BOSTON – First Priority CU, which failed in its longtime bid to convert to a bank, has instead applied to state regulators to expand its field of membership to cover more than half of the Bay State.
The one-time postal workers’ credit union, which pulled its application to convert to a mutual savings bank last year, has asked state regulators to add more than 2.2 million people in Middlesex and Norfolk counties to its current FOM, which covers Suffolk (Boston) and Essex counties.
The credit union, formerly Postal Community CU, last year withdrew it application with the FDIC after waiting more than three years for approval and even after convincing Massachusetts lawmakers to pass a bill allowing state charters to convert to banks, a process more than five years running. The conversion was even approved by the Massachusetts Division of Banking in May 2008, but was never ruled on by the FDIC.
Over the past year First Priority’s assets have declined by 29% to $129 million and net income has fallen into the red, with a loss of $50,862 for the first six months of 2011.
