Being a native New Yorker all conversations start with – So what do you do? Well I am starting up a Credit Union. After the mental gears grind as to what is a Credit Union – the next question is usually So what its name – ehh not sure yet. Thus endth the conversation. What started out as something that was a little annoying has become a big problem. From business cards to chartering everything is on hold until we have an official name. So, why don’t you just decide on one, you might ask. Well, it’s not as easy as it seems. The NCUA had specific guidelines for credit union names, be as narrow as possible and as tied to your field of membership as imaginable. To get approval we have to stick to those guidelines, but of course we also have dreams of our own. We want our name to represent us, and grow with us.
Our fields of membership will be New Brunswick, but it we ever expand our field of membership will grow and if we were the New Brunswick Federal Credit Union that would be easier to approve. Thus begins the back and forth process. 9 or 10 e-mails later we are getting close. The key is respect. Jim may keep rejecting idea like being called Open Federal Credit Union, but he gives reasons – the NCUA used to grant “open” charters, and because we would not have an open charter our name would be considered misleading. We count ourselves lucky because he does get back to us. No small feat when dealing with regulators. If you want to open anything that is regulated it helps to have a thick skin, the ability to respond quickly, and the sensitivity to know that everyone has a job to do. Poor Jim, he has to deal with us, and we are trying to do something that the regulators probably haven’t seen as much. We seriously count ourselves lucky to work with him. After much discussion we finally figure out a name that makes everyone happy.
Welcome to the blog of the proposed Internet Archive Federal Credit Union.