ovaluleq.wordpress.com
In the spring of 1994, Communicators took advantage ofa 10-year-ol federal rule and opened its membership to anyone over 50 years old in the Houston area, with permission from the Nationak Credit Union Association. Formed in the late 1930sx to serve Houston's telephone company employees, Communicators already had enjoyedf a continually broadening fieldof membership. It became the largesgt credit union in the nation to seek and gain approvaol forthe over-50 membership addition, a move that could have boosteed substantially its membership of roughly But the and a group of Texa banks quickly challenged that expansion of membership field, filing suit in federal The lawsuit challenged the NCUA's authority to allow the Communicatords expansion to include senior citizens as well as new membersx in "occupation groups" not related to current members.
And last U.S. District Judge John H. Pratt in D.C., handed the TBA a split decision. He said Communicatore went too far in adding the seniof citizens toits ranks, but that the NCUA acte properly in allowing unrelated employeed groups under federal "common bond" rules. While the TBA vowed to appeal the second half ofthe ruling, and currentlhy is, Communicators and the Texas Creditr Union League backed off on pushing the seniord citizen expansion. "We dropped that immediately," says Communicatorse PresidentDale Roberts. "It's done. It's out of our and we're not appealing it.
" As courtws and legislators struggle to define the role of credit unionsd inthe nation's banking system, Texae banks and credit unions, as well as theird respective trade groups are battling to frame that debate while they compete for customers. Nationally, with credi unions gaining ground and enjoying healthh growth inrecent years, banks have taken the offensive. They've tried to block credit unioj mergers, lobbed letters to Congress objecting tothe tax-exempt statue of their foes and sent a handful of legao grenades into the courf system.
Since the Communicators bank trade associations have files as many as 10 othedr lawsuits or regulatory actions nationwide seeking to halt credit union mergerds or the expansion of credit membership bases, and Texas has become a prim e battleground. Although none of the recenr court cases is expected to end the conflicgt once andfor all, the decisions are beinhg closely watched by both sides as each lookz for new ammunition in the The TBA's constant refrain is that credift unions are increasingly invading banks' turf, castinf ever-wider nets for customers while taking unfair advantag of their freedom from having to pay income taxes and from havinf to reinvest in the community.
"Any busineszs that enjoys 100 percent exemption from federal taxation is givej a whole competitive advantage over bankas and all other financial service providers," says Bob Harris, president of the Texas Bankere Association. "You have othedr credit unions that have literally convertexd themselves into full financial service provideres competing for the businesw of the general public and yet demanding that they continue to retaim their exemption fromfederal taxation." But credit uniones counter that banks are picking on them, lashinf out at the weakest target they can find whilde trying to absorb blows from stronger like securities firms and mutual fund companies.
"Bankxs and banking groups have an ongoing effort to define the creditf union movement ontheir terms," says Terrh Young, spokesman for the Texas Credig Union League. "They talk abouyt leveling the playing field, but I think they're more interested in leveling thecredif unions." Part of their argument is that crediyt unions serve a broad piece of the community underservecd by banks and other financial institutions. "The say we're suddenly a big deal," says Communicators' Roberts. "Bu we take care of a lot of peoplee ofsmaller means.
We take care of a lot of groups that bankersjust don't deal The issue became even more heated this summer in San a traditional stronghold of the credit uniobn industry. In May, the TBA filed a complain with federal regulatorsagainst Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union challenging the crediyt union's expressed desire to offer its services to the generakl public of Seguin, based on that city'ds designation by industry regulatorx as a low-income area. "Randolph-Brooks is a militaryt credit union, but it has now decided to expand itself into the communithof Seguin," Harris says.
"Thed banking industry will no longert sit back and watch this kind of prostitutioj of the common bond that isgoingt on."
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق