Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Carolinas' Credit Union League Blundering Forward Into Another Type "Desert"?

"H.B. 187 - CU Update Act": Putting N.C. Credit Unions On the Chopping Block?

 https://www.elsyselectrical.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Electrical-Safety-Education-for-Kids-1.jpg ... Shock and Ow-w-w!

😎 Why don't we go ahead and try sticking our finger in an electric outlet also!

✅ We've hashed over the "H.187 - CU Update" bill on several occasions.  Is CCUL's persistence in the best interest of North Carolina's 3 million+ credit union members? Or is it primarily in CCUL's own interest [see link here]? 

  Look out! [link] Washington State – The GoWest Credit Union Association - which is CCUL's counterpart on the left coast - is saying Washington State’s bankers have no reason to celebrate a bill that taxes credit unions that purchase banks in the state. The approved legislation that removes the business and occupation (B&O) tax exemption that state-chartered credit unions currently have in place when acquiring community banks. The tax would be 1.2% of the credit union’s gross income, with supporters of the legislation saying it closes a “tax loophole by making credit unions that acquire banks subject to the same B&O tax as banks.”

Ms. Leigh Brady, CEO of SECU, has publicly stated that being taxed at the federal level would cost SECU members $40 million per year forever - not a minor cost to the membership. With the Washington State business and occupation state tax, the CU tax debate has now also gone "local" - the various state taxation exemptions could be "put in play".

It's been made clear that not all N.C. credit unions support H.187. Why risk a minor "update" in the midst of such great national - and now local - uncertainty [see link on national tax/NCUA]? 

🐪🐪🐪  Beware of Camel Noses: "The term refers to an alleged Arab proverb that if a camel is allowed to get its nose inside of a tent, it will be impossible to prevent the rest of it from entering. A small, seemingly innocuous act - H.187? - or decision that will lead to much larger, more serious, and less desirable consequences down the line." 🐪🐪🐪

$40 million a year... lets hope our local bankers can't read!

 

Monday, April 28, 2025

While We Wait On The SECU Board's Response...

 https://davidkrutprojects.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/faith47-the-long-wait-part-one-2.jpg  Hope "it" doesn't freeze over first!

✅  Last Friday [see post], Julian Hawes who received 31,000+ member votes in last year's election, wrote the SECU Board. Mr. Hawes, re-asked the SECU Board and CEO for a copy of credit union procedures for submitting substantive resolutions for the Annual Meeting. The annual meeting process generally kicks off by the end of May and can be convoluted, so time is at hand. 

Of late, open dialogue and transparency unfortunately, have not exactly been the hallmark of the current CEO, nor SECU Board; hopefully that is about to change.

While we wait to see if the "new/new" remains accountable; you might like to take a look at this credit union blog [link]. You'll see that diminished member rights and participation is not unique to SECU. Won't use the phrase "industry standard", but that often seems to be the controlling intelligence underlying our current leadership thinking.

😎  Shouldn't be hard to publish the "rules of the game"... unless, of course, they haven't been made up yet.

  If not "industry standard"... how about "lowest common denominator"?