Kansas Expected To Pass Restrictive FOM Bill
TOPEKA, Kan.–A bill that would place significant restrictions on Kansas credit unions’ fields of membership was on the House floor and expected to pass at press time.
If the bill becomes law, nine state-chartered credit unions will be impacted immediately by having to restrict their current geographic fields of membership.
“I don’t think there is any doubt it is going to pass,” said Jim Holt, CEO of Mid American Credit Union in Wichita.
The bill passed the Senate after the Kansas Credit Union Association agreed to a compromise on an amendment to the Senate bill that will impose stronger restrictions on branching out of credit unions, while still allowing some leeway in expanding their territories.
As for how this will impact the nine credit unions, CEOs said it’s too soon to predict, as if the bill passes it will still need to be interpreted by the regulators.
“We don’t even know yet if it will pass, and then if it does the regulator has to interpret the language,” said Gary Regoli, CEO of Boeing Wichita CU. “We’ll really be waiting for the interpretation from the regulator.”
“I’m really not sure,” Holt said, of how the bill would impact Mid American CU. “We have a statewide field of membership, so automatically we know we’d have to change that. They have given us some options.”
One of these options is that the credit union can choose an FOM that gets it up to a million potential members.
“I think it will be fairly complicated to come up with the right geographic location,” Holt said. “What we’ll have to do is with a map, look at the demographics. Before what we could do is say ‘here is an area that is not being served–a hospital, school district’–now we can’t do that anymore. It’s very complicated from the front end to decide what the best thing to do for the credit union as a business, and from the end of what the best thing is for members.”
Firefighter Killed In Blast At CU
LOS ANGELES–One firefighter was killed and another was critically injured last week when an explosion rocked an intersection near Los Angeles International Airport and heavily damaged the Water and Power Community CU building.
The deadly blast came after firefighters were sent to respond to reports of exploding manhole covers and observed dark smoke coming from the credit union. After they entered the rear of the building to investigate, the explosion occurred, injuring the two firefighters.
The blast caused heavy damage to the credit union, with a huge hole blown out of the side of the two-story building.
The explosion caused major traffic tie-ups near the airport as firefighters continued to check other manhole covers and clear the area for rescue helicopters.
The cause of the explosion was unknown at press time, but authorities believe it resulted from a malfunction of the electrical vaults underneath the streets.
Reverse Mortgages Offered
MADISON, Wis.–MEMBERS Trust Co. announced three large credit unions–Ent FCU, Visions FCU and GTE FCU–will offer their members a new reverse mortgage product through the CUSO.
MEMBERS Trust will offer two products backed by the Federal Housing Administration: a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage and a Reverse Equity Mortgage.
Reverse mortgages, aimed at seniors, allow homeowners to borrow against the equity in their homes.
Delta CU Loses Bid To Enlarge Sign
ATLANTA–Citing a city ordinance, the city council here rejected a request from Delta Community CU to build a supersized sign to accommodate its new logo.
The $2.5-billion credit union wanted to erect a 142 square-foot sign on the wall of its building, far beyond the current 30 square-foot limit. The request was voted down unanimously as council members worried it would set a precedent that would damage the city’s sign ordinance.
Credit union representatives said the size was necessary to make sure it is seen from State Highway 54, and because of the new logo the company has adopted.
Workers’ CU Opens Wal-Mart Branch
LEOMINSTER, Mass.–Workers’ CU said it is opening a full-service branch in a new Wal-Mart store opening in May.
The branch, the credit union’s 14th service facility, will provide 500-square-feet of space and will be open seven days a week.
