WASHINGTON — A Utah chartered credit union that told its members in March that it was contemplating moving to a bank charter has filed an application for the move with the Office of Thrift Supervision.

Executives with the $185 million Beehive Credit Union, headquartered in Salt Lake City, told members at the credit union's annual meeting in March that the CU was considering the move, in part to address a field of membership problem it has under Utah law.

Sources familiar with the credit union's situation said in March that under Utah law Beehive is able to have a geographically based field of membership located in Utah and Salt Lake Counties and is allowed to have SEGs as well, many of which are located in a third county, Washington County.

If the CU did as other state chartered credit unions have done and move to a federal charter, it would have to give up the relationship with its SEGs in Washington County and may not be able to later add Washington County. Washington County is not contiguous with the other two counties and is not in the same metropolitan statistical area as the other two.