Powers

• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-13 (published on www.congress.gov on 08/07/2023)

A Federal credit union shall have succession in its corporate name during its existence and shall have power-

(1) to make contracts;

(2) to sue and be sued;

(3) to adopt and use a common seal and alter the same at pleasure;

(4) to purchase, hold, and dispose of property necessary or incidental to its operations;

(5) to make loans, the maturities of which shall not exceed 15 years, except as otherwise provided herein, and extend lines of credit to its members, to other credit unions, and to credit union organizations and to participate with other credit unions, credit union organizations, or financial organizations in making loans to credit union members in accordance with the following:

(A) Loans to members shall be made in conformity with criteria established by the board of directors: Provided, That-

(i) a residential real estate loan on a one-to-four-family dwelling, including an individual cooperative unit, that is or will be the principal residence of a credit union member, and which is secured by a first lien upon such dwelling, may have a maturity not exceeding thirty years or such other limits as shall be set by the National Credit Union Administration Board (except that a loan on an individual cooperative unit shall be adequately secured as defined by the Board), subject to the rules and regulations of the Board;

(ii) a loan to finance the purchase of a mobile home, which shall be secured by a first lien on such mobile home, to be used by the credit union member as his residence, a loan for the repair, alteration, or improvement of a residential dwelling which is the residence of a credit union member, or a second mortgage loan secured by a residential dwelling which is the residence of a credit union member, shall have a maturity not to exceed 15 years or any longer term which the Board may allow;

(iii) a loan secured by the insurance or guarantee of, or with advance commitment to purchase the loan by, the Federal Government, a State government, or any agency of either may be made for the maturity and under the terms and conditions specified in the law under which such insurance, guarantee, or commitment is provided;

(iv) a loan or aggregate of loans to a director or member of the supervisory or credit committee of the credit union making the loan which exceeds $20,000 plus pledged shares, be approved by the board of directors;

(v) loans to other members for which directors or members of the supervisory or credit committee act as guarantor or endorser be approved by the board of directors when such loans standing alone or when added to any outstanding loan or loans of the guarantor or endorser exceeds $20,000;

(vi) the rate of interest may not exceed 15 per centum per annum on the unpaid balance inclusive of all finance charges, except that the Board may establish-

(I) after consultation with the appropriate committees of the Congress, the Department of Treasury, and the Federal financial institution regulatory agencies, an interest rate ceiling exceeding such 15 per centum per annum rate, for periods not to exceed 18 months, if it determines that money market interest rates have risen over the preceding six-month period and that prevailing interest rate levels threaten the safety and soundness of individual credit unions as evidenced by adverse trends in liquidity, capital, earnings, and growth; and

(II) a higher interest rate ceiling for Agent members of the Central Liquidity Facility in carrying out the provisions of subchapter III for such periods as the Board may authorize;

(vii) the taking, receiving, reserving, or charging of a rate of interest greater than is allowed by this paragraph, when knowingly done, shall be deemed a forfeiture of the entire interest which the note, bill, or other evidence of debt carries with it, or which has been agreed to be paid thereon. If such greater rate of interest has been paid, the person by whom it has been paid, or his legal representatives, may recover back from the credit union taking or receiving the same, in an action in the nature of an action of debt, the entire amount of interest paid; but such action must be commenced within two years from the time the usurious collection was made;

(viii) a borrower may repay his loan, prior to maturity in whole or in part on any business day without penalty, except that on a first or second mortgage loan a Federal credit union may require that any partial prepayments (I) be made on the date monthly installments are due, and (II) be in the amount of that part of one or more monthly installments which would be applicable to principal;

(ix) loans shall be paid or amortized in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the Board after taking into account the needs or conditions of the borrowers, the amounts and duration of the loans, the interests of the members and the credit unions, and such other factors as the Board deems relevant; ¹

(x) loans must be approved by the credit committee or a loan officer, but no loan may be made to any member if, upon the making of that loan, the member would be indebted to the Federal credit union upon loans made to him in an aggregate amount which would exceed 10 per centum of the credit union's unimpaired capital and surplus.

(B) A self-replenishing line of credit to a borrower may be established to a stated maximum amount on certain terms and conditions which may be different from the terms and conditions established for another borrower.

(C) Loans to other credit unions shall be approved by the board of directors.

(D) Loans to credit union organizations shall be approved by the board of directors and shall not exceed 1 per centum of the paid-in and unimpaired capital and surplus of the credit union. A credit union organization means any organization as determined by the Board, which is established primarily to serve the needs of its member credit unions, and whose business relates to the daily operations of the credit unions they serve.

(E) Participation loans with other credit unions, credit union organizations, or financial organizations shall be in accordance with written policies of the board of directors: Provided, That a credit union which originates a loan for which participation arrangements are made in accordance with this subsection shall retain an interest of at least 10 per centum of the face amount of the loan;

(6) to receive from its members, from other credit unions, from an officer, employee, or agent of those nonmember units of Federal, Indian tribal, State, or local governments and political subdivisions thereof enumerated in section 1787 of this title and in the manner so prescribed, from the Central Liquidity Facility, and from nonmembers in the case of credit unions serving predominately low-income members (as defined by the Board) payments, representing equity, on-