In a letter to the National Credit Union Administration today, the American Bankers Association reiterated its strong opposition to two proposed amendments that would further expand the already loose fields from which credit unions can draw their customers. NCUA proposed to re-adopt a recently repealed provision of its rules defining any combined statistical area as a single local community, provided it has a population of 2.5 million people or less.
NCUA also proposed to reaffirm its elimination of a requirement for credit unions serving a core-based statistical area to serve the urban core of the community, which would effectively allow credit unions to engage in redlining by allowing them to construct fields of membership consisting of wealthier suburbs without lower-income core neighborhoods.
ABA—which previously challenged the NCUA’s field of membership rule in federal court—noted that “both these proposals are seriously flawed” and called for them to be withdrawn or significantly revised.
