National Credit Union Administration 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The NCUA Board recently issued an ANPR regarding mergers, conversions from credit union charter, and account insurance termination that provided a 60-day comment period, 73 FR 5461 (Jan. 30, 2008). NCUA received several oral requests to extend the comment period and has decided to extend the comment period for an additional 30 days.

NCUA is considering whether to issue regulations to govern merger of a federally insured credit union (FICU) into or a FICU's conversion to a financial institution other than a mutual savings bank (MSB). NCUA currently does not have regulations governing these transactions. Also, NCUA is considering amending its regulations regarding mergers, charter conversions, and changes in account insurance to address various issues these transactions present that affect member rights and ownership interests. These issues include accuracy of communications to members, voting integrity, fiduciary duty obligations for insiders, and member interest in credit union equity, for example, through merger dividends. NCUA seeks comment on the necessity of amending its current regulations to address these issues, any additional issues relevant to these transactions not noted in this ANPR, and, if commenters believe regulatory amendments are needed, suggestions on how to address these issues.