Banker Appointed To Post Regulating Michigan CUs

Gov. Jennifer Granholm Friday appointed the head of a Detroit bank to head the state's financial services division, just as the legislature is about to take up a broad-ranging credit union reform bill.

Linda Watters, 48, of Dearborn, president and CEO of Detroit Commerce Bank, was named to head the state's Office of Financial and Insurance Services, which regulates statechartered banks, and insurance companies, as well as 277 state-chartered credit unions.

Lawmakers are expected to introduce legislation over the next two weeks which would reform the state's credit union statute by allowing credit union boards to set their own fields of membership (FOM), and allow credit unions to offer secondary capital instruments, among other things. Granholm expressed support for the reform effort during last year's campaign.

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