A federal judge in Washington, D.C., today held oral arguments in the American Bankers Association’s lawsuit challenging the National Credit Union Administration’s expansive field of membership rule. The hearing was on both ABA’s and NCUA’s motions for summary judgment in the case. Observers noted that Judge Dabney Friedrich was engaged and asked thoughtful questions of attorneys for both sides. A ruling on the motions is expected in the coming months.
NCUA’s final rule expanded community-based credit union fields of membership far beyond the limitations imposed by Congress. In its lawsuit, ABA specifically challenged the inclusion of combined statistical areas — which encompass multiple metropolitan statistical areas — as “local communities”; the ability of credit unions to serve core-based statistical areas without serving the urban core that defines the area; the ability to add “adjacent areas” to existing community fields of membership; and the dramatic expansion of what constitutes a rural district.
