Newsroom

The NCUA Board yesterday approved a set of technical rule changes as well as the community charter conversion request of First Service Federal Credit Union of Groveport, Ohio.

NCUA Board Member Mark McWatters, participating in his first agency board meeting, moved that the revisions be approved; the package of amendments was approved on a vote of 3-0.

The rule changes take effect upon their publication in the Federal Register. These include, among other things:

• repeal of NCUA provisions on unfair or deceptive acts or practices due to Dodd-Frank Act revisions to the Federal Trade Commission Act, transferring rulemaking authority to CFPB;
• amendments to the agency's "payday" lending regulation to replace references to "short-term, small amounts loans" and "STS loans" with corresponding alternative terms, "payday alternative loans" and "PAL" loans.

NAFCU welcomes these updates to NCUA's rules. However, it will continue to press its "Dirty Dozen" list and to work with NCUA in identifying ways to give credit unions "substantial regulatory relief," NAFCU Director of Regulatory Affairs Mike Coleman told members in a report yesterday.

The board, also voting 3-0, yesterday approved expanding First Service FCU's community charter to cover eight counties in the Columbus, Ohio, metropolitan statistical area. The credit union had $135 million in assets and 16,104 members as of June 30.

NCUA notes this expansion makes more than $1.8 million people eligible for membership in First Service FCU.