Texas Administrative Code › Title 7 - BANKING AND SECURITIES › Part 6 - CREDIT UNION DEPARTMENT › Chapter 91 - CHARTERING, OPERATIONS, MERGERS, LIQUIDATIONS › Subchapter B - ORGANIZATION PROCEDURES › Section 91.205 - Credit Union Name

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Unless a
				  name change or assumed name has been approved by the commissioner in accordance
				  with the Act and these rules, a credit union shall do business under the name
				  in which its certificate of incorporation was issued.
(b) Subject to the requirements of this rule,
				  a credit union may adopt an assumed name. The credit union's official name,
				  however, must be used in all official or legal communications or documents,
				  which includes account and membership agreements, loan contracts, title
				  documents (except for vehicle titles, which may also be under the credit
				  union's assumed name), account statements, checks, drafts, and correspondence
				  with the Department or the National Credit Union Administration. The assumed
				  name may also be used in those materials so long as it is identified as such
				  (e.g. Generic Credit Union dba GCU). Further, a credit union using an assumed
				  name shall clearly disclose the credit union's official name when the assumed
				  name is used on any signs, advertising, mailings, or similar
				  materials.
(c) A credit union shall
				  not use any name other than its official name until it has received a
				  certificate of authority to use an assumed business name from the commissioner
				  and has registered the designation with the Secretary of State and the
				  appropriate county clerk.
(d) The
				  commissioner shall not issue a certificate of authority to use an assumed
				  business name if the designation might confuse or mislead the public, or if it
				  is not readily distinguishable from, or is deceptively similar to, a name of
				  another credit union lawfully doing business with an office in this
				  state.
(e) Credit union officials
				  are responsible for complying with state and federal law applicable to
				  corporate and assumed names. The Department does not have the power to
				  determine or settle competing claims to a name under other statutes or under
				  common law. Even though the Department may have issued a certificate of
				  authority (based on the above criteria), a credit union could still be
				  infringing on the naming rights of other parties. In particular, if the name a
				  credit union selects is similar to a name already protected by state or federal
				  trademark, a credit union could be forced to stop using the name. This can also
				  be the case if another entity is already using a similar name in a related
				  field, even if the entity does not own a state or federal
				  registration.
(f) Before using an
				  assumed name, a credit union shall take reasonable steps to ensure that use of
				  the name will not cause a reasonable person to believe the credit union's
				  different facilities are different credit unions or to believe that shares or
				  deposits in one facility are separately insured from those of another of its
				  facilities.