"How did Mr. Hayes ever arrive at SECU as CEO in the first place?" The hard part about the next few posts is knowing where to start and how to give you enough information to connect the dots....
✅ First, let's check your homework. If you watched the "Inside Job" documentary, then you understand that the economic collapse of 2008 - "The Great Recession" - was the worst U.S. financial catastrophe since the 1930's - "The Great Depression". Millions of Americans lost their jobs, their homes, even their "credit scores". The financial ruin was widespread. Working men and women took the hit. The U.S. financial system came within a heartbeat of total failure. Now, if you're under 30 years old, you probably weren't focused on all this in 2008 and today you might think "Nah, it couldn't have been that bad!". Oh yes it was!
You also learned from "Inside Job" that most of the failure was caused by financial greed, fraud, greed, corruption, greed and federal regulatory incompetence and complicity. If you followed the documentary closely, hopefully you were shocked that no one was punished, no one was held accountable. The corruption and incompetence were too pervasive and reached too high within the financial industry and within the federal regulatory bureaucracies.The "high priests" of finance and federal regulation really weren't too interested in sending themselves to jail. Imagine that!
✅ Among credit unions, the 2008 Great Recession triggered the collapse of the Corporate credit union system. That system failure cost U.S. credit unions @ $6 billion (that was real money in 2008!). SECU members' part of that bill was @ $120 million - real money out of your pockets! So what is the Corporate credit union system?
✅ Background: The Corporate Credit Union System - The corporate credit union system in 2008 was a three-tiered system consisting of one wholesale corporate credit union, 26 retail corporate credit unions , and nearly 7,600 natural person credit unions. The wholesale corporate credit union (U.S. Central Federal Credit Union) provided services to the 26 retail corporate credit unions, while the retail corporate credit unions provide services to natural person credit unions. Retail corporate credit unions provided support to natural person credit unions through the delivery of liquidity, financial, payment, and correspondent products and services.
✅ Huh? Alright, lets translate that! In 2008 most of the 7,600 "natural person" credit unions (like SECU) were small financial cooperatives. In order to increase their "market clout", the credit unions formed local "corporate credit unions" to pool investment dollars in order to earn better rates in the financial markets. Corporates only served other credit unions - no other businesses or individuals. Financial markets would pay a higher rate if together you had say $25 million to invest, rather than say $50,000 as a single credit union. Made sense, a great idea. A cooperative win-win! Most states formed a local corporate, with local leadership and control (in N.C. it was "First Carolina Corporate"). Nationally, one final layer was added - U.S.Central Credit Union - a "wholesale corporate" where the state corporate credit unions further pooled their dollars to gain further market clout. U.S. Central served only corporate credit unions. Life was good!*
✅ Then along came Western Corporate (Wescorp)....with which Mr. Jim Hayes was intimately involved.
✅ And, things began to change....
...what are y'all smiling about???
❓In evaluating CEO candidates, was the Board of Directors aware of Jim Hayes's time as CFO at Wescorp when it went into receivership?
✅ "The Board concluded that the
same leadership qualities that NCUA recognized when it asked Mr. Hayes to navigate Wescorp through
receivership as CFO, stood as concrete examples of an SECU leader "Doing the Right Thing," particularly in the
face of adversity. "
... certain that "this Board" will not try to "duck" accountability for that statement and their decision making, aren't you?
* Questions about the "corporates" or 2008? Ask in comments.
"...what are y'all smiling about???" ... the Fat Cats that ate the canary ...
ReplyDeleteKeep smiling SECU Board of Directors.
DeleteFor the past year, your members have been walking into our local branches seeing employees who were always smiling before looking like the weight of the world was on their shoulders. Many trying to quietly apologize for some of your bad policy changes for us. Hayes & team had them job scared, but yet they were worrying about us. October cannot come soon enough for this member.
Well done Mr. Blaine! Keep up the good fight! Looking forward to the Annual Meeting!
ReplyDeleteI googled and found this on the cusomag site... "Eventually, though, the NCUA would take more extreme measures, conserving first U.S. Central and WesCorp (the largest “retail” corporate)..." So, WesCorp wasn't a natural person CU?
ReplyDeleteWescorp started out as a single state corporate (like First Carolina Corporate for NC) serving just California "natural person" credit unions, then...stay tuned.
Deleteremember "too big to fail" aka the public is going to bail out these criminals while they walk away with MILLIONS.... same as the Savings and Loans mess ....
ReplyDeleteand it hasn't ended here .... they have everyone looking "over here" while they continue to plunder the booty!
These folks are professional alright, professional thieves! (with a smile)
Western Corporate doesn't have a state name in it. Was it a middle tier between a state and U.S.? Like, a regional operator?
ReplyDeleteSee next post...up later this afternoon...Wescorp started out as the California (single state) corporate...then things began to change.
DeleteFrom someone who is on the older end: the 2008 recession hit NC state employees HARD. There were furloughs. Teachers didn't receive a raise for years after that. Not even a cost of living raise.
ReplyDeleteReally interested for.. the rest of the story!
ReplyDeleteCan former employees be on the BOD? I'm assuming not...but you know what happens when you assume
ReplyDeleteAny member 18 years or older is eligible to serve on the BOD.
ReplyDeleteWhere can we apply? Time to vote then out!
DeleteSECU wbsite: "New/New" Election Procedures
DeleteMike Lord, Steve Herrell, Warren Peacock, Mike Banks.
DeleteExcellent replacement choices for This Board.
Impossible for This Board to keep them off the ballot without further diminishing the limited credibility they have left.
I'm sure three of them could find 15 hours a month in the busy schedules.
"We are volunteers who often spend 15 or more hours a month in meetings, discussions, and research on SECU matters. "
No thank you.
DeleteLooked up all of the plaintiffs in the case against Westcorp. They are in different states, serving city employees, railway employees, teachers, healthcare employees, employees of GTE and Verizon, and postal employees. From what I can tell they are from credit unions in CA, WA, OR, CT. Sounds like some or all expanded their field of membership too. What do they all have in common besides being robbed?
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to see how much has changed over the years. Contact center employees lives were recently flipped upside down with new not family friendly schedules. No choice in the matter…change or leave. The credit union used to care about employees too. They have made some positive changes for employees but ultimately it’s more motivated by money now.
ReplyDeleteRemember it's about the best place to work, jussssst not for you. Best place to work is too high for your pay grade, you pleb.
DeleteSo if anyone can be on the BOD, I wonder if Mike Banks would apply? He was a great SVP and always spoke his mind. That's 1 of the 3. I am sure there are a couple more retirees that could join the cause for a while.
ReplyDeletePatty Munns? She always spoke her mind.
ReplyDeleteKirby Parrish?
ReplyDeleteFred Cobb, bring back Karan Bunn
ReplyDeleteThis Board has already changed the voting procedures for the next election. After 86 years and without any request from SECU's Member Owners, why would they do this? Any further actions This Board takes between now and October regarding previous policies and procedures in place for many decades within this cooperative, should be taken as hostile and retaliatory against the Membership. The damage is done, no need to make it worse.
ReplyDeleteExactly right
DeleteThat's exactly what the change in the election procedure was. done on the very last day changes could be made by their team of 30 lawyers???? exactly 180 days before the annual meeting at 5:30 Ms Leigh Brady, new CEO, sent out an email about the new/new election procedures. Done because Ms Garland wants the board chair job so badly she can taste it!! And she could tell she was going to be outa there because the membership didn't like her shenanigans. same for Joanne Sanford, BFF of Alice.
ReplyDelete