Approval Of Application

(1) The Commissioner shall give written approval or denial of an application made in conformance with this Chapter within thirty days from the date it is deemed complete. The Commissioner’s decision will take into consideration the following general criteria and other issues or facts that may be relevant to the application: (a) Whether the application is consistent with the provisions of T.C.A. § 45-4-101 et seq. and this Chapter; CREDIT UNION FIELD OF MEMBERSHIP EXPANSIONS CHAPTER 0180-29 (b) Whether the proposed new group possesses a common bond of occupation or association, or constitutes a community, as defined in Rule 0180-29-.03; (c) Whether the applicant is in a safe and sound condition and possesses the financial and managerial capability to provide credit union service to the proposed group in a safe and sound manner; (d) Whether approval of the application might reasonably threaten the viability of another credit union; and (e) Whether approval of the application will adversely impact the safety and soundness of the applicant. (2) In most cases, field of membership amendments will only be approved for credit unions which are operating satisfactorily. If a state credit union is having difficulty providing good service to its current membership, it may have even more difficulty serving an enlarged field of membership. In some cases, expanding the field of membership of a struggling credit union may do more harm than good. A struggling credit union’s resources may be hampered or further strained by increasing the field of membership, thereby increasing the credit union’s problems.