California mailbag filling up....!!!
[😎 Yesterday you got a glimpse of the outstanding performance of a current "CFO-type person", here's a glimpse of a former "CFO-type person"... ]
By March 2009 Wescorp was bankrupt and was taken over ("conservatorship") by the Federal government ("NCUA") - resulting in a $6 billion loss to over 1,000 credit unions nationwide.
Eight Credit Unions from four different states immediately sued Wescorp, its Board and its officers, including Wescorp's CFO, for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.
The Board was removed for negligence and incompetence by the National Credit Union Administration (the "Feds") in 2009 and Wescorp was liquidated (ceased to exist) by the end of 2010.
... but that's no reason to hold Wescorp's CFO accountable, is it?
If I was the BOD at this point, I’d just resign. Not even if you have a guilty conscience or a good heart, but more of the fact the WHOLE credit union knows we have a con artist as our CEO and YOU are responsible for allowing him creep into our organization. It’s not even been 2 years😂 You guys will be caught 😂
ReplyDeleteHaving a hard time understanding how “this board” thinks this inspires confidence.
ReplyDeleteLook at him now. Bet he didn't even get a tiny ding on his credit report for that. But now he gets to run the nation's second largest CU and can penalize members who don't have A-paper credit scores.
ReplyDelete"This board" backs him without so much as one eye open. Even better, let Wescorp's CFO go on a hiring spree at SECU and then delegate all leadership to his buddies. Then, they get to pay it forward and bring on all of their friends.
ReplyDeleteIS is filled with First Citizens Bank alums. (Wescorp's CFO didn't know what he was doing in IS, so he hired the first charlatan as CIO). Does "this board" even know that? Does "this board" realize it got to be so many from FCB
that new hires announcements stopped including where employees last worked? And, now some are not even announced.
Dear "this board", are you in a haze or was this all part of the strategic plan? Losing money, hiring binges, nepotism, and scandal. Definitely New/New. A fine year of tranformation after 85 years with a pristine record.
Copied from an article in Alm Credit Union Times
ReplyDeleteBy Heather Anderson | Updated on May 27, 2008
"SAN DIMAS, Calif. -- When new WesCorp Chief Financial Officer Jim Hayes was named Todd Lane's replacement after just five years of heading the corporate's marketing and business development department, those unfamiliar with Hayes and his background might have questioned the choice."
"Turns out, Hayes already knew his way around WesCorp’s finance wing, putting in six years as the NCUA’s examiner for the $30 million corporate."
2009 - Less than one year later, those same people were proven right! Wescorp Failure!
Jim Hayes spent 11 years inside Wescorp in various positions and knew his way around their finance wing?
2023 - Exactly what will it take for This Board to recognize what they have done by placing the future of SECU in these hands?
The decline in SECU over the past 20 months is very apparent and well documented. There are Some people within This Credit Union who know what they are talking about, This Board needs to listen and take corrective actions before it is too late for SECU.
Dear Board, tell us the truth. Was it the SVP of Marketing and Business position or the CFO position or the NCUA Examiner or the CEO position of a < 400 employee credit union which impressed some of you the most on that resume? Don't guess the less than 10 years in any one place caught your attention? Just asking because after reading all your Bios about your long careers in NC government on the SECU website - I can't understand why you felt SECU deserved LESS for their CEO candidate? I do hope it wasn't those glowing references from his buddies that got you.
DeleteLightening comes before thunder.
Deletethis mess was totally avoidable ... there was no need to go outside the CU for a new CEO. They had plenty of qualified candidates 'even better' than the one they hired. These employees worked their way up, they DESERVED the opportunity! I knew right away when the got rid of modules these folks thought they were above the common employee. And then all c-suite managers received the max PTO that everyone else had to work YEARS to receive .... another sign that we are above the common man. Mom told me to watch what they do, not what they say. That is just a few of many signs, signs that are more serious then these two, that this CU is in jeopardy of becoming another Wescorp. I think this membership has been sold out ....
ReplyDeleteWhy all this pushback??? Hayes is great guy - just ask him.
DeleteThere are/were plenty of better applicants. SECU needed someone who understood the branch culture and what makes it great, not someone well removed from the branch or someone not familiar with SECU's culture. We need someone who knows the members.
Spent the biggest part of yesterday hearing members' complaints about the new phone system, the deposit rates, the newsletters...you name it, they're upset about it. All an FSO can do is sit, listen and try to smile...so depressing. And these folks aren't even aware of just where SECU Really is right now...
DeleteThe new phone system is god awful. NICE CX1. Huge downgrade from what we had.
DeleteBet *that* wasn't included on his resume.
ReplyDeleteI'm no genius but I think the "Feds" need to aid in the removal of this BOD, too. Then the board needs to take Gymmy & she/her with them.
ReplyDeleteNCUA will not step in unless there is a clear and present danger to the insurance fund - where their budget comes from. They will be even more hesitant to remove someone with NCUA on their resume. Why do you think Hayes got removed from the lawsuit once NCUA got involved. They don't like prosecuting one of their own.
Deleteat that point it becomes a conflict of interest and they should recuse themselves .... you know "do the right thing" but that never crosses their minds
DeleteMy guess is someone within NCUA probably gave the reference that sealed the deal for Hayes as CEO and brought all THIS to SECU's door!
DeleteWould be very interesting to hear the advice some of the prior Wescorp folks would share with This Board? They were probably shouting out the warnings as well.
ReplyDeleteHow is This Board going to explain to the Members, we failed YOU because we thought we knew better than the SECU veterans who helped to build your credit union.
CEO’s used to get fired when they lost the company money, lied on their resume, or had shady background checks….
ReplyDeleteSECU…. There REALLY is a difference….
I believe SECU didn't use to hire people (even a cashier) who had personal bankruptcy on their record. Guess it's now okay to hire a CEO who was involved in a $6 billion CU failure though. What could possibly go wrong?
ReplyDeleteFace it SECU Board of Directors, you took a gamble and lost. You selection process for CEO is more than questionable, you listened to the wrong advisors and you own the consequences of the Hayes outcome.
ReplyDeleteI suspect the board have been brought to heel by Hayes and his lackeys. This may sound a little farfetched, but bear with me here.
ReplyDeleteEarly on during Hayes' tenure, he sent out a long email where, reading between the lines, he complained that the board were afraid of change (the ultimate cardinal sin in Hayes' eyes), since they had voted against his proposal for expanding beyond NC and rebranding (southern eastern credit union).
Shortly after, new positions opened up on the internal job board. These jobs were for "board relations" or something, and the job description mentioned, among other things:
- Liaising with the BOD and feed them constantly with information (propaganda)
- Creating an orientation program for BOD members, with a handbook and a code of conduct (as if they were employees subordinate to Jim).
- Tightly regulate the BOD's time, scheduling them for meeting and events (without their say so?) and ensuring that meetings follow a strict agenda (no room for dissent)
Over the 18-20 months since then, we have seen the board become more and more acquiescent to Jim's plans. While I'm sure some BOD members have supported him from the start, those that were initially opposed have since been brainwashed to fall in line.
Think about it. In 18 months we went from the BOD voting to block his plans, to all 11 of then signing a MN emailed declaration of support and allegiance to their CEO. It's like they have forgotten they're actually in charge of Hayes, not the other way around.
He couldn't replace them with his own compliant lackeys, like he did in every other area of the credit union, so he just transformed them into his lackeys instead.
I remember one email where he stated “see, even the board needs professional development.” I truly don’t believe the BOD wanted all this but Hayes blackmailed them somehow
DeleteAnymore fact based info on Hayes' comments interactions with or regarding to This Board? Seems his strategy of Divide and Conquer may not been reserved for just use on SECU employees.
DeleteAh yes, your 11:26am post regarding "professional development" reminded me of another aspect of the "board relations" position I mentioned earlier.
Delete"Training" the BOD and providing them with "continuing education" was another point of emphasis. Training them how, exactly? I can't say, but it appears to have lobotomized the board members that were initially resistant to Hayes' regime.
Exactly. I know everyone one wants to point fingers at BOD and they definitely deserve the criticism, but I think most of this was all Hayes. I do believe the board wanted updated technology and probably little shifts in the culture but nothing like this. What we have now is crazy.
DeleteIn all fairness to the Board, I am sure each and everyone of them are more productive in their personal fields/careers than he will ever be. He is the one who needs some training, no wonder he canned the modules program, he couldn't pass them.
DeleteDoes this Joker not know who is working for who here?
DeleteAll those employees who have to deal with this arrogant man face to face have my sympathies. Just reading the different comments and knowing the character and quality of so many of the SECU employees who have served my family over the many years we have banked at the credit union, I just can't understand why this has happened to our credit union
Delete"This Board" reminds me of the film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".
DeleteOne by one, Board members that were once faithful to SECU's mission have been infected by the New/New Hazey mind contagion.
What?? "this Board" could kick Hayes and his Minions out the door today. they don't need his permission. He serves at the pleasure of "this Board". They have heard repeatedly from Members. Letters from both former CEOS. They are not ignorant of what is going on. They are complicit.
DeleteAnd yes, it is THAT Bill Cheney listed as a defendant in the suit. They had an all-star cast to blow up Wescorp.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if members protested outside of Salisbury st. - say on the day the BOD met, would that get the point across that members are unhappy. Emails are easy to ignore, there have been plenty of those. Just thinking out loud
ReplyDeleteIf such a protest were covered on the major news networks, such as WRAL, it would put serious pressure on them to act
DeleteThat’s exactly what I was going to say. Get the media involved. Most members are in the dark about what’s happening. We are a member owned Credit Union and the BOD and Gym answer ultimately to the members. We need some serious intervention and quickly!
DeleteWow! Just saw the email today. They've installed security turnstiles at Creedmoor Rd, meaning employees now need to swipe their badge to get through the barrier.
ReplyDeleteParanoia? Fear? Seems like the sort of thing you'd do if you wanted to keep out angry, disgruntled former employees...
A few weeks back there was a post about Hazy taking a second office at Creedmoor Rd if I remember correctly? Now securing the premises, does he really think he is that irreplaceable? Give us an hour and we can fill that seat with a much better CEO.
DeleteC'mon Board, send this guy back to Maryland/Washington and let NCUA have him.
Well yeah, that's like, you know, not really a bad thing. I know long tenured Operations and IS employees who advocated for similar measures decade(s) ago. Same with the email notice. Probably doesn't need to go to All Employees though.
Delete"Secrecy is the freedom tyrants dream of."
ReplyDeleteBill Moyers
I wish I never heard those two words….”Jim Hayes”.
ReplyDeletesome others I wish I'd never heard---then this destruction wouldn't BE...Chris Ayer, Alice Garland, Jo Anne Sanford.....
DeleteWhat was the BOD thinking? What was the kick back paid to the recruiter for hiring HAYES after the WesCorp FCU failure? Did the BOD expect a different outcome? The BOD should be FIRED. The BOD should be recalled. Never Shocked. Just Disappointed.
ReplyDelete