NCUA Ninth Round Deregulation Proposals - Field of Membership Eligibility

NCUA Press Releases

Published April 7th, 2026

Detected April 7th, 2026

Summary

The National Credit Union Administration announced its ninth round of deregulation proposals under the ongoing Deregulation Project. The proposal targets 12 CFR 701, Appendix B concerning credit union chartering and field of membership eligibility. NCUA seeks to remove the automatic disqualification of associational groups that require purchase of a product or service as a condition of membership, replacing it with a more holistic evaluation approach.

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What changed

The proposed rule would eliminate the automatic disqualification of associational groups for credit union field of membership based solely on requiring product or service purchase as a condition of membership. Currently, such groups face automatic denial under 12 CFR 701, Appendix B. The proposal would instead permit more holistic evaluation of associational groups, removing what NCUA characterizes as an overly burdensome requirement.

Credit unions, particularly those seeking to expand through single associational groups or multiple common bond groups, would benefit from reduced regulatory burden when including associations with customer-client components. The change would provide greater flexibility in field of membership decisions while maintaining NCUA's safety and soundness oversight of federally chartered credit unions.

What to do next

Submit comments on the proposed rule via regulations.gov using docket number 2026-06757
Review current field of membership eligibility policies for associational group applicants
Assess operational impact of proposed eligibility criteria changes on credit union expansion strategies

Source document (simplified)

NCUA Announces Ninth Round of Deregulation Proposals

April 2026 NCUA Announces Ninth Round of Deregulation Proposals

Stakeholders Are Encouraged to Review Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Submit Comments

Alexandria, VA (April 7, 2026) – The National Credit Union Administration today announced the ninth round of proposed regulatory changes associated with NCUA’s Deregulation Project. The project is an ongoing review of NCUA’s regulations to ensure regulations are focused on credit unions’ safety, soundness, and resilience.

With today’s announcement, NCUA is requesting comments on one proposal that would eliminate unduly burdensome requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations related to chartering and field of membership eligibility.

The proposal includes:

Chartering and Field of Membership – 12 CFR 701, Appendix B

Proposed Change: The proposed rule would remove the automatic disqualification of associational groups that require the purchase of a product or service as a condition of membership. Instead, eligibility will not be automatically denied solely for this reason and more holistic evaluation would be allowed.
Impact on credit unions: The proposed amendments would alleviate burden and provide regulatory relief to single associational groups and multiple common bond federal credit unions of all sizes in seeking to include associations that may have some customer-client component.

| Proposed Regulation Change | Obsolete Regulations | Overly Burdensome Requirements | Duplicative | Guidance |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 12 CFR Regulation 701 Appendix B | | ✔ | | |
To submit comments, type or paste the docket numbers into the search on the Federal Rulemaking Portal.

For more information about the NCUA Deregulation Project, visit: https://ncua.gov/news/deregulation-project

The NCUA was created by the U.S. Congress to regulate, charter and supervise federal credit unions. With the backing of the full faith and credit of the United States, the NCUA operates and manages the Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of more than 145 million account holders in all federal credit unions and most state-chartered credit unions.

Last modified on

04/07/26