz as expecting the conversion effort to pass.
“I’m assuming it will go through,’’ Matz said. “I just think it’s not going to be in the best interests of their members.’’
