Bankers Want FOMs Opened to Public Scrutiny

WASHINGTON – The banking lobby is urging NCUA to require all field of membership expansions be opened up to public scrutiny through a comment and review process. America’s Community Bankers, the trade group for S&Ls and a regular critic of NCUA, called on the credit union regulator to issue for public comment not only new and unprecedented community charter requests, but all FOM applications. "Institution of a more transparent procedure would help the NCUA address criticisms that it has acted without proper consideration of applications that have been brought before it," wrote Krista Shonk, regulatory counsel for ACB, in a comment letter on NCUA’s proposed clarification of community chartering rules. She suggested that credit unions seeking FOM expansions publish a public notice, just as banks and S&Ls do when they want to establish a new branch. But credit union executives reject the proposal, saying making the FOM process public would just invite more mischief from the banks. "It would seem that all public comment would come from anti-credit union organizations such as banks and trade associations," said Rick Craig, president of America First FCU. "To expose the strategies, internal operations, business and marketing plans of a credit union to such scrutiny would be counter productive and possible very damaging." As part of its proposal to set new community charter boundaries, NCUA suggested issuing for public comment those community FOMs that are unprecedented.