Isabel Forces Rescheduling Of Many Meetings Of Interest To

Preparation for the onset of Hurricane Isabel last week caused NCUA to put off final passage of new rules to ease member business lending for at least a week.

The storm preparations closed state and local governments, schools and many businesses. With the shutdown of Congress and the federal government, action was also delayed on a bill to reauthorize the Fair Credit Reporting Act and to reform regulaory oversight over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

The NCUA Board rescheduled its monthly meeting for this week on Sept. 24, where it is also expected to approve one of its biggest community charters ever, a request by Bethpage FCU to serve all of Long Island, about 3 million people living in Nassau and Suffolk counties. At the same meeting the board is also expected to issue for public comment a proposal to expand required disclosures for credit unions seeking to convert to mutual savings banks.

Meanwhile, leagues serving states that were bearing the brunt of the storm and its aftermath also made preparations. In Maryland, for instance, the league kept its office open and distributed the cell phone numbers of league staff in the event of emergencies.