H187 "Credit Union Update" On Tap At The State Legislature Today

The "new/new" H187 "Credit Union Update" bill (the "old/old" H410 from the last legislative session) should pass the House chamber of the Legislature later today. As the principal sponsor of the bill stated H187 and H410 are basically the same bill - although at first glance H187 appears to have been "watered down".  It's now an "Update" rather than an "Updates"!

The Carolinas Credit Union League (CCUL) continues to emphasize that H187 permits state-chartered credit unions to serve North Carolinians trapped in those rural financial deserts in 40 of North Carolina's 100 counties [link].  This open membership expansion permits credit unions to serve folks who "live at least 8 miles away from a bank branch" - tracking exactly who that is ought to be interesting! These "financial deserts" must not have electricity nor telephone services either; so contact centers,  ATMs, mobile access probably can't be counted.

Our local NPR radio station - WUNC - heavily featured that single bill provision on the morning news.[link] Pulls at the heart strings; until one notes that there are no provisions in the bill, if approved. to measure the success of credit unions in serving "N.C.'s financially thirsty". Worse yet, there is no legislated requirement to bind credit unions to a commitment to actually serve these people - no reporting mechanism to track performance. A little "trust but verify" would seem prudent in our "new/new" credit union world.

If H187 passes the House as with last session, then the bill will move to the N.C. Senate for consideration in coming weeks. Stay tuned! 

... relying solely on "in good faith" leadership can become problematic... as we all have witnessed!

SECU Bank - Not Yet?

 

The North Carolina House Finance Committee met today for further consideration of H187 "CU Update"

If you missed the session, don't despair as it was very brief and there is much more "conversation" to come! Here's a brief synopsis:

1) The principal sponsor of H187 is Representative Julia Howard [link], who also was the principal sponsor of the 2023 session bill (H410), which failed. Representative Howard presented a brief summary of the provisions of H187 and acknowledged that H187 is basically identical to H410 [link]. 

2) So, the issues of a) open membership (including all corporations!), b) unconstrained corporate/commercial lending, c) the export of N.C. jobs and capital from rural and urban communities, and plus d) authorization of speculative investments - including "crypto" - remain on the table this year.

3) One committee member asked pointedly "how one could any longer tell the difference between a commercial bank and a credit union?" The answer was not clear.

4) Committee member, Representative Deb Butler [link] brought up the issue of tax exemption for credit unions as seeming to be less justified, as well as other imbalances in rules and requirements. So the tax issue will be front and center.

5) The bill was approved to move forward for further consideration.

😎 Interestingly, Rep. Butler specifically mentioned "our beloved State Employees Credit Union", while hammering on the tax issue. Further proof that SECU's reputation has not been destroyed by the last 4 years.

  ..."not been destroyed"... at least not yet!