NCUA publishes small credit union definition

Last week, the NCUA board voted to change the definition of a small credit union from under $50 million in assets to under $100 million in assets under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The board reasoned that more than three-quarters of all federally insured credit unions will be classified as small entities under the final rule. This week the board officially added the definition to the Federal Register.

In essence, the change makes an additional 733 federally insured credit unions eligible for special consideration of regulatory relief in future rulemakings and assistance from NCUA’s Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives. There are now 4,690 federally insured credit unions that are considered small.

The final definition rule is now effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register this week. The NCUA Board will reconsider the small credit union threshold in 2018 under its three-year review rule.