Star One To Sue Texas Regulator Over FOM

California-based Star One CU, claiming it is being discriminated against because of its out-of-state status, has asked a state court here for a rare review of the Texas CU Department's denial of its field of membership expansion request. Star One claims the state's FOM rules treat foreign CUs differently than Texas-based institutions because of a provision requiring that out-of-state credit unions prove they can serve members conveniently from their branches before granting FOM expansions. "I just can't understand why they're treating us any different. It's not as if we're carpetbaggers. We've been operating in Texas for 30 years," Rick Heldebrant, CEO of the $2.4-billion Star One, told The Credit Union Journal.

Star One is challenging last year's action by the Texas CU Department approving its request to serve about 500 employees of the Texas Parks and Wildfire Department based in Austin, but rejecting a request to serve another 2,000 department employees throughout the state.