PORTLAND, Maine — Although NCUA's rules and disclosure regulations governing the process of converting from a credit union to bank charter draw the most attention, they are hardly the only regulatory hurdles many CUs considering making the change face, according to a leading consultant in the process.

Alan Theriault, CEO of CU Financial Services, a leading consultant in CU to bank charter conversions, said that the firm pays special attention to any issues with the Bank Secrecy Act, knowledge of loans that a CU might have on its books that other bank regulators might consider “subprime” and any loans from the CU to executives or board members when advising a CU about a possible conversion.

“BSA regulations are nothing new of course and apply to both credit unions and banks,” Theriault observed, “but it seems that credit unions are a bit behind other financial institutions when it comes to implementing them completely.”