1.    A state credit union may be converted into a federal credit union under the laws of the United States by complying with the following requirements:

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 6-06-35

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • board: when used in this title includes the state banking board and the state credit union board. See North Dakota Code 6-01-03
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of financial institutions. See North Dakota Code 6-01-02
  • Credit union: means a cooperative, nonprofit association organized for the purposes of encouraging thrift among its members, creating a source of credit at a fair and reasonable rate of interest, and providing an opportunity for its members to improve their economic and social condition. See North Dakota Code 6-01-02
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) Source: OCC
  • Organization: includes a foreign or domestic association, business trust, corporation, enterprise, estate, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership, partnership, trust, or any legal or commercial entity. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Verified: means sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths. See North Dakota Code 1-01-42
  • written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37

a.    The proposition for such conversion must first be approved, and a date set for a vote thereon by the members either at a meeting to be held on such date or by written ballot to be filed on or before such date, by a majority of the directors of the state credit union. Written notice of the proposition and of the date set for the vote must then be delivered in person to each member or mailed to each member at the address for such member appearing on the records of the credit union, not more than thirty nor less than seven days prior to such date. Approval of the    proposition for conversion must be by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members present at the meeting.

b.    A statement of the results of the vote, verified by the affidavits of the president or vice president and the secretary, must be filed with the state credit union board within ten days after the vote is taken.

c.    Promptly after the vote is taken and in no event later than ninety days thereafter, if the proposition for conversion was approved by such vote, the credit union shall take such action as may be necessary under the applicable federal law to make it a federal credit union, and within ten days after receipt of the federal credit union charter there must be filed with the state credit union board a copy of the charter thus issued. Upon such filing, the credit union must cease to be a state credit union.

d.    Upon ceasing to be a state credit union, such credit union is no longer subject to any of the provisions of the North Dakota credit union law. The successor federal credit union is vested with all of the assets and shall continue to be responsible for all of the obligations of the state credit union to the same extent as though the conversion had not taken place.

2.     a.    A federal credit union, organized under the laws of the United States may be converted into a state credit union by:

(1) Complying with all federal requirements requisite to enabling it to convert to a state credit union or to cease being a federal credit union; (2) Filing with the state credit union board proof of such compliance, satisfactory to the commissioner; (3) Filing with the commissioner an organization certificate and bylaws, both in triplicate, as required by section 6-06-02; and

(4) Granting discretionary authority to the commissioner to conduct an examination prior to the conversion date.

The commissioner shall set fees for such examination at an hourly rate sufficient to cover all reasonable expenses of the department of financial institutions associated with the examination. Fees must be collected by the commissioner, transferred to the state treasurer, and deposited in the financial institutions regulatory fund.

b.    When the commissioner has been satisfied that all of such requirements and all other requirements of the North Dakota law have been complied with, the commissioner shall notify the applicants and the state credit union board of that fact, and the board shall instruct the secretary of state to issue a charter in accordance with section 6-06-02. Upon issuance of the charter, the federal credit union shall become a state credit union and ceases to be a federal credit union. The state credit union is vested with all of the assets and shall continue to be responsible for all of the obligations of the federal credit union to the same extent as though the conversion had not taken place.

3.    After July 31, 2009, a state credit union may convert to a building and loan association by complying with the following requirements:

a.    The proposal for a conversion first must be approved and a date set for a vote on the proposal by the members either at a meeting to be held on such date or by written ballot to be filed on or before such date by a majority of the directors of the credit union. Approval of the proposal for the conversion must be by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members voting.

b.    A state credit union that proposes to convert to a building and loan association shall submit notice to each of the credit union’s members who are eligible to vote on the matter of the credit union’s intent to convert:

(1) Ninety days before the date of the member vote on the conversion; (2) Sixty days before the date of the member vote on the conversion; and

(3) Thirty days before the date of the member vote on the conversion.

     c.    A state credit union that proposes to convert to a building and loan association shall submit a notice to the state credit union board of the credit union’s intent to convert at least ninety days before the date of the completion of the conversion.

d.    Upon completion of a conversion, the state credit union is no longer subject to any of the provisions of this chapter.

e.    A director or senior management official of a state credit union may not receive any economic benefit in connection with a conversion of the state credit union other than reasonable director fees and reasonable compensation and other benefits paid to directors or senior management officials of the converted institution in the ordinary course of business. As used in this subdivision, the term senior management official means a chief executive officer, an assistant chief executive officer, a chief financial officer, and any other senior executive officer as may be defined by the state credit union board.

f.    Before January 1, 2009, the state credit union board shall adopt rules applicable to state credit union conversion to a building and loan association which are consistent with the conversion rules of the national credit union administration.

g.    The commissioner shall review the methodology by which the conversion member vote was taken and procedures applicable to the member vote. The commissioner shall report the commissioner’s findings to the state credit union board. If the commissioner or the state credit union board disapproves of the methods by which the conversion member vote was taken or procedures applicable to the member vote, the member vote must be retaken as directed by the commissioner or the state credit union board.