Newsroom

December 07, 2016

ABA sues over FOM rule; NAFCU will stand by NCUA

The American Bankers Association today filed a suit against the NCUA over the agency's final field-of-membership rule, which is currently set to take effect Feb. 5.

NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger said the association stands behind the NCUA's decision to issue this final rule, the first meaningful update to the agency's FOM rules over the past decade.

"If the banks had put this much effort and money into policing themselves, maybe they could have helped avoid the financial crisis they caused that harmed consumers and our country's economy," said Berger.

"NCUA's field of membership rule is well within the agency's legal authority and is in keeping with the Federal Credit Union Act," Berger noted. "This suit is another outrageous effort by the banking trade group to distort the truth and continue to stymie credit unions' ability to provide consumers with the choice of a financial institution that puts them first," Berger continued. "NAFCU will remain steadfast in its support of this rule."

The banking trade asserts in its lawsuit that NCUA has exceeded its authority under the Federal Credit Union Act in how it defines FOM, calling the rule "part of a continuing effort by the agency to expand the size of federal credit unions." The ABA also criticizes the agency's FOM proposal, on which comments are due this Friday.