Section 2001. As used in this chapter:

1. "Credit Union" means a cooperative nonprofit society incorporated for the purpose of promoting thrift among its members, and creating a source of credit for them at legitimate rates of interest for provident or productive purposes; and

2. "Paid-in and unimpaired capital and surplus" means, the balance of all paid-in share accounts and other deposits, less any loss for which no reserve has been established or which has not been charged against undivided earnings, plus the credit balance (or less the debit balance) of undivided earnings, after all losses have been provided for and net earnings or net losses have been added thereto or deducted therefrom. Reserves shall not be considered as a part of surplus.

§ 2001.1. Oklahoma State Credit Union Board - Creation [Back]

A. There is hereby created the Oklahoma State Credit Union Board, which shall consist of five (5) members appointed by the Governor. The State Bank Commissioner shall be one of the members, and he shall preside as Chairman of the State Credit Union Board. One of the other four members shall be a member of a credit union organized under the laws of this state, and each of the other three members shall be the officer in charge of operations or a director of a credit union organized under the laws of this state; provided, however, one of those three may be from a federal credit union. Said four members shall be selected by the Governor, with advice and consent of the Senate, from a list of not less than five (5) names for each member to be appointed submitted by the Oklahoma Credit Union League. The members appointed by the Governor shall serve for terms of four (4), three (3), two (2), and one (1) year, respectively. Upon the expiration of the terms of the four members previously appointed by the Governor pursuant to the provisions of this section, their successors shall be appointed for terms of four (4) years. If a member of the Oklahoma State Credit Union Board ceases to hold the qualifications required for the appointment of such member, then the remaining members shall immediately declare the office of such member vacant and such member shall cease to be a member of the Oklahoma State Credit Union Board. Any vacancy in the membership of the State Credit Union Board, caused by other than the expiration of a term, shall be filled only for the balance of the term of the member in whose position the vacancy occurs. Appointment made to fill a vacancy shall be made by the Governor, with advice and consent of the Senate, from a list of not less than five (5) names submitted by the Oklahoma Credit Union League. Except as otherwise provided in this section, members shall serve until their terms expire or until their successors are appointed and qualified.

B. Each member of the State Credit Union Board shall be entitled to be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses pursuant to the State Travel Reimbursement Act¹.

C. The State Banking Department shall provide such clerical, technical and legal assistance as the State Credit Union Board may require.

¹Section 500.1 et seq. of title 74.

§ 2001.2. Powers of Board - Administrator; powers and duties - Failure to comply with Bank Commissioner's orders or requirements [Back]

A. In addition to any other powers conferred by law, the State Credit Union Board shall have the power to:

1. Regulate its own procedures and practice, except as may be hereafter provided by law;

2. Define any term not defined in Oklahoma Laws relating to credit unions;

3. Adopt and promulgate reasonable and uniform rules and regulations to:

a. govern the conduct, operation and management of credit unions,

b. govern the examination, evaluation of assets and the statements and reports of credit unions, and the form on which credit unions shall report their assets, liabilities and reserves, charge off their bad debts and otherwise keep their records and accounts,and

c. otherwise to govern the administration of the laws of this state relating to credit unions.

Such rules or regulations shall serve to foster and maintain an effective level of credit union services and the security of member accounts. The provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act¹ of this state, as now or hereafter amended, are hereby expressly adopted and incorporated herein as though a part of this provision, and shall apply to all rules or regulations, procedures and orders of the Board. Final orders of the Board may be appealed to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma by any party directly affected and showing aggrievement by the order;

4. Restrict the withdrawal of share or deposit accounts or both from any credit union after having determined that circumstances make such restriction necessary for the proper protection of shareholders or depositors;

5. Issue cease and desist orders after having determined from competent and substantial evidence that a credit union is engaged, or when the Board has reasonable cause to believe the credit union is about to engage, in an unsafe or unsound practice, or is violating or has violated or the Board has reasonable cause to believe is about to violate, a material provision of any law, rule, regulation or any condition imposed in writing by the Board or any written agreement made with the Board;

6. Suspend from office and prohibit from further participation in any manner in the conduct of the affairs of a credit union any director, officer or committee member who has committed any violation of a law, rule or regulation or of a cease and desist order or who has engaged or participated in any unsafe or unsound practice in connection with the credit union or who has committed or who has committed or engaged in any act, omission or practice which constitutes a breach of that person's fiduciary duty as such director, officer or committee member, when the Board has determined that such action or actions have resulted or will result in substantial financial loss or other damage that seriously prejudices the interests of the members;

7. Affirm, modify, reverse, and stay the enforcement of any order or ruling of the State Banking Commissioner or Administrator appointed pursuant to the provisions of subsection B of this section relating to credit unions, their directors, officers, committee members or employees;

8. Subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, require the production of evidence, administer oaths and examine any person under oath in connection with any subject relating to a duty imposed upon or a power vested in the Board;

9. Charge application fees for processing submissions by a credit union to the Board, Commissioner or Administrator. The Board may charge a fee for the items enumerated herein; provided, the Board's fee schedule shall not be limited solely to the following submissions:

a. an application fee for merger or acquisition,

b. an application to amend a credit union's bylaws,

c. an application to be heard by the Board to add a special employee group, or

d. an application to add a special employee group by using any simplified expansion process.

The Board may adopt and promulgate, from time to time, a fee schedule for the processing of submissions by credit unions. Any payments received pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph shall be deposited to the revolving fund for the State Banking Department created in Section 211.1 of this title;

10. Charge and collect assessments from each credit union under its supervision on each One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) of assets, or major fraction thereof, at rates established by the Board. The assessments shall be paid annually to the State Banking Department no later than the fifth day of February in each year. All assessments and all fees shall be deposited in the revolving fund for the State Banking Department pursuant to the provisions of Section 211.1 of this title. Effective January 1, 2007, and each year thereafter, ten percent (10%) of all assessments collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited to the General Revenue Fund of the State Treasury. The State Credit Union Board may charge and collect assessments on an annual basis and may, in addition to any annual assessment, charge and collect a special assessment from each credit union, at rates established by the Board; and

11. Charge and collect from each credit union under its supervision an annual fee of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) which shall be deposited in the Oklahoma State Banking Department revolving fund created pursuant to Section 211.1 of this title.

B. The Commissioner may appoint an Administrator, who, in addition to such duties and authority as are conferred by section 2001 et seq. of this title, shall have such duties and authority as the Commissioner may assign the Administrator. The bond of the Administrator shall be the same as that set for the State Deputy Banking Commissioner. In addition to other powers conferred by section 2001 et seq. of this title, the Commissioner shall have the power to:

1. Delegate the duties of the Office of the State Banking Commissioner under section 2001 et seq. of this title to the Administrator;

2. Exercise general supervision of credit unions organized under the laws of this state;

3. Require credit unions to cease and desist from engaging in any act or transaction, or doing any act in furtherance thereof, which would constitute a violation of the provisions of Section 2001 et seq. of this title, or a lawful regulation issued thereunder, or to cease and desist in engaging in any unsafe or unsound credit union practice;

4. Suspend any officer, director or employee or committee member who is found, after hearing, to be dishonest, reckless, unfit to participate in the conduct of the affairs of the credit union, or to have engaged or participated in the conduct of the affairs of the credit union, or to have engaged or participated in any unsafe or unsound practice in connection with the credit union, or to be practicing a continuing disregard or violations of laws, rules, regulations or orders which are likely to cause substantial loss to the credit union or likely to seriously weaken the condition of the credit union. However, any individual so suspended may within ten (10) days file a notice of protest for the suspension with the Administrator and as soon as possible thereafter, but in no event more than thirty (30) days, the Board will review the order of the Commissioner and make such findings as it deems proper, and pending that, the officer, employee, director or committee member shall not perform any of the duties of such office;

5. Charge a fee not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per hour and actual expenses for each examiner for actual time consumed by the State Banking Department in making special examinations of a credit union. A "special examination" shall be any examination conducted in connection with a charter conversion, or a limited scope examination conducted at a frequency more often than once each eighteen (18) months, when deemed necessary by the Administrator and the Commissioner. Payments received pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in the revolving fund for the State Banking Department pursuant to Section 211.1 of this title.

C. Upon failure of a credit union to comply with the Commissioner's order or requirements, the Commissioner shall report such failure to the Board for action with respect to suspension of such credit union's certificate of authority to transact business.

¹Section 250.1 et seq. of title 75.

§ 2001.3. Meetings of Board - Quorum [Back]

The State Credit Union Board may meet as often as necessary to carry out its duties, but it shall not fail to meet at least once in any calendar year. The Bank Commissioner may call additional meetings of the State Credit Union Board upon at least twenty-four (24) hours' notice and shall do so upon request of two members. A majority of the State Credit Union Board shall constitute a quorum and action taken by a majority of those present at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the action of the State Credit Union Board.

§ 2001.4. Civil Liability of State Credit Union Board members [Back]

No member of the State Credit Union Board shall be liable in any civil action for damages of any act done or omitted in good faith in performing the functions of his office.

§ 2002. Necessity of certificate - Application for certificate - Organization certificate and bylaws [Back]

(A) No credit union organized under the laws of this state or any other state shall be permitted to engage in business except on certificate issued by the Bank Commissioner upon authority of the State Credit Union Board.

(B) The request to establish a credit union under the laws of this state shall be set forth in application form and filed with the Bank Commissioner. The form of such application shall be prescribed by the State Credit Union Board and furnished by the Bank Commissioner and shall contain such information as the State Credit Union Board may require. Any seven or more residents of this state who desire to form a credit union under the laws of this state shall subscribe before some person, competent to administer oath, an organization certificate in triplicate, which shall specifically state: (1) the name of the credit union; (2) the location of the proposed credit union and the territory in which it will operate; (3) the purpose for which it is formed; (4) the term for which it is to exist, which may be perpetual or limited in term; (5) the number of its directors or trustees and the names and addresses of such of them as shall serve until the election of directors or trustees; (6) the par value of the shares, which shall not exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) each, and the authorized stock which shall not exceed the amount which it is contemplated to be provided for in its certificate of incorporation.

(C) With the application, applicants shall file a proposed certificate of incorporation with the Bank Commissioner prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma General Corporation Act¹.

(D) In addition said applicants shall prepare and adopt bylaws consistent with the provisions of this act² and shall certify to the same in triplicate. The bylaws of the credit union may provide for the amendment of the certificate of incorporation of the credit union upon a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the board of directors and the approval of the State Credit Union Board.

(E) The request of a credit union organized under the laws of a state other than this state to do business in Oklahoma shall be made in accordance with provisions of Section 6 of this act³.

¹Section 1001 et seq. of title 18.

²Section 2001 et seq. of this title.

³Section 2004.1 of this title.

§ 2003. Investigation and report by Bank Commissioner - Certificate of approval - Certificate of incorporation [Back]

After receipt of an application such as referred to in Section 2002 of this title, the Bank Commissioner shall cause an appropriate investigation to be made for the purpose of determining whether the application, the certificate of incorporation and the bylaws conform to the provisions of the laws of the State of Oklahoma. If the application, the certificate of incorporation and the bylaws conform to the provisions of this act, and the Bank Commissioner is satisfied that:

(1) the characteristics of the common bond of the field of membership are favorable to the economic viability of the proposed credit union and will not materially and substantially overlap the field of membership of existing credit unions in the territory in which it will operate; and

(2) the reputation, character, financial responsibility and business experience of the initial board of directors and supervisory committee provide assurance that the credit union's affairs will be properly administered, the Bank Commissioner shall, within forty-five (45) days after receipt of the application, submit a report of his investigation to the State Credit Union Board, together with his recommendation to the State Credit Union Board that the application be approved or disapproved. The State Credit Union Board shall, within sixty (60) days after the receipt of the report and recommendation of the Bank Commissioner, cause a certificate of approval to be issued or cause written notice to applicants of disapproval. Thereafter, the certificate of incorporation with the certificate of approval of the State Credit Union Board attached shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State and a copy thereof, duly certified to by the Secretary of State, shall be filed with the State Credit Union Board. A copy of the certificate of incorporation and bylaws as approved shall be returned to the incorporators. The Secretary of State shall issue a certificate in the form provided by law for other corporations, and the existence of said credit union as a corporation shall date from the issuance of the certificate of incorporation by the Secretary of State, from which time it shall and may exercise the powers conferred upon corporations generally, except as limited or modified by the laws of the State of Oklahoma.

§ 2004. Repealed by Laws 1992, c. 90, § 19, eff. July 1, 1992 [Back]

§ 2004.1. Out-of-state credit union - Requirements to conduct business in state - Revocation of approval - Cancellation of certificate [Back]

(A) A credit union not organized under the laws of this state or of the United States may conduct business as a credit union in this state only with the approval of the State Credit Union Board and upon receiving a certificate from the Secretary of State in compliance with Section 1130 of Title 18 of the Oklahoma Statutes, provided credit unions incorporated under the laws of this state are allowed to conduct business in another state under conditions similar to these provisions. Before granting the approval, the State Credit Union Board must find that the out-of-state credit union:

(1) Is a credit union organized under laws similar to the laws of this state;

(2) Is financially solvent;

(3) Has share and deposit account insurance with the National Credit Union Administration to the extent provided by federal law;

(4) Is examined and supervised by a regulatory agency of the state in which it is organized;

(5) Needs to conduct business in this state to adequately serve its members in this state; and

(6) Does not have a field of membership that will materially and substantially overlap the field of membership of a credit union organized under the laws of this state or permitted to conduct business in this state.

(B) No credit union organized under the laws of a state other than this state may conduct business in this state unless:

(1) Such credit union charges interest in compliance with the laws of this state when making loans in this state;

(2) Such credit union complies with the consumer protection statutes and rules applicable to credit unions incorporated or organized under the laws of this state; and

(3) Such credit union's most recent report of examination by its regulatory agency is furnished to the Administrator or such credit union agrees to submit to an examination by the Bank Commissioner or Administrator.

(C) The State Credit Union Board may revoke the approval of a credit union to conduct business in this state if it finds that:

(1) The credit union no longer meets the requirements of subsection (A) of this section;

(2) The credit union has violated the laws of this state or lawful rules or orders issued by the State Credit Union Board or the Bank Commissioner;

(3) The credit union has engaged in a pattern of unsafe or unsound credit union practices; or

(4) Continued operation by the credit union is likely to have a substantially adverse impact on the financial, economic or other interests of residents of this state.

(D) In the event of revocation as provided in subsection (C) of this section, the Secretary of State shall cancel the certificate of domestication of the credit union.

§ 2005. Unlawful transaction of business - Enforcement by Attorney General - Injunction and receiver [Back]

It shall be unlawful for any individual, firm, association, or corporation to transact a credit union business except as authorized by the laws of the State of Oklahoma or the United States, or to use or advertise in connection with any business, other than the credit union business conducted under the laws of this state or of the United States, the term "Credit Union," or any other term or terms calculated to deceive the public into believing that such person, firm, association, or corporation is engaged in the credit union business. Any person, firm, association, or corporation violating any of the provisions of this section, either individually or as an interested party, in any firm, association, or corporation, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in a sum of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than thirty (30) days, nor more than six (6) months, or by both such find and imprisonment, and it is hereby made the duty of the Attorney General to enforce the provisions of this section; and in order to prevent the violation of this section, the district court in the county wherein said credit union is located is hereby authorized and empowered to grant an injunction and to appoint a receiver to take charge of the business and assets of any person, firm, association, or corporation found guilty of violating the provisions of this section, and to make all necessary and proper orders to wind up such business and prevent a violation of this section.