Congress To Press Forward With Pro-CUConversion Bid

WASHINGTON - (09/08/05) -- Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., saidWednesday he won't back off his efforts to strip NCUA of some ofits powers over credit union conversions to banks, even though NCUAagreed to drop its objections to the two giant Texas conversions.McHenry said he expects Congress to hold a hearing on his bill inthe next two months. "This (NCUA settlement of the controversiallawsuit) the need we have for real laws to substitute NCUA'sadministration," McHenry told The Credit Union Journal. He said hisbill will protect the consumer and give a more formal framework tothe conversion process. McHenry is one of a half-dozen outspokencritics of NCUA's actions in the Community CU and OmniAmerican CUcases, referring to the agency's rejection of the conversion votingas 're-freaking-diculous.' NCUA agreed last week to lift itsobjections to the balloting at the two billion-dollar credit unionsand to approve the precedent-setting charter switches.