The National Credit Union Administration has agreed to let two Texas credit unions convert to mutual thrifts in exchange for dropping their legal claims against the regulator.
Community Credit Union in Plano and OmniAmerican Credit Union in Fort Worth sued the NCUA in July after it rejected their conversion votes and cited concerns over how disclosure statements were folded in ballot packages mailed to members.
Edward J. Yingling, the president and chief executive officer of the American Bankers Association, said in a press release Wednesday that he hoped the deal would make it easier for other credit unions to convert.
"Today's settlement makes it clear that NCUA erred by interfering in these conversions," he said.
Credit union supporters said they hoped tempers aroused by the issue would have a chance to cool, particularly in Congress, where a lawmaker introduced a bill in July that would restrict the NCUA's authority to oversee conversions. "Our intent has always been to protect our members and their right to have full disclosure about what is going to happen to their credit union," said Gary Kohn, the senior legislative counsel at the Credit Union National Association. "We have serious concerns about any effort to curtail those rights."
