William Mellin, New York Credit Union Association president/CEO, applauded the NCUA’s proposed amendment to the Federal Credit Union Bylaws regarding the expedition of member expulsion, in a comment letter sent to the agency on Thursday.

In addition, Mellin stated that, while member credit unions do not take member expulsion lightly or see the need frequently, on the few occasions in which they resort to expulsion, expedited expulsion is critical for the safety of employees, members, and the institution itself.

An optional standard notice form developed by NCUA could improve the process, provided the form is accepted as a gold-standard safe harbor for the credit unions which opt to use it, Mellin suggested.

Further, Mellin stated that the Association holds that the rules should not be overly prescriptive to give federal credit union boards the flexibility to respond to internal issues the way they see most fitting. And to minimize expulsion and reliance on the Governance Modernization Act, FCUs should be permitted to act on a case-by-case basis even if that means expelling some members but not others for similar offensives

“Put simply, those closest to the situation should be empowered to act as they have a more intimate understanding of the threat which often cannot be conveyed by simply checking boxes on forms,” Mellin said. “Descriptive guidance without prescriptive regulation would empower FCUs to protect their employees, members, and the credit union system from threats as they arise.”