New chartering activity ground to a virtual standstill, with only six new credit unions approved for federal charters last year, one of the lowest numbers since the inception of the Federal CU Act in 1934.
There were also five new state credit unions chartered last year.
The new credit unions chartered by NCUA in 2003 were:
* Central Dallas FCU, serving 90,000 people in a low-income Dallas area.
* Community of Hope FCU, Jamestown, N.Y., serving 45,000 people in organizations serving low-income people in Jamestown.
* Nebraska Rural Community FCU, Morrill, Nebraska, serving 40,000 in the low-income communities in Scotts Bluff and Sioux counties, Nebraska.
* NorthCountry Cooperative FCU, Minneapolis, to serve 175,000 low-income residents of several Minneapolis neighborhoods.
* FASNY FCU, Albany, to serve firefighters in the Albany area.
* Fair Based FCU, Oceanside, Calif., to serve 95,000 members of Oceanside area churches.
NCUA also approved federal insurance for several new state charters, including:
* Bradley Initiative CU, Cleveland, Tenn., with a potential membership of 14,000.
* Unity Community CU, Clinton, N.C., a faith-based credit union with a potential membership of 110,000.
* New Life CU, Philadelphia, with a field of membership of 125,000 in low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods.
* TULIP Cooperative CU, Olympia, Wash., serving 90,000 people associated with the Olympia Food Co-op.
* Lower East Side Community CU, Chicago, serving a broad swatch of low-income residents in Chicago.
