Over multiple decades serving the legal needs of credit unions, SW&M has seen it all. The unique nature of credit unions leads to specific complexities in governance, regulatory, formation, and even normal operations that must be mastered in order to support clients well over time.
SW&M attorneys have both personal and institutional expertise across all aspects of credit union law. We are incredibly well-versed in credit union governance and regulatory matters, and have long standing relationships with both NCUA and state credit union regulators.
Our team has particular expertise in issues related to field of membership (FOM) matters — including FOM amendments; community and associational FOMs; select employer groups (SEGs); Trade, Industry, or Profession (TIP) charters; the treatment of FOM in mergers; and underserved communities for multiple common bond credit unions. SW&M’s successful track record includes the establishment of the single largest underserved community FOM to be approved by the NCUA. We have also represented multiple clients on emerging issues involving affinity groups, associational FOMs, and TIP charters.
Credit unions have many operational and technological nuances that often have legal implications, and must be fully understood to address them. Whether it’s working with legacy signature cards and bylaws, navigating the interactions between memberships and multiple-party accounts laws, formation of a credit union subsidiary (CUSO) or simply understanding the core processing systems typically used in credit unions and the details of closing membership accounts, SW&M knows the landscape inside and out.
We are also broadly experienced in the tax-related issues affecting non-profit entities and credit union service organizations (CUSOs) — such as unrelated business income tax (UBIT), tax and information reporting requirements, and more.
