Delaware FCU Tries Again For Statewide Charter

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Del-One FCU will try again to set a new standard for field of membership when it asks NCUA next week to allow it to serve the entire state of Delaware. The full NCUA Board will hear an appeal of a decision first rendered six years ago, denying the statewide FOM, ruling it violated provisions of the FCU Act, even though tiny Delaware only has around 800,000 people, far fewer than many other community charters approved by the federal regulator. Instead, the credit union, then known as Delaware FCU, was granted approval to serve the capital city of Wilmington and the town of Georgetown. In its 2000 ruling, NCUA said while the statewide charter complied with part of the requirements, as the state’s boundaries amount to a “well-defined” area, it does not comply with the requirement that it be a “local community, neighborhood or rural community.” The credit union has about $100 million in assets and 30,000 members. Numerous state chartered credit unions are authorized to serve the entire states.