| Year |
Event |
| 1909 |
First U.S. credit union opens in New Hampshire.
Massachusetts becomes the first state to enact a credit union law. |
| 1923 |
Indiana legislature passes the Indiana Credit Union Act,
which permits credit union development in Indiana.
Wasson & Co., an Indianapolis department store, opens Indiana's
first credit union. |
| 1925 |
Credit union leaders across the state meet in Indianapolis
to create the Indiana Credit Union League, making it the first league in
the Midwest and only the third in the country. |
| 1929 |
The stock market crashes, which starts the Great
Depression. Credit unions do well during this difficult time because
people want an alternative to the for-profit banking system. |
| 1934 |
Credit union leaders from across the country meet in Estes
Park, Colorado, to form the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).
The Indiana League votes to join CUNA and become an
official part of the national credit union system. |
| 1935 |
CUNA Mutual is created to provide insurance coverage for
credit union members.
The Indiana League hires its first managing director. |
| 1937 |
Central FCU is created to serve officials of Indiana’s
credit unions. |
| 1941 |
The United States enters World War II. Credit unions
struggle with the restrictions on credit, but help with the war effort by
selling war bonds. |
| 1951 |
Congress contemplates taxing credit unions, but decides
against it. |
| 1953 |
The Indiana League moves into its first building on
Arlington Avenue in Indianapolis. |
| 1955 |
Bankers complain about credit unions’ tax-exempt status
and adopt a resolution to tax them, but Congress votes against it. |
| 1964 |
The Indiana League moves into a bigger office on Arlington
Avenue. |
| 1967 |
The Indiana League creates the ICUL Services Corporation
— or Servicecorp — so it can offer fee-based products and services
without putting the tax-exemption of League dues at risk. |
| 1968 |
The Indiana League hosts its first Managers Conference. |
| 1970 |
The number of credit unions in Indiana peaks at 612.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is
created.
The NCUA institutes a federal deposit insurance program. |
| 1973 |
The League creates the Indiana Credit Union Political
Action Committee (ICUPAC). |
| 1974 |
Some credit unions begin offering share drafts. |
| 1975 |
U.S. Central CU is created (in 1999 became U.S. Central CU
& Associates). |
| 1977 |
The Indiana League creates the Indiana Corporate Federal
Credit Union — or INDICORP — as a depository and investment
organization for the state’s credit unions. Its beginning balance is
$85. |
| 1980 |
The financial industry begins a six-year process of
deregulation. |
| 1985 |
Credit unions thwart a major taxation threat.
The Indiana League, Servicecorp and INDICORP move into new offices on
Haverstick Road. |
| 1989 |
The S&L industry collapses, causing legislators to
scrutinize credit unions and bankers to spread disinformation about credit
union safety and soundness. |
| 1990 |
The League, Servicecorp and INDICORP move into new offices
on Allison Pointe Boulevard. |
| 1991 |
15,000 credit union supporters rally in Washington, D.C.,
as part of Operation Grassroots, a plan to persuade Congress to keep the
credit union system independently insured and regulated. |
| 1996 |
A federal judge issues an injunction against the National
Credit Union Administration’s policies that allow occupational federal
credit unions to add select employee groups to their fields of membership.
Late in the year, a federal appeals court granted a
partial stay of the injunction. |
| 1997 |
The Credit Union Membership Access Act (H.R. 1151)
was introduced into Congress March 20.
This legislation was aimed to ensure federal credit
unions' right to serve multiple employee groups.
On February 24, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the
field-of-membership case, which was presented October 6. |
| 1998 |
The Supreme Court announced its 5-4 decision against
credit unions on February 25. Attention then focused on getting The
Credit Union Membership Access Act passed into law.
On April 1 the House passed H.R. 1151 by an overwhelming
411-8 majority. With the Senate vote drawing near, the credit union
grassroots efforts sprang into action. With only a week's notice, 6,500
credit union supporters gathered in Washington, D.C., on July 14 to rally
on the Capitol steps. The Indiana group chartered a jet and filled it with
approximately 150 credit union staff, volunteers and friends.
On July 28 the Senate passed H.R. 1151 by a 92-6 vote. The
House approved the Senate version on August 4, and President William
Clinton signed The Credit Union Membership Access Act into law on
August 7.
In September the National Credit Union Administration
issued proposed rules, starting the final process required before
implementing the provisions of the new law. |
| 2002 |
Senate Enrolled Act 306 takes effect on July 1, permitting
mutually-owned savings banks to convert to credit union charters. This was
the direct result of League staff writing language and lobbying for this
bill.
Senate Enrolled Act 202 also takes effect on July 1,
removing the community charter provisions of the Indiana Credit Union Act
and adding "persons who reside or are employed within a
community" to the list of qualified groups that may form or be added
to a credit union's field of membership. The League and the Department of
Financial Institutions work together to develop procedures for application
to add communities. |
