Kern Schools FCU plans charter conversion

Kern Schools Federal Credit Union in Bakersfield, Calif., has applied to convert to a state charter.

The $1.7 billion-asset institution would change its name to Kern Schools Credit Union, according to the California Department of Business Oversight. The application was filed in August.

Dozens of credit unions have converted from federal charters to state ones since 2012. Through midyear, about 38% of credit unions were state-chartered institutions and held roughly 49% of the industry’s assets, according to data from the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors.

However, since 2016, more institutions have converted to federal charters as the National Credit Union Administration has worked to ease field of membership rules for these credit unions.

Kern earned $14 million through Sept. 30, up about 2% from the same period a year earlier, according to call report data.