Capital Briefs: Hearings Eyed on NCUA Membership Rule

Rep. Marge Roukema, chairwoman of the House Banking Committee's financial institutions subcommittee, said Friday that she would hold hearings next year on the National Credit Union Administration's new membership rule.

The New Jersey Republican said the NCUA had ignored Congress' instruction to expand membership without letting credit unions grow uncontrollably.

Also Friday, Rep. John J. LaFalce, House Banking's ranking Democrat, said the NCUA's rule would make it hard for applicants with fewer than 3,000 potential members to get a charter.

As a result, he said, such groups would attach themselves to existing credit unions, creating oversized institutions. Rep. LaFalce also predicted that bankers would sue the NCUA. The agency's board approved the membership rule Thursday on a 2-to-1 vote.

Timothy Pryor, associate general counsel at the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, said banks might sue but he does not believe they will win.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER