§ 16551 Foreign Credit Union Licensing

• •Foreign credit unions need state approval before they can have a branch or agency here.
• •The approval must come from the state’s rules for doing business inside the state (Chapter 21 of the Corporations Code).
• •There is a specific exception (Section 8910) that can override this requirement.

A credit union based in Canada wants to open a branch in California.

Before it can get a license to open that branch, the Canadian credit union must first qualify to do business in California under the state’s corporate rules. If it doesn’t, the state won’t let it open the branch, unless the special exception in Section 8910 applies.