Back again from the West Coast...!
Know many of you are frustrated - and bored! - by those repeated ventures west to review what's going on with the SAFE/Boeing CU merger.
✔ Why bother? What does it have to do with the governance and elections at SECU? Probably a lot!
Not sure what else can be said about the sellout under way at SAFE CU - a thriving, financially sound, $4.4 billion community asset in Sacramento. The merger agreement can not be reasonably justified on an economic, financial, nor business basis.
250,000 SAFE members are being asked to give up their locally-owned, locally-controlled institution - with a market value of between $400 million to $800 million! [link] - for little measurable gain. SAFE members lose out, while Board and senior leaders cash out. [link] 😎 Can't happen here?
That's where WakeMed comes in. A thriving, financially sound, multi-billion community asset located in Raleigh. Over 1 million citizens of Wake County are being asked to give up their locally-owned, locally-controlled institution [link] - with a market value of well over $1 billion! [link] - for little measurable gain. Wake citizens lose out, while the Board and senior leaders have checked out! 😎 It already has happened here!
Over 100 citizens lined up last week to speak against the WakeMed giveaway, criticizing the potential for rising costs, waning care for those of modest means, lost of local control, and the lack of transparency by the hospital board and senior management. One speaker expressed the obvious: "You're going to aggregate another monopoly in our local market and our people are going to pay more for it."
WakeMed thought it could run this raw deal under the radar as a consent agenda item, without ever engaging the citizens of Wake County in a discussion of the merits of the proposal. Many feel that neglect of transparency was because a good case can't be made for a bad deal. It may be too late for Board credibility, regardless of any merit.
The SAFE Credit Union Board and senior management have made the same mistakes ... they have put their fellow citizens and community in play.
✔ For SAFE: Is it a governance mistake of omission or commission - or both ?
