NCUA to Reinstate Rural District for 18 CUs Impacted by ABA Lawsuit

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) announced that it will reinstate rural districts for 18 credit unions that were removed by the American Bankers Association (ABA) lawsuit.

This action was based upon the United State Supreme Court denying ABA's appeal to review the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision on the NCUA’s field of membership rules.

The NCUA’s Office of Credit Union Resources and Expansion will contact these 18 credit unions by July 10, 2020, to confirm the reinstatement. No further action will be required for these credit unions.

For any federal credit union with a rural district field of membership application in limbo during the litigation period, the NCUA will resume processing these applications, immediately. The NCUA will also begin accepting new rural district field of membership applications, immediately.

A proposed area would generally qualify as a rural district if it has well-defined, contiguous geographic boundaries, and the total population of the proposed district does not exceed one million. A rural district must also meet the criteria that either more than 50 percent of the proposed district's population resides in census blocks or other geographic units that are designated as rural by either the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or the United States Census Bureau, or the district has a population density of 100 persons or fewer per square mile.

Read more.

NCUA Board Finalized Nonmember Shares Rule, Proposes FOM Rule Implementing Court Decision

The National Credit Union Administration Board finalized its rule expanding credit unions access to nonmember and public unit shares (deposits).

According to the final rule, a federal credit union may accept public unit and nonmember shares in an amount up to 50 percent of the credit union’s net amount of paid-in and unimpaired capital and surplus, less any public unit or nonmember shares, or $3 million, whichever is greater.

The original proposal had eliminated the current alternative limit of $3 million. The Board, however, thought the elimination of the current alternative limit of $3 million would adversely impact some small credit unions.

In addition, the Board is proposing changes to its community charter regulations to align it with the August 2019 opinion issued by the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals.

A federal credit union would be allowed to designate a combined statistical area or an individual contiguous portion of such an area, as a well-defined local community, provided the chosen area has a population of 2.5 million or less.

The Board added a provision to address concerns raised by the Appeals Court about potential discrimination in the field-of-membership selection process in combined statistical areas and core-based statistical areas.

Read the press release.

Colorado Regulator Approves Expansion in Ent's Community Charter

The Gazette is reporting that the Colorado Division of Financial Services approved the addition of six counties to the field of membership of Ent Credit Union (Colorado Springs, CO).

The approval adds Adams, Weld, Boulder, Broomfield, Elbert and Larimer counties to the credit union's service area.

The addition of the six counties increases Ent’s potential membership base by 1.57 million people.

The credit union's service area encompasses 14 Colorado counties with more than 4.5 million people.

Read the story.

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.

Narrative Approach Cannot Be Used to Do End-Run Around Court Decision

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) stated that federal credit unions cannot use the newly approved narrative approach to regain broad field of memberships vacated by the March 2018 federal court decision.

NCUA acknowledged that a number of federal credit unions took advantage of the expanded rural district and combined statistical area (CSA) parameters permitted by the agency's 2016 amendment to its field of membership rule.

As a result of the court decision, those federal credit unions are no longer permitted to utilize those broad fields of membership.

During the June 21, 2018 open board meeting, Frank Kressman, NCUA Associate General Counsel, stated that it is not possible for federal credit unions to use the narrative approach to do an end-run around the court order.

Kressman said the following:

"No credit union can use the narrative approach to regain the expanded fields of membership they had or expanded rural districts or CSAs. The reason for that, is that the narrative approach only applies to well-defined local communities that are based on commonality of interest and interaction among the residents."

Kressman concluded by saying "[t]here are no provisions in the narrative approach for rural districts or CSAs."

In other words, neither a rural district nor a CSA is a well-defined local community and cannot use the narrative approach to regain their broad fields of membership.

Public Hearing for CUs Using Narrative Approach Seeking WDLC with Population Over 2.5 Million

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board will allow federal credit unions to submit a narrative to establish the existence of a well-defined local community (WDLC), if the proposed community extends beyond a single political jurisdiction. If a federal credit union is using a narrative approach for a proposed community with a population in excess of 2.5 million people, NCUA will hold a public hearing.

The Board believes that it is appropriate to require a public hearing, because it would give an applicant, community groups, business, and competitors with the opportunity to present their views.

Here is what you need to know about the public hearing process.

• Upon receiving such an application, information stating the location, time, procedures and other relevant information about the hearing will be published in the Federal Register at least 30 days prior to the hearing date.
• The hearing will either be held at the NCUA's Headquarters in Alexandria, VA or a location near the applicant's anticipated community.
• The public hearing will last no more than four hours with interested parties being permitted to make presentations of no more than 30 minutes each.
• The applicant along with no more than seven other interested parties may request to make presentations.
• The first six entities contacting the NCUA in writing will be permitted to make presentations.
• A seventh entity may be permitted to make a presentation, but only at the discretion of NCUA staff.

In addition to the presentations, interested parties may submit written statements at least twenty business days prior to the hearing.

NCUA has identified 13 criteria that the credit union applicant should address in its narrative to show that the proposed community meets the requirements of common interaction and interest among residents. The NCUA Board believes the more a proposed area satisfies the 13 criteria, the stronger the applicant's case.

However, applicants are not limited to the 13 criteria. Applicants may introduce other evidence that shows the proposed area is a WDLC.

The final rule becomes effective on September 1, 2018.

Read the Federal Register Notice.

NCUA Board Amends FOM Rule and Provides Greater Transparency Regarding Voluntary Mergers

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board finalized on June 20th two rules amending the agency’s regulations governing its chartering and field-of-membership (FOM) rules with respect to applicants for a community charter and providing members of federally insured credit unions with greater transparency when those credit unions seek voluntary mergers.

The NCUA Board decided not raise the population limit for a presumptive community in its FOM rule. The Board had proposed raising the population threshold for a presumptive community charter from 2.5 million people to 10 million people.

The final FOM rule made the following changes:

• An applicant for an original community charter, conversion, or expansion has the option of submitting a narrative, with sufficient supporting documentation, to establish the existence of the required well-defined local community;
• The agency will hold a public hearing on narrative applications where the proposed community’s population exceeds 2.5 million; and
• For communities that are subdivided into metropolitan divisions, the Board will permit an applicant to designate a portion of the area as its community, regardless of division boundaries.

NCUA staff during the briefing stated that credit unions affected by the March 29 court order would not be allowed to use the narrative approach to regain communities that were invalidated.

The rule will become effective on September 1, 2018.

The Board also finalized a rule that would better inform members of a federally insured credit union seeking a voluntary merger and would give members more time to consider their votes.

Specifically, the final rule will:

• Increase the minimum required time for notice to members before a merger vote to 45 days;
• Require the merging credit unions to disclose merger-related compensation increases above $10,000 or 15 percent of compensation, whichever is greater, for certain employees and officials of the merging credit union;
• Clarify the contents and format of the members’ notice to provide better information; and
• Provide a method to communicate to the NCUA regarding the proposed merger.

The final rule goes into effect on October 1, 2018.

Read the press release.

NCUA's Metsger Criticizes Judge's Decision Invalidating Portions of Its FOM Rule

In an April 5 speech before the Minnesota Credit Union Network, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board member Metsger delivered critical remarks regarding a recent decision by a federal judge invalidating portion of NCUA's new field of membership (FOM) rule.

The American Bankers Association sued NCUA over four provisions in the agency's FOM rule. The federal judge invalidated two of the provisions, while upholding two other provisions.

The federal judge overturned the agency's provision allowing rural district charters to serve rural areas with populations of up to one million people, up from the old limit of 250,000. The judge also overturned the provision that defined a Combined Statistical Area with a population up to 2.5 million people as a de facto local well-defined community.

However, Metsger did not mince his words expressing his disapproval of the judge's decision. He stated that judge's decision was only "half right."

Metsger argued that the two overturned provisions of the FOM rule were neither arbitrary nor capricious.

Metsger was also critical of the judge's ruling because it failed to give deference to the agency in interpreting the Federal Credit Union Act.

He further commented that the agency adhered to the law, because no member of Congress objected to the rule or even introduced a resolution to veto the rule.

In addition with respect to the rural district definition, Metsger argued that banks are abandoning rural America and the expansion of the rural district definition was "designed to solve very real financial access problems for residents of rural America."

Metsger's harshest comments were directed at the American Bankers Association and the banking industry. He referred to the banking industry as protectionist, seeking to deny consumers access to not-for-profit credit unions.

NCUA has 60-days to decide whether it will appeal the judge's decision.

Below is the speech.

The States of Alaska and Wyoming Are Rural Districts.

In December, the National Credit Union Administration approved two states as rural districts.

NCUA granted Reliant Federal Credit Union (Casper, WY) a community charter for the state of Wyoming. This is the second credit union to be granted Wyoming as a community charter. The other credit union was WYHY Federal Credit Union (Cheyenne, WY), which received a community charter for Wyoming in November.

NCUA also approved the application of Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union (Palmer, AK) to serve the entire state of Alaska. NCUA determined that Alaska met the requirement for a rural district community charter. The population of the state is less than 1 million and the state's population density of 1.2 people per square mile is below the population density threshold of 100 people per square mile for a rural district. However, it appears that NCUA did not consider the evidence that 66 percent of Alaska's population lives in urban areas.

Read NCUA's December Report of Insurance Activity.

NCUA Approves Combined Statistical Area that Had Previously Been Rejected by Federal Court

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) in October approved a community charter that was previously rejected by a federal district court.

NCUA granted a community charter to New Cumberland Federal Credit Union serving the Combined Statistical Area of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Perry and York Counties in Pennsylvania.

NCUA amended its regulations governing community charters by recognizing that a Combined Statistical Area with a population up to 2.5 million as a de facto well-defined. local community.

The Harrisburg-York-Lebanon Combined Statistical Area is comprised of four metropolitan statistical areas.

New Cumberland FCU had previously been granted this six-county region, but a federal judge in 2008 ruled that this region did not meet the requirement of being a local community.

The federal judge wrote "[t]o a casual observer familiar with central Pennsylvania, it would likely be a remarkable finding that . . . a geographical area of more than 3,000 square miles with a population of over 1.1 million people ... constituted a 'well-defined local community.'"

NCUA Declares the State of Wyoming a Rural District

In November 2017, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) granted WYHY Federal Credit Union (Cheyenne, WY) a community charter serving the entire state of Wyoming as a rural district.

The estimated 2016 population of Wyoming is 585,501.

The credit union was able to add the whole state, because NCUA raised the population threshold for a rural district from 250,000 to 1 million under its new field of membership rule.

However, NCUA is abusing the term rural by stating the whole state of Wyoming is a rural district.

While the population density for the state is approximately 6 people per square mile, more than half of the residents in Wyoming reside in urban areas.

Below is an image of the approval.

Portions of Vast Community Charter Did Not Meet the Standard of Being Local in 2004

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) in August approved a community charter for Utah Community FCU (Provo, UT) comprised of a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) serving 10 Utah counties.

Under NCUA's new field of membership rules, a CSA with up to 2.5 million people is viewed as a presumptive local, well-defined community, despite being a region.

The CSA includes the counties of Box Elder, Davis, Juab, Morgan, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, and Weber.

Let's look at the facts.

This CSA served a large geographic area and large population.

The community charter stretches east-to-west from the Wyoming border to the Nevada border. The geographic area also borders the state of Idaho.

The square mileage of the 10-county region is 23,356.18, which is larger than 9 states.

The population of the combined statistical area is almost $2.4 million.

The Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem CSA includes three metropolitan statistical areas and two micropolitan statistical areas.

However, in 2004, a Utah federal judge ruled that the six counties of Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, and Weber did not constitute a local, well-defined community. These six counties are part of the 10 county region approved by NCUA as a local, well-defined community.

So if these six counties did not constitute a local, well-defined community, how does this 10-county region represent a local, well-defined community?

Hopefully, the federal court invalidates this provision in NCUA's field of membership regulation.

Horizon FCU Gets Rural District FOM Expansion

The National Credit Union Administration recently approved an expansion in the field of membership (FOM) of Horizon Federal Credit Union (Williamsport, PA).

The credit union in 2011 converted to a community charter serving Lycoming and Clinton Counties in Pennsylvania.

The credit union added 9 additional counties to its existing community charter in July 2017.

Today, Horizon FCU can serve persons who live, work, worship, or attend school in, and businesses and other legal entities in the rural district of Bradford, Centre, Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Sullivan, Tioga, or Union Counties. The potential increase in membership for the credit union is 666,077.

But the only way Horizon could add these 9 counties to Horizon's existing FOM was by using the rural district.

However, this region appears to be rural in name only.

Eight of the 11 counties belong to seven different core bases statistical areas. The region includes three distinct metropolitan statistical areas and four micropolitan statistical areas.

Only three counties are not part of a core based statistical area -- Potter, Sullivan, and Tioga.

Five counties have population densities in excess of 100 persons per square mile.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 54 percent of the people in this so-called rural district live in urbanized areas or urban clusters.

Six of the counties have a majority of their residents residing in urban areas and clusters.

It appears that the agency has disregarded information that would have suggested that this region is not a rural district.

Once again, the agency has abused its discretion in designating this region as a rural district.

Black Hills FCU's Gerrymandered Rural District Charter

Black Hills Federal Credit Union (Rapid City, SD) is using the rural district loophole to connect South Dakota's two largest distinct metropolitan areas by population size. One metropolitan area is in the eastern part of the state and the other is in the western part of the state.

The credit union has used the rural district geographic common-bond to expand its footprint across the state on three different occasions.

In March 2011, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) granted Black Hill'a rural district community charter serving the South Dakota counties of Pennington, Meade, Haakon, Hughes, or Stanley.

In July 2015, NCUA approved a second expansion of Black Hills' rural district adding the counties of Butte, Buffalo, Hyde, Jerauld, Lincoln, McCook, Miner, Sanborn, Sully, or Turner.

In May 2017, NCUA approved an expansion of a rural district community common-bond for Black Hills Federal Credit Union (Rapid City, SD) to include Minnehaha County, the state's most populous county.

The addition of Minnehaha County raised the potential population for this rural district to 431,701, as Black Hills FCU exploits NCUA's recently amended field of membership final rule that raised the population threshold for a rural district from 250,000 to 1 million.

This rural district snakes its way across South Dakota from the Montana-Wyoming border to the Minnesota-Iowa border.

This rural district includes three core-based statistical areas -- two metropolitan statistical areas and a micropolitan statistical area.

Each of these core-based statistical areas are distinct well-defined local communities.

Almost 95 percent of the people living in this rural district reside in the three core-based statistical areas.

It appears that the credit union is using rural counties to create a bridge from one metro area to another metro area.

In fact, Black Hills FCU does not have a branch in truly rural counties, such as Haakon, Buffalo, Butte, Jerauld, Hyde, Miner, and Sanborn. However, according to its current profile, the credit union has already opened a branch in Minnehaha County, which it just added.

This gerrymandered rural district is rural in name only. NCUA's decision to approve this rural district is arbitrary and capricious.

FCUs Taking Advantage of New Rural District FOM

Federal credit unions are taking advantage of the new, higher population threshold for a rural district.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) raised the population threshold for a rural district from 250,000 to 1 million. But NCUA eliminated the alternate population limit of 3 percent of the population of the state in which the majority of the rural district members reside.

In May, NCUA approved three rural districts with populations in excess of the old threshold of 250,000. The credit unions are Black Hills FCU (Rapid City, SD), Rocket FCU (McGregor, TX), and Marshland Community FCU (Brunswick, GA).

Under the old rule, the two credit unions in Georgia and Texas could have had rural districts with populations in excess of 250,000; but not exceeding 3 percent of the state's population. However, Black Hills would have been capped at a population limit of 250,000.

In comparison, only 8 federal credit unions between 2013 and 2016 were approved to serve rural districts with populations in excess of 250,000. According to NCUA, the eight credit unions were Red River Employees (Texarkana, TX), MobilOil (Beaumont, TX), Neches (Port Neches, TX), 1st Community (San Angelo, TX), Complex Community (Odessa, TX), Sidney (Sidney, NY), Sun Community (El Centro, CA), and Interstate Unlimited (Jesup, GA).

The final rule went into effect on February 6, 2017.

ABA Files Motion for Summary Judgment in FOM Lawsuit

The American Bankers Association on Friday, May 26 filed a motion for summary judgment in its case challenging the National Credit Union Administration’s final rule expanding community-based credit union fields of membership (FOM) far beyond the limitations imposed by Congress.

The rule allows community credit unions — which Congress by statute limited to serving a single “well-defined local community, neighborhood, or rural district” to serve large regions encompassing multiple metropolitan areas with populations in the millions.

ABA specifically challenged the inclusion of Combined Statistical Areas — which encompass multiple Metropolitan Statistical Areas — as “local communities”; the ability of credit unions to serve Core-Based Statistical Areas without serving the urban core that defines the area; the ability to add “adjacent areas” to existing community fields of membership; and the dramatic expansion of what constitutes a rural district.

In its motion, ABA argued that this expansion of taxpayer-subsidized financial institutions is inconsistent with the limited scope of credit union operations envisioned by Congress, that it authorizes fields of membership that federal courts have previously rejected and that it undermines the ability of taxpaying banks to serve their communities.

ABA is seeking a declaration that the rule exceeded the agency’s statutory authority and is arbitrary and capricious, as well as an injunction prohibiting any community charter expansions pursuant to the challenged portions of the rule.

Read the motion for summary judgment.

Be Careful What You Wish For

The banking industry, as well as this blogger, has commented that the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) should allow public comments regarding a community charter application before the agency makes a decision on the application.

Speaking at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Governmental Affairs Conference on February 28, Acting NCUA Chairman McWatters appears to have partially granted the banking industry's wish. Acting Chairman McWatters stated:

"The final field-of-membership rule should also afford enhanced due process rights for those that wish to register public comment regarding certain proposed community-based field-of-membership applications prior to definitive action by the agency."

Clearly, permitting public comments on certain community charter applications will be a burr under the saddle for the credit union industry.

But this is a smart move on the part of NCUA to seek comment on community charter applications.

By requiring comment, the ball will now be in the court of bankers and bank trade associations.

If bankers and bank trade associations fail to comment on certain proposed community charters, it will probably make it more difficult for the banking industry to do an as applied challenges to NCUA's community charter decisions in the courts.

NCUA Thumbs Its Nose at Federal Courts

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) in its final field of membership (FOM) rule has thumbed its nose at the federal courts.

On two separate occasions, federal courts have invalidated NCUA’s attempts to expand the FOM for community credit unions.

Paragraphs 31 and 32 of the American Bankers Association's complaint show that federal courts found that NCUA failed to comply with the Federal Credit Union Act (FCUA) by ensuring that community credit union must serve a single, well-defined local community.

A federal court in Utah in 2004 invalidated a community charter that included six counties with 1.4 million residents — almost two-thirds of Utah's population — and encompassed an area extending from the Nevada border to the Wyoming border of Utah.

Also, a federal court in Pennsylvania struck down NCUA's decision that a six-county area in south-central Pennsylvania constituted a single “well-defined local community.” The judge wrote in 2008 “[t]o a casual observer familiar with central Pennsylvania, it would likely be a remarkable finding that . . . a geographical area of more than 3,000 square miles with a population of over 1.1 million people and encompassing Harrisburg, Hershey, Carlisle, York, Lebanon, Gettysburg, and Shippensburg — constituted a ‘well-defined local community.’”

Nothing has changed in statute; but now, NCUA's final FOM rule will allow a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) with up to 2.5 million population to be treated as a presumptive well-defined local community. (See my earlier post)

For example, this final rule would allow Utah’s Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield CSA to be classified as a presumptive “well-defined local community,” even though six of the eight counties in the CSA were part of previous litigation that found that those six counties do not constitute a single, well-defined local community.

So, how can these eight counties now be a presumptive well-defined local community?

NCUA is thumbing its nose at the federal courts and is unreasonably interpreting the FCUA.

ABA Sues NCUA over Its Final FOM Rule

The American Bankers Association (ABA) on December 7 filed a lawsuit against the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) seeking to overturn the agency's final field of membership (FOM) rule that is scheduled to take effect on February 6, 2017.

The Final FOM Rule was published on December 7 in the Federal Register.

According to ABA's complaint, NCUA’s final rule “fails to adhere to the limitations on federal credit unions established by Congress. By exceeding these statutory limitations, the final rule upsets the balance Congress struck between granting federal credit unions tax-favored status and limiting their operations to carefully circumscribed groups or localities that share a common bond.”

ABA stated that the rule disregards Congress' explicit instruction that community credit unions serve only a single, well-defined local community. Instead, it declares that large regions including millions of residents and cutting across multiple states are single "local" communities.

Under the final rule, an FCU can apply to serve entire geographic regions. NCUA has defined Combined Statistical Areas with populations up to 2.5 million residents as a "well-defined local community." So-called “rural districts” can serve up to 1 million people, which would include the entirety of Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont or Wyoming.

ABA alleges that "[n]o reasonable agency could conclude that the vast areas covered by the Final Rule constitute a single "well-defined local community" or "rural district."

However, NCUA should not be confused with being a reasonable agency.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Read the complaint.
Read the press release.

Is the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area A Well-Defined Local Community?

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board is proposing to quadruple the population threshold of a presumptive community charter consisting of a statistical area or a portion thereof served by a federal credit union (FCU) to 10 million.

The Board defines a statistical area as being comprised by a Combined Statistical Area or a Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA). A CBSA is either a Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area.

For example, if the proposed population threshold of 10 million is approved, this would allow an FCU to serve a statistical area as a well-defined local community (WDLC) with a population that is greater than the population of 41 states and the District of Columbia.

In addition, the proposal would qualify 20 additional Combined Statistical Areas as presumptive WDLCs. This means that all but two Combined Statistical Areas would qualify as presumptive WDLCs.

Under the proposal, the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area would qualify as a presumptive WDLC.

The Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area has an estimated population of approximately 9.6 million people. This is below the proposed 10 million population threshold.

The region encompasses one county in southern Pennsylvania, portions of the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, central and southern Maryland including part of the eastern shore, the District of Columbia, and northern Virginia.

It includes six Metropolitan Statistical Areas and two Micropolitan Statistical Areas.

This region has numerous trade areas, multiple taxing authorities, and multiple political jurisdictions.

In my opinion, the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area is hardly a local community; but rather a region.