A federal credit union could gain more room to choose premises without having to fill every part of them itself. NCUA's final rule, published December 21, 2016, removed the obligation to plan for and eventually achieve full occupancy. For members, the relevant question was how a property decision supported their institution's services, not whether unused space automatically signaled failure. [2016-30657][2016-09867]

The April 27 proposal had identified a possible problem with compulsory full occupancy: it could obstruct cost-effective office space, restrict growth or disadvantage a federal credit union against competitors. That explanation supplies the reason for reconsidering the requirement. It does not establish that a particular branch was unaffordable or that removing the rule would produce cheaper services for members. [2016-30657][2016-09867]

The final boundary remained substantial. Partial occupancy meant full-time use of at least 50 percent of each premises by the federal credit union, alone or together with a credit union service organization it controlled under generally accepted accounting principles. Each premises had to be partially occupied within a reasonable period, no later than six years after acquisition, unless NCUA granted a waiver on safety-and-soundness grounds. [2016-30657][2016-09867]

The rule set January 20, 2017 for effectiveness. It allowed excess facilities capacity to be leased or sold without requiring eventual full use by the credit union, but kept future-member-service limits for excess equipment or services. Those distinctions make this a premises story, not a new lending program. Proposal and final rule share one evidence chain; whether members would actually benefit remained an outcome to establish. [2016-30657][2016-09867]

Source documents

  1. Federal Credit Union Occupancy, Planning, and Disposal of Acquired and Abandoned Premises; Incidental Powershttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-12-21/html/2016-30657.htm
  2. Federal Credit Union Occupancy, Planning, and Disposal of Acquired and Abandoned Premises; Incidental Powershttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-04-27/html/2016-09867.htm