If you are a member of Continental FCU, the question you have to be asking yourself, "How loyal AM I?"
The boys at OpenSourceCU have an amazing discussion going on that really boils down to loyalty.
Wings Financial is attempting the first ever hostile takeover in the history of credit unions. Basically they are asking the members of Continental FCU how loyal they are?
Some people may want to sit back and wait and see if it happens. I have to ask how did THIS happen? How did we get here?
1 comment:
Arlene, your post encouraged me to make a comment this morning on the original post. I hope you don't mind me cross-posting it here:
"I’m afraid that part of the domino effect is going to be millions of CU members looking up and being bank customers. Bye-bye ownership.
Am I saying this will happen if Wings acquires Continental FCU? Nope. I’m talking bigger picture. I’m talking about the bankers sitting around tables saying, “What an easy way to make money! Let’s buy a credit union!”
I had a long conversation with my wife about this over the weekend. She’s not in credit unions, and to my disappointment, she’s not a reader of Open Source CU unless I tell her “Honey, someone ripped me apart in a comment today.” But I digress.
In this conversation with my wife, she asked, “Why is this all a big deal?” And my response was akin to:
I have no problem with people getting rich. One day, I hope we can take dips in the money bin, Scrooge McDuck style. What I do have a problem with is people cheating to get rich – taking something from someone else right out from under them.
I have a problem with the fact that a conversion from a credit union to a bank can occur. What that means (assuming that the management and board of the former CU cash in with stock) is that the hard work of generations of volunteers and members (yes, members who pooled their money to lend to each other) goes to making folks (individuals or corporations or other credit unions) who I see as greedy+lazy to get rich/richer.
It should be illegal, IMHO, but it isn’t yet. And that gets my goat. And my problem with this whole situation with Wings and Nationwide before it is that we don’t just have to worry about conversions anymore; now a bank can buy a credit union. Or a credit union who has once expressed interest in becoming a bank can orchestrate a hostile takeover. Of a fellow credit union. A not-for-profit cooperative where every member owns part of the institution.
So that’s the reason for my disgust. It’s not aimed at Wings. It’s aimed at conversions, and now at hostile takeovers. It’s aimed at what I feel is a forced hijacking of what a cooperative group of people built together.
Ok, onto the “good.” I’ve been screaming that we need a wake-up call. I just hoped that credit unions would wake up on their own. What will the credit union movement look like in ten years?
I just hope there are enough loyal members to block a takeover from another CU or an acquisition by a bank it if it comes down to it. BTW, here’s a great post from Arleen Payne summing up the loyalty issue that’s emerged in this comment thread."
Arleen, thanks again for getting me thinking!
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