Proposal Would Allow 19.3 Million Vets to Join CUs Serving the Armed Forces

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board is proposing to include within a credit union’s common bond the honorably discharged veterans of any branch of the United States Armed Forces that is listed in a credit union's charter.

This provision would allow veterans to be eligible for credit union membership beyond their active duty status.

So, this means 19.3 million veterans will have continued access to credit unions that serve various branches of the military.

In justifying its position, the NCUA Board wrote that "[a]ctive duty and discharged military personnel and their families share a similar affinity, typically maintaining a close relationship with their active duty branch of service, largely through Armed Forces associations, publications and continued access to military bases, such as Veterans Administration facilities, base commissaries, post exchanges, and morale, welfare and recreation sponsored programs."

It appears that Navy Federal Credit Union and Pentagon Federal Credit Union wrote this provision, as they will be the beneficiaries of this proposed change to NCUA's field of membership rule.