2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 34 - Banking, Financial Institutions and Money › Chapter 26 - South Carolina Credit Union Act › Section 34-26-500. Requirements of membership; eligible groups; requirement of board approval.

(1) The membership of a credit union may consist of groups having different common bonds, having been duly admitted as members, having paid any required one-time or periodic membership fee, or both, having subscribed to one or more shares, and having complied with such other requirements as the articles of incorporation and bylaws specify.
(2) Credit union membership may also consist of groups having different common bonds of occupation, association, community, or persons employed within a defined business district, building, industrial park or shopping center, and members of the family of such persons who are related by either blood or marriage.
(3) A credit union may add additional occupation and association groups not to exceed two hundred fifty potential members to its field of membership, as necessary, provided the groups reasonably are served by one of the credit union's service facilities, and the group has provided a written request for service to the credit union. However, the Board of Financial Institutions may revoke the power of a credit union to add groups provided by this section upon a finding that permitting additions pursuant to the provisions of this section are not in the best interest of the credit union. The adding of these groups must be consistent with the following:
(a) In order to add additional groups, a credit union first shall obtain a letter on the group's letterhead, if possible, signed by an official representative identified by title, requesting credit union service. The groups shall indicate the number of potential members seeking service. This document must be maintained by the credit union permanently with its bylaws.
(b) A credit union adding groups shall maintain a log of these groups. The log must include the following: the date the group obtained service, the name and location of the group, the number of potential members added, the number of miles to the nearest main or branch office, and the date of the approval of the group by the board of directors.
(c) Upon complying with the above procedures, board approval is not necessary to add groups with no more than two hundred fifty potential members to a credit union's field of membership. Approval of the Board of Financial Institutions must be obtained before the addition of groups in excess of two hundred fifty.
(4)(a) For the purposes of this subsection:
(i) "Well-defined" means that the area has specific geographic boundaries.
(ii) "Geographic boundaries" may include a municipality, city, county, or clearly identifiable neighborhood.
(b) State chartered credit unions may apply to the board to serve community groups. A community group shall consist of persons who live in, attend school in, or work in a community and have common interests or interact. The area to be served must be a well-defined neighborhood, business district, community, or rural district where the credit union maintains a service facility, has a membership presence, and has the ability to serve those who qualify for and request credit union service. More than one credit union may share the same community. The credit union requesting to serve a community must provide to the board:
(i) documentation describing how the area meets standards for community interaction or common interests and clearly defining the geographic boundaries of the proposed service area;
(ii) documentation establishing the area as a well-defined local neighborhood, community, rural district, or business district; and
(iii) current financial statements and a plan showing how the credit union intends to market its products and services to the entire community, and the credit union must have been determined by recent examinations to have a strong financial position.
(c) Upon compliance with the above procedures, approval of the Board of Financial Institutions must be obtained in order to add a community group to a credit union's field of membership.
(5)(a) For the purposes of this subsection:
(i) "Underserved community" means a local community, neighborhood, or rural district that is an investment area.
(ii) "Investment area" means an area:
(A) encompassed or located in an Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community designated under Section 1391 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1996 (26 U.S.C. 1391);
(B) where the percentage of the population living in poverty is at least twenty percent;
(C) in a metropolitan area where the median family income is at or below eighty percent of the metropolitan area median family income or the national metropolitan area median family income, whichever is greater;
(D) outside of a metropolitan area where the median family income is at or below eighty percent of the statewide nonmetropolitan area median family income or the national nonmetropolitan area median family income, whichever is greater;
(E) where the unemployment rate is at least one and a half times the national average;
(F) where the percentage of occupied distressed housing, as indicated by lack of complete plumbing and occupancy of more than one person per room, is at least twenty percent; or
(G) located outside of a metropolitan area with a county population loss between 1980 and 1990 and subsequent ten year intervals of at least ten percent.
(b) State chartered credit unions may apply to include underserved communities in their field of membership. More than one credit union may serve the same underserved community. A credit union requesting to serve an underserved community must provide to the board:
(i) documentation establishing that the community meets the definition of an investment area; and
(ii) current financial statements and a business plan showing how the credit union intends to serve the community. The business plan must identify the credit and depository needs of the community and detail how the credit union plans to serve those needs. The credit union must have been determined by recent examinations to have a strong financial position.
(c) Upon compliance with the above procedures, approval of the Board of Financial Institutions must be obtained in order to add a community group to a credit union's field of membership.
HISTORY: 1996 Act No. 371, Section 1, eff May 29, 1996; 1999 Act No. 49, Section 3, eff June 1, 1999; 2007 Act No. 51, Section 4, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on June 7, 2007); 2018 Act No. 186 (S.337), Section 2, eff May 15, 2018.
Effect of Amendment
The 1999 amendment, in subsections (1) and (2), substituted references to groups having different common bonds for references to persons or groups having a common bond, and made minor language changes.
The 2007 amendment, in subsection (3), in the first sentence substituted "two hundred fifty" for "one hundred" and deleted from the end ", and does not presently have credit union service available"; in paragraph (3)(a), deleted from the end of the first sentence "and stating that the group does not have any other credit union service available from any source"; and, in paragraph (3)(c), substituted "two hundred fifty" for "one hundred" in two places.
2018 Act No. 186, Section 2, in (2), substituted "occupation, association, community," for "occupation or association"; in (3), in the first sentence, inserted "occupation and association" following "may add additional"; and added (4) and (5), relating to community groups and underserved communities.