New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law Wednesday that will allow state-chartered credit unions to combine select employer groups, association and community groups into a single field of membership.
State-chartered credit unions will now be allowed to apply for a membership field that includes community, association and occupation-based groups at the same time.
The new law takes effect March 16, 2015.
However, credit unions must still meet common-bond requirements and the law does not create any new affiliation or membership categories. New York's Department of Financial Services will be responsible for approving field of membership expansion requests.
This legislation passed through the New York state legislature in June for the second time in two years.
In 2013, Cuomo vetoed a previous version of the legislation because he was concerned it diluted the authority of the DFS, according to the New York Credit Union Association.
The new law contains clarifying language regarding the New York's Department of Financial Services authority, as well as language empowering the state agency to determine additional permissible investments for state-chartered credit unions.
The New York Credit Union Association described the new law as a "historic piece of pro-credit union legislation" because it marks the first time that stand-alone legislation, beyond federal parity legislation, has been incorporated into the state credit union act.
"New York has a long banking history and is largely considered a bankers' stronghold," NYCUA President/CEO William Mellin said. "But this law shows significant progress, and it sends a strong message that New York supports and recognizes the economic and financial importance of state-chartered credit unions,"
The New York association said it lobbied for the new legislation to provide the state's credit unions with a viable and competitive alternative to the federal charter.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
