The National Credit Union Administration said the action was taken in consultation with the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. Conservatorship means the NCUA has taken control of the credit union.

1st Choice had 6,709 members and assets of approximately $38.6 million, according to the credit union’s most recent call report. 

The credit union serves employees of Grady Hospital, Morehouse School of Medicine faculty, Emory University School of Medicine faculty, Southside Healthcare, Atlanta Life Insurance Company, South Fulton Community Development Corporation, credit union staff, and family members. 

The NCUA did not give a reason for the action, but the regulator typically places a credit union into conservatorship in order to resolve operational problems that could affect that credit union’s safety and soundness. 

During a conservatorship, the credit union remains open; members may transact business; and accounts remain insured.

1st Choice is the first credit union conserved by the NCUA this year. In 2023, the regulator conserved two institutions – Valwood Park FCU in Texas and Yonkers Postal Employees Credit Union in New York.

The number of federally insured credit unions with assets of at least $10 million but less than $50 million – including 1st Choice – declined to 1,253 in the first quarter of 2024 from 1,329 in the first quarter of 2023. 

Those credit unions held $33.1 billion in assets, or 1% of total system assets. Credit unions in that category reported a 0.4% increase in loans over the year. Membership declined 5.3%, while net worth rose 1.7%.

1st Choice lost $149,000 in the first quarter of 2024 after earning $109,000 in 2023,  according to call report data from the NCUA.