What's the Hold Up?

This is the question posed by an American Banker article regarding Monterey Credit Union's conversion to a California state chartered bank.

More than 14 months after its members voted to convert to a bank charter, Monterey Credit Union, a privately-insured credit union, appears to be trapped in regulatory limbo as regulators dither over its application to become a bank.

The article quotes Richard Garabedian, a Washington, DC lawyer, as saying he believes that the bank regulators have "raised the price of admission" by requiring credit unions to have healthier metrics than in past years.

Read the article (subscription required).