WASHINGTON -- From the beginning, CUNA has urged NCUA to take along, hard look at the possibility of developing guidelines thataddress unsolicited merger attempts and today, the trade group isjust as adamant.

"It seems as if the bell has been sounded in this particularround over credit union consolidation," said Dan Mica,president/CEO of CUNA. "However, a longer view shows the movementstill has no clear guidance on the broader questions that wereraised."

CUNA, NAFCU, several leagues and others in the industry havecalled on NCUA to take a more proactive stance. The regulator haspreviously said it would not take a "passive" role when it comes tomergers especially if issues of regulatory and legal concern havebeen thrown in the mix and above all else, the interests of themembers are paramount. Mica said now that the dust has settled,this could be a prime time for some hard discussions.