NCUA Board Members Tout New Rules

CRYSTAL CITY, Va.-The NCUA’s new field of membership rule is “vitally important to the future of credit unions,” NCUA Board Member Deborah Matz told Kentucky credit union leaders recently. Matz spoke at a dinner held by the Kentucky Credit Union League last week when the group was in the D.C.-metro area for their Hike the Hill visits. “Credit unions need to remain competitive and these changes will permit them to provide improved services to more people,” Matz told the Kentucky officials. “Under the new field of membership rule, the size of a community is no longer our primary focus. Our attention shifts to the real issue – how the credit union serves everyone in its field of membership.” She advised the league members that as they swooped down on Capitol Hill they should explain to members of Congress that the FOM rule will aid credit unions in their fight to offer alternatives to payday lenders and pawn shops. “Larger fields of membership,” she continued, “will permit more people to join a credit union and that is a really good thing. This rule will permit credit unions to make their services available to some of the 56 million people who do not have accounts at insured financial institutions.” Additionally, on May 15, NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar was scheduled to speak at the Missouri Credit Union Association’s Annual Conference in Osage Beach. His planned items for discussion also included the agency’s new FOM rule, which became effective that day, as well as the proposed member business lending rule, RegFlex, risk-focused examinations, and Access Across America.