American Banker, June 25, 2018: BankThink Banklike credit unions should follow bank rules
The vast majority of credit unions in America happily serve their important mission of providing financial services to well-defined communities. A small handful, however, want to grow into national financial institutions, serving anyone and everyone.
These few credit unions just won a major regulatory battle as the National Credit Union Administration approved new rules that open up field of membership requirements to more easily create national credit unions. This decision will advantage a handful of mega credit unions, further tilt the playing field against community banks and exacerbate existing regulatory challenges that the NCUA has yet to focus on.
At a minimum, if the NCUA is going down the path of allowing anyone to be part of a few credit unions, then it ought to require compliance with the spirit of the Community Reinvestment Act and enhance oversight of executive compensation.
