HARRISBURG, Penn. – The Pennsylvania CU Association has reached an agreement with the banking lobby on language that would give the bankers and the general public comment and input on field of membership applications for state chartered credit unions, a growing battleground between the traditional rivals.
The language, which is expected to be included in a bill reforming mortgage lending practices, would formalize a public comment and notice process, according to Rick Wargo, general counsel for the Pennsylvania league.
The bill will not, however, include a provision originally sought by the bankers to bring credit unions under the authority of the state’s banking statute, which might have given the banks a step up in their bid to eliminate the current credit union exemption from state taxes.
Pennsylvania has become ground zero for the banker-credit union wars, with the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, an affiliate of the American Bankers Association, and the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers, suing state regulators over FOM grants and the exemption from state taxes, and suing NCUA over FOMs awarded to several federally chartered credit unions.
