Newsroom

March 14, 2018

Court hears NCUA, bankers' summary judgments in FOM case

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia heard summary judgment motions Wednesday in the case against the NCUA's field-of-membership (FOM) rule regarding the definition of "rural district" and the bankers' challenge to the provisions in the regulation addressing "core-based statistical areas." Both the NCUA and American Bankers Association (ABA) have until noon Friday to submit supplemental materials on these issues.

The NCUA's FOM rule took effect in February 2017.

NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt and Regulatory Affairs Counsel Ann Kossachev attended the hearing.

During Wednesday's hearing, both parties contended points on rural districts and core-based statistical areas, including how the definition of rural districts should be derived and the NCUA's process and authority to grant expansions.

NAFCU filed an amicus brief supporting NCUA's FOM rule last June. The association believes the NCUA's FOM rule is well within the agency's legal authority and is in keeping with the Federal Credit Union Act. NAFCU stands behind the NCUA's decision to issue the final rule, which was the first meaningful update to the agency's FOM rules over the past decade.

In December 2016, the ABA filed suit against the NCUA over this rule. The banking trade asserts in its lawsuit that the NCUA has exceeded its authority under the Federal Credit Union Act in how it defines FOM.