Ronald S. Eliason, President
Universal Campus Credit Union
188 West River Park Drive
P.O. Box 1900
Provo, Utah 84603-1900
Re: Third Party Loans to Members (Your Letter of July 14, 1995)
Dear Mr. Eliason:
You have asked whether a federal credit union (FCU) or a credit union service organization (CUSO) may charge a fee for placing their memberÕs commercial or large real estate loan applications with other lenders. Neither the FCU Act ,12 U.S.C. ¤1751, et.seq., nor the National Credit Union Administration Rules and Regulations, 12 C.F.R. Part 700, et.seq., expressly authorize FCUs to engage in the proposed activity. Further, in our view, there is no incidental authority for such an activity since finding an outside lender to make a loan to an FCUÕs members is not necessary or requisite to enable an FCU Òto carry on effectively the business for which it is incorporated.Ó 12 U.S.C. ¤1757(17). There is no restriction against your FCU assisting your member to find another lender. The FCU may not, however, collect any fees or income for that service. We are also not aware of any authority for an FCU to invest in a CUSO that provides outside lender locator-type services. We recommend that you contact NCUA Region V which has more information regarding your CUSO and can better determine whether such authority should exist.
Sincerely,
Richard S. Schulman
Associate General Counsel
GC/JM:sg
SSIC 3500
95-0726