NCUA FOM lawsuit decision a mixed bag for CUs

Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld two challenged portions of the National Credit Union Administration’s field of membership rule and struck down two provisions in a lawsuit filed against the agency by the American Bankers Association (ABA). Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and CUNA Mutual Group, in a joint statement, disagreed with the court’s decision and reiterated their intent to continue to work in support of the agency’s authority to issue this rule.

The provisions declared to exceed the NCUA’s statutory authority include those that automatically qualify a combined statistical area (CSA) with fewer than 2.5 million people to be a local community and the increase to 1 million people the population limit for rural districts.

“Our organizations are pleased the court upheld components of the NCUA’s field-of-membership rule; however, we strongly disagree with the court’s decision that aspects of the rule exceed the agency’s legal authority,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle and CUNA Mutual Group President/CEO Robert Trunzo. “The field-of-membership rule is not only entirely consistent with the Federal Credit Union Act, but also credit unions must have the ability to grow and serve more Americans. As the parties consider their options going forward, we will continue to support the agency on this critical issue.”

This lawsuit was filed Dec. 7, 2016, by the ABA. CUNA, and CUNA Mutual Group jointly filed an amicus brief in June 2017 supporting the FOM rule and the NCUA’s cross-motion for summary judgment. Read the opinion here.