CUNA Files Amicus Brief in Missouri FOM Case

WASHINGTON-In a recent court filing, CUNA is claiming that a group of Missouri bankers does not have standing to challenge the state regulator’s approval of field of membership expansions for TelComm Credit Union. CUNA’s amicus curiae brief filed with the Missouri Supreme Court July stated that it was appropriate for the trial court to dismiss the bankers’ suit for lack of standing because they failed to demonstrate a detrimental effect stemming from the FOM expansions. CUNA also argued that credit unions are not economic competitors with banks in Missouri because of the differences in size and structure. CUNA pointed out, “[T]he total amount of deposits contained in banks so dwarfs the amount of deposits in credit unions as to demonstrate that there is…no competition between banks and credit unions which could even adversely affect banks in an economic sense.” To emphasize the point, CUNA noted that the state’s credit unions only hold $6.2 billion in total deposits while the banks deposit growth alone was $7 billion. The Missouri Bankers Association along with Century Bank of the Ozarks already lost in the state court of original jurisdiction and the state appellate court. CUNA’s “friend of the court” brief supports the defendants, which include TelComm Credit Union, the Missouri Division of Credit Unions, the Credit Union Commission, and the Missouri Credit Union Association.