39 FCUs Had FOMs Vacated by Court, But A Dozen Have Regained Parts of Vacated Communities

Thirty-nine federal credit unions were notified by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) on April 4, 2018 that their fields of membership were vacated by the March 29, 2018 Federal Court decision.

Federal Judge Dabney Friedrich declared invalid and vacated two aspects of the NCUA's field of membership rule -- (1) the inclusion of Combined Statistical Areas with fewer than 2.5 million people, and (2) the dramatic expansion of a “rural district” to include areas with up to 1 million people, up from 250,000 people or 3 percent of the state's population.

Below is the list of 38 credit unions, which was obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request (click on image to enlarge). Hudson River Financial FCU was excluded from the list.

The Freedom of Information Act request also sought information on vacated community charters. Here are some examples of vacated community charters.

The court ruling vacated the community charter conversion of WyHy Federal Credit Union (Cheyenne, WY) to serve the whole state of Wyoming, as a rural district. The credit union changed its charter back to a multiple common bond charter after the court decision.

AmeriChoice Federal Credit Union (Mechanicsburg, PA) had the Pennsylvania counties of Adams, Lebanon, and York removed from its charter, after it expanded its community charter in December 2017 by using a Combined Statistical Area.

TruChoice Federal Credit Union (Portland, ME) expanded its community charter using the invalidated rural district definition in January 2018 to serve the Maine counties of Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Sagadahoc, Somerset, and York. The court decision scaled back the community charter to two counties -- York and Cumberland.

However, recent decisions by NCUA have allowed a dozen credit unions to regain portions of their vacated community charters thru the end of the second quarter of 2018. For example,

The court ruling vacated the community charter conversion of Hudson River Financial Credit Union (Peekskill, NY) to serve people who live, work, worship, and attend school in and businesses and other legal entities in the counties of Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester in New York. In June 2018, NCUA approved a community charter for Hudson River Financial FCU to serve people who live, work, worship, or attend school in and business and other legal entities in Rockland or Westchester Counties in New York, which are part of the New York, Jersey City, White Plains Metropolitan Division.

NCUA granted Reliant Federal Credit Union (Casper, WY) in December 2017 an expansion of its community charter via its rural district definition to the whole state of Wyoming. The court ruling scaled back the community charter to two counties of Converse and Natrona. But in June 2018, NCUA approved a new rural district for Reliant FCU composed of Big Horn, Campbell, Converse, Crook, Hot Springs, Johnson, Natrona, Niobrara, Park, Sheridan, Washakie, or Weston Counties, Wyoming.

Other credit unions that regained portions of their community charters were DEXSTA FCU, Act 1st FCU, Coloramo FCU, School Systems FCU, Horizon FCU, Missoula FCU, First Peoples Community FCU, Acadia FCU, CinFed FCU, and Great Northwest FCU.