In The Godfather Mergers series [link], we've been examining the predatory, fiduciary misconduct which is developing around credit union mergers.
The chosen example has been the proposed SAFE/BECU merger in California to illustrate potential problems; but fiduciary malpractice in credit union mergers appears to be reaching pandemic proportions.
Let's look at yet another example of how financially unsound the credit union giveaway by the SAFE Board and CEO really is. No one disputes that the SAFE Board and CEO are in effect "paying" somewhere between $400 to $800 million in member equity [see link above] for the "privilege" of merging with BECU. A "privilege" that every SAFE member can obtain for free by simply joining BECU directly. In effect, the SAFE Board and CEO are forcing every SAFE member to pay @ $1,600 in cash/equity for the privilege of exporting their credit union service and control to Washington State.
Another damning analysis of what the SAFE Board and CEO are giving away is the value of the member relationships which SAFE as worked hard to build up over the years. In "marketing" terms these relationships are called "customer acquisition costs" (CAC). Companies literally spend millions on marketing to attract - and keep - customers, i.e. credit union members!
As you can see from the chart below, it costs @ $175 to attract a new member account. In the case of SAFE with 244,000 members, this means BECU is getting 244,000 new members for free! That's worth $175 x 244,000 = $42.7 million! "Privilege" has it's price, in this case "free"!!!
😎 But it's worse than you think! The giveaway by the SAFE Board and CEO is much, much larger! While SAFE does have 244,000 members, it manages over 550.000 accounts of all types according to the NCUA.
✔ Let's compute the real, total value of "CAC" giveaway by SAFE: $175 x 550,000 accounts = $96.25 million!
The SAFE Board and CEO find it very easy to give away "other peoples' money" (OPM) ... but heck, what's $100 million give-or-take among friends!