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NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz today said she plans to propose a change in policy in a couple months that would delegate community charter expansion requests currently reserved for board consideration to the Office of Consumer Protection.

Matz, speaking during an open board meeting, said the policy is in keeping with the "year of regulatory relief." She said the policy change would be expected to cut down the review and approval process by about two months.

Currently, any community charter expansion involving a potential membership of more than 1 million persons requires approval of the NCUA Board. The policy Matz envisions would delegate to OCP approval authority for any charter expansion, regardless of potential membership totals. Credit unions would have the option to appeal to the board if OCP denies the request.

Matz made her announcement following the board's approval of a community charter expansion for Charlotte Metro Federal Credit Union (N.C.) to serve an area including about 2.38 million.

In other action during today's meeting, the board approved a final rule raising the "small entity" asset threshold to $100 million (for economic review of rules' impact on credit unions); heard a report on the corporate stabilization fund; revised a rule on corporates' loan limits; and approved changes in civil money penalty caps. Read more.