adminDuring the National Credit Union Administration Board’s third open meeting of 2018, held last week at the agency’s headquarters, two items were unanimously approved.
- An advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking stakeholder comments on ways to streamline, clarify, and improve the standard federal credit union bylaws.
- A proposal to adopt suspension and debarment procedures to establish an administrative process protecting the federal government’s interest in only doing business with presently responsible contractors.
Credit union stakeholders should also take advantage of an opportunity to comment on possible changes to the standard federal credit union bylaws following the board’s approval of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
The board is considering a number of significant changes to the standard bylaws to provide credit unions with greater flexibility in their operations and reduce regulatory compliance burdens. Under the Federal Credit Union Act, the NCUA Board is required to have a standard set of bylaws prospective credit unions can use in order to simplify the incorporation process. The agency’s Regulatory Reform Task Force has recommended that changes to the bylaws may be necessary, as they have not been updated in nearly 10 years.
The Board will accept general comments and is requesting specific comments on five questions:
- How can the federal credit union bylaws amendment process be improved?
- How can the NCUA Board clarify the bylaws provisions addressing limitation of service and expulsion of members?
- How can the NCUA Board improve the bylaws to facilitate the recruitment and development of directors?
- How can the NCUA Board improve the bylaws to encourage member attendance at annual and special meetings?
- Should the NCUA Board eliminate overlaps between the agency’s regulations and the bylaws?
Stakeholders requesting a specific change to a provision of the standard bylaws should provide a brief statement regarding whether the Federal Credit Union Act would permit such a change. Some provisions of the standard Federal Credit Union Act bylaws are drawn directly from the law, and, therefore, may not be legally amended.
The advance notice of proposed rulemaking is available online here. Comments must be received with 60 days of publication in the Federal Register.
