State Senate leaders fended off lobbying efforts by the Michigan Bankers Association last week to roll back expansive field of membership allowances included in a credit union reform bill making its way through the legislature.
But the bankers, who want to roll-back FOM to prohibit multiple counties or multiple school districts, are still working to squeeze concessions on the comprehensive reform bill approved by the Senate Banking Committee last spring, according to one representative involved in high-level negotiations between Senate leaders, the Michigan league, Michigan Association of CUs and Michigan Bankers Association.
David Adams, president of the Michigan league, said the bankers' position on FOM, the major provision in the bill, is a non-starter. "The bankers intend of to try to make field of membership as restrictive as possible," Adams told The Credit Union Journal.
Adams said he is confident the FOM provision, which would allow Michigan's 275 state chartered CUs to determine their own FOM, will survive the high-level negotiations, as will a controversial measure to allow CUs to provide check cashing and wire transfers to non-members within their FOMs.
The groups were expected to meet again last week to try to iron out their differences. The bill would also allow credit unions to offer secondary capital instruments, and address other issues.
