... North Carolina Credit Unions Matter.
To: The North Carolina Credit Union Commission
April 9, 2024
My name is Jim Blaine. Thank you for the opportunity to address the Commission. Over the
last ten months we have been unsuccessful in gaining your attention and
action. Ten months. And still, you remain silent.
The nature
of our complaint is that the Administrator of Credit Unions has failed, perhaps unintentionally, to uphold the laws of North
Carolina. When such an assertion is made, North Carolina law vests the Commission
"with full power and authority to review, approve, or modify any action
taken by the Administrator." And still, you remain silent.
Ms.
Ford has presented you with documentary evidence, that as a qualified
member of her credit union; she was denied the right to seek
self-nomination as a board member. The Commission has been asked if you
agree all state-chartered credit unions have the authority to deny this
basic member right? Fundamental cooperative principles, federal law, and
credit union bylaws are clear such arbitrary exclusion is not
permissible. And still, you remain silent.
Yesterday, Ms. Ford's credit union - inspired by a sudden
fervor for democratic principles - has once again revised its board
election procedures; affirming that they will continue to deny Ms. Ford
the right to seek nomination by her fellow members. And still, you remain silent.
Apparently
with the blessing of the Credit Union Division, Ms. Ford's credit union has
used "anything goes" bylaw amendments to prohibit member discussion at
the Annual Meeting by ignoring standard rules of order; to proscribe
the consideration of any member motions or resolutions; to deprive member-nominated board
candidates of any forum for reaching members with their views; and now
desperately squirms and twists with new election procedures, to further
thwart the basic democratic rights of its members. And still, you
remain silent.
Jean
Blaine has pointed out that your Administrator has appeared before the
N.C. State Legislature in support of H410. This bill was presented as a
series of "minor updates", when in fact the bill is a major rewrite of
North Carolina credit union laws. We all should be ashamed of this
intentional legislative deception. And still, you remain silent.
Open membership, corporations as
clients, out-of-state commercial lending, and higher risk investments
do not meet anyone's definition of minor. The future of North Carolina
credit unions is up for grabs. And still, you remain silent.
The financial well-being of over 3 million North Carolina credit union members is under attack. Much is at stake. The entire Country is watching what is occurring with the Commission, and is listening.
And still, you remain silent.
Would you please speak a little louder? We're having difficulty hearing you.
The Commission has been in closed session now for over forty-five minutes! Still holding on phone. Will they or will they not come back and address any of the three credit union members’ concerns?
ReplyDeleteAre those “industry” standard rules of order
ReplyDeleteWhat’s happening between Jim Blaine and Jamie Applequist at the Credit Union Division (CUD) is difficult for all involved, including them I feel sure. Those two people are two of the most honest, hard working folks I have ever been around. No doubt in my mind they both want what is best for credit union members. Mr. Blaine is attempting to hold the Administrator and the CUD accountable for their actions. As much as it may seem personal I do not believe that it is - it’s the position (CUD) not the person. If the Administrator had done her job correctly it would not have gone this far.
ReplyDeleteHe has asked repeatedly over many months for answers to 3 simple questions. It would seem the answers would be that they (the Administrator and possibly CUD) made a mistake and need to fix it or they did the right thing and will stand by it or they don’t know what the answer is and need help. What does NOT seem appropriate is to continue to stonewall, most likely based on advice of council. That’s the dumbest idea of all, but what do you expect, its attorneys doing dumb attorney stuff.
The person that dropped the hand grenade in the room at the last possible second is Rose Conner, the previous Administrator. She blew it all up literally on the same day she retired and rode off into the sunset leaving the mess for someone else to handle. By kowtowing to Jim Hayes and the SECU Legacy Board she seriously damaged the cooperative credit union model in North Carolina. Shame on her. Why the current Administrator feels the need to protect her is beyond me. “Captured” regulators rarely protect the folks they are supposed to look after.
Kristina Ray sure has LOST a lot of credibility. The whole CUD has.
DeleteCorporations, Lawyers and politicians…when have these entities or people have ever been truthful in history? They know exactly what they are doing. That’s why Josh Stein keeps deleting instagram comments when secu is mentioned in his posts. He doesn’t care about the working class people in the slightest.
DeleteIt is just like our Credit Union has become. For many years branch employees went out into the community and talked to members and potential members about how great SECU was. We did it because we loved our jobs and members and had the best interest for our members. And we knew our rates and products were great. Fast forward to today and we've become all about Linked In. Some of these younger employees post everything they do on social media to highlight themselves. It's more about them than the Organization. I didn't even recognize half the upper management at the last meeting. So many new faces have been hired the last few years. I had high hopes Leigh would fix things. Even with collections, we haven't seen any updates on it lately. And look at how bad it's gotten. Put MLOs and collections back under branch leadership and watch how quickly things will change. We know our members and want what's best for them.
DeleteAnd please read Jean Blaine's comments (previous post)to the commission on HB410. The Carolinas' Credit Union League is preparing a hard push to get it through in the short session. Susie Ford's remarks(the eclipse part 2) on SECU's denial of an application are possibly the most important comments of the day. SECU can pick whomever they want to be on the board slate as the current boards' selections. BUT they are changing the bylaws with their election procedure rules. Who can stop them? whose job is it to stop them?
ReplyDeleteTheir silence is deafening ...
ReplyDeleteThe Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing ...
ReplyDelete