Ten Underserved Areas Approved in December, All for Multiple Common Bond CUs

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-All of the 10 underserved area adoptions that took place in December were for multiple common bond credit unions, according to NCUA's Insurance Report of Activity. On the flip side, all six of the deferred underserved area applications were also from multiple common bond credit unions, NCUA Public Affairs Specialist Cherie Umbel said. None of the decisions had anything to do with the agency's recent moratorium and proposed rule on non-multiple common bond credit unions' adoption of underserved areas. In December, six credit unions added 10 underserved areas to their fields of membership with more than half-a-million in potential members. FEC Federal Credit Union alone added five areas in Broward County, Fla., with a total population of 177,812. However, the largest number of potential members added in an underserved area went to Sharonview Federal Credit Union in Mecklenburg, N.C. at 188,334. Smaller credit unions continued to be merged away with 24 under $10 million in assets merging (See chart); five were over $10 million in assets. Tiny Imani Federal Credit Union, with just $84,377 in assets, was absorbed by $23 million Postal Employees Credit Union in Tennessee. Just four community charter conversions took place for an aggregate of less than 600,000 potential members. Another 11 applications were deferred. One credit union, $237 million Oregonians Central, converted from state to federal charter. Media City Community Credit Union ($31 million) in Burbank, Calif. made the leap from private to federal deposit insurance. -