(a) Application and prior NCUA approval required. Any credit union insured under title II of the Act must apply for and receive approval from the regional director before establishing a credit union branch outside the United States unless the foreign branch is located on a United States military instillation or embassy outside the United States. The regional director will have 60 days to approve or deny the request.
(b) Contents of application. The application must include a business plan, written approval by the state supervisory agency if the applicant is a state-chartered credit union, and documentation evidencing written permission from the host country to establish the branch that explicitly recognizes NCUA's authority to examine and take any enforcement action, including conservatorship and liquidation actions.
(c) Contents of business plan. The written business plan must address the following:
(1) Analysis of market conditions in the area where the branch is to be established;
(2) The credit union's plan for addressing foreign currency risk;
(3) Operating facilities, including office space/equipment and supplies;
(4) Safeguarding of assets, bond coverage, insurance coverage, and records preservation;
(5) Written policies regarding the branch (shares, lending, capital, charge-offs, collections);
(6) The field of membership or portion of the field of membership to be served through the foreign branch and the financial needs of the members to be served and services and products to be provided;
(7) Detailed pro forma financial statements for branch operations (balance sheet and income and expense projections) for the first and second year including assumptions;
(8) Internal controls including cash disbursal procedures for shares and loans at the branch;
(9) Accounting procedures used to identify branch activity and performance; and
(10) Foreign income taxation and employment law.
(d) Revocation of approval. A State regulator that revokes approval of the branch office must notify NCUA of the action once it issues the notice of revocation. The regional director may revoke approval of the branch office for failure to follow the business plan in a material respect or for substantive and documented safety and soundness reasons. If the regional director revokes the approval, the credit union will have six months from the date of the revocation letter to terminate the operations of the branch. The credit union can request reconsideration of the revocation and/or appeal this revocation to the NCUA Board in accordance with the procedures set forth in subpart B to part 746 of this chapter.
(e) Insurance coverage. Accounts at foreign branches are insured by the NCUSIF only if denominated in U.S. dollars and only if payable, by the terms of the account agreement, at a U.S. office of the credit union. If the host country requires insurance from its own system, accounts will not be insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.
[68 FR 23030, Apr. 30, 2003, as amended at 82 FR 50294, Oct. 30, 2017]