ALEXANDRIA, Va.—NCUA said this afternoon it has not been approached by newly chartered Thrivent FCU to expand its common bond along with its sponsoring group, but any initiative to expand its current field of membership to include Christians, as well as Lutherans across the country, would have to be approved by the agency.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which sponsors the $480 million credit union, has asked its members to expand to also serve Christians, meaning the credit union FOM could also expand to serve Christians.
But NCUA said this afternoon such a change in the credit union’s bylaws would have to be approved by the agency.
NCUA expressed its position this afternoon in a letter to the American Bankers Association, which called for agency review this morning.
“As of this writing, we have not received any indication from Thrivent Federal Credit Union that the scope of their sponsor’s membership is in the process of a change,” Gail Laster, director of NCUA’s Office of Consumer Protection, wrote in the letter to the ABA. “In the event a change occurs, Thrivent Federal Credit Union would need to submit the sponsor’s revised bylaws to this office for review to ensure the sponsor continues to meet NCUA’s associational common bond requirements.”
Thrivent Financial, the credit union’s sponsor group to which membership is available to 2.5 million Lutherans in the U.S., has asked its members to expand membership eligibility to all Christians in the U.S. This could expand membership eligibility in the credit union, as well, to all Christians. The ABA expressed concern that such a broad membership eligibility would violate terms of the Federal FCU Act, as determined in several recent court rulings.
“The purpose of the potential extension is to allow us to help more Christians be wise with money and live generously.” Brett Weinberg, director of public relations for Thrivent Financial, told the Credit Union Journal. ”The potential impact on the credit union field of membership simply did not play a factor in the decision to move forward with the member vote.
