Missouri CUs Start To Defect

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The first of what is expected to be a number of state-chartered credit unions in Missouri have begun petitioning NCUA to convert to a federal charter, as the bankers' field of membership lawsuit has left them all in limbo. The NCUA Board announced Thursday it will vote next week on an aplication for Aerospace CU, one of the Show-Me State's biggest credit unions, for a federal community charter. The credit union is among 10 of the largest state charters in Missouri left in a void by a state court ruling invalidating the state's FOM rules, among the most liberal in the country. The credit unions are expected to appeal the ruling, but a final decision on the appeal could take more than a year, leaving the broad community grants awarded those credit unions up in the air until then.