Sec. 1. 9-B MRSA §843, sub-§4 is enacted to read:

4.__Benefits.__A credit union may provide employee benefits, including retirement benefits, to its employees and officers.__ The kind and amount of these benefits must be reasonable given the credit union's size and financial condition and the duties of the employees and officers.__A credit union investing to fund an employee benefit plan obligation is not subject to the investment limitations of section 862 and may purchase an investment that would otherwise be impermissible if the investment is directly related to the credit union's obligation or potential obligation under the employee benefit plan and the credit union holds the investment only for as long as it has an actual or potential obligation under the employee benefit plan.__The superintendent may adopt rules to implement this subsection.__Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

SUMMARY

This bill provides statutory authority for a state-chartered credit union to provide employee benefits, including retirement benefits, to its employees and officers and to fund an employee benefit plan obligation with investments that would otherwise be impermissible under state law. The bill also gives the Superintendent of Financial Institutions the authority to adopt rules to implement the law and appropriately address any safety and soundness issues associated with those employee benefit plans.