"The 2016 NCUA FOM rules were a significant update for federal charters, and there has certainly been a considerable pent up demand for more diversified FOM approvals since the rule's implementation was halted shortly after it was enacted as the bankers ran a very costly and totally unsuccessful legal strategy for over four years that was ultimately thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court." Dollar said, adding, "The pent up demand is truly significant."

Moreover, Ryan Donovan, CUNA's chief advocacy officer, is hoping the Supreme Court ruling will give the NCUA the confidence to look at the law and identify ways that they can expand the regulation to provide more opportunities for credit unions to include more people in the universe of potential members of the credit union.

"Certainly the court, through the reaffirmation of the Chevron doctrine, seems to be pointing the agency in that direction and we hope that they go forward in that direction," he said.

Carrie Hunt, NAFCU's executive vice president of government affairs and general counsel, said that even though the new FOM rule will allow certain credit unions to expand their field of memberships, there is still much more room for FOM growth.

"In particular, in rural areas even the caps that are put in place right now potentially are too low for credit unions to be vibrant and viable and for everyone to be able to belong to a credit union who wants to belong to one," she said, adding that while it's incredibly important to have FOM expansions in rural districts, it's also incredibly important to have FOM expansions in densely population areas.

The Aug. 26 print edition of CU Times will take a closer look at NCUA's newly adopted FOM rule and how credit unions could take advantage of potential growth opportunities.