COVID Annual Meeting Flexibility For 2022

Joanne Black, Supervisory Examiner with the NCUA and Lloyd LaFountain, Superintendent at the Maine Bureau of Financial Institutions, joined the League at a January Town Hall to provide a state and federal regulatory update. During the discussion, the topic of ongoing annual meeting flexibility was raised as a concern.

While state-chartered credit unions can permanently adopt bylaws to allow for virtual annual meetings, federally-chartered credit unions can only adopt similar bylaws during a state of emergency according to NCUA’s emergency provisions. Though the state of emergency has been lifted in Maine and in most municipalities, a state of emergency remains ongoing at the federal level, enabling federally-chartered credit unions to adopt these types of bylaws for the time being.

To provide further clarity on the matter, Black recently provided the League with a copy of the NCUA’s 2022 Meeting Flexibility Letter and an FAQ relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. These documents can serve as a helpful resource for Maine’s federally-insured credit unions.