(a) The Legislature finds as fact and determines that the credit unions having their principal place of business in Alabama must keep pace with technological and other improvements constantly being made throughout the United States so as to enable Alabama credit unions to render better and more efficient services to their members. It is necessary and desirable that the administrator be given additional authority in these fields.
(b) The administrator is hereby authorized to expand powers of Alabama credit unions in order to accomplish both of the following:
(1) Accommodate or take advantage of changing technologies.
(2) Assure the ability of Alabama credit unions to be responsive in their business to the needs and conveniences demanded by credit union members through on-premises as well as off-premises operations; provided, that nothing in this section shall enable the administrator to authorize credit unions to engage in activities which are not properly incident to the business of credit unions nor to enable the administrator to authorize credit unions to engage in the business of offering financial services which are now prohibited to them.
No credit union having its principal place of business outside of Alabama may engage in credit union business in Alabama under the provisions of this section; provided that the administrator is authorized to enter into agreements with the appropriate regulatory authorities of other states; provided credit unions having their principal place of business in Alabama are given and may exercise reciprocal rights.
(c) The administrator is authorized to issue regulations under subsection (b) in the same manner as other regulations of the Alabama Credit Union Administration are adopted. Any Alabama credit union covered by the provisions of subsection (b) desiring to exercise any such expanded power must secure in advance written permission of the administrator. The administrator may prescribe the form or forms for such applications for permission and may impose reasonable conditions in granting such permission.
(d) The administrator may enter into supervisory or other agreements, some of which may be confidential in nature, with the Federal Reserve; the U.S. Treasury Department; the National Credit Union Administration; state credit union, banking, and other regulators; approved private insurance carriers; and other state or federal agencies and furnish to them for their use such reports of examination and other information in taking enforcement and other supervisory actions.
(e) Upon request by a state chartered credit union or its designee, any service provider or vendor providing mission critical services to the credit union shall provide any requested reports of examination, audit reports, or other third party reports of the service provider or vendor to the credit union or its designee. The credit union shall make the reports available for review by the administration. Mission critical services shall include those services defined by regulation as mission critical, and those services that involve access by the service provider or vendor to personally identifiable information as defined by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. § 6809.
Last modified: May 3, 2021