About-Face Won’t Save DFCUBoard

DEARBORN, Mich. - (04/18/06) – Monday’s decision by theboard of DFCU Financial to pull its application for a bank chartermay have come too late to save the credit union’s ninedirectors, each of whom is targeted for recall by irate members.DFCU Owners United, a group of angry members, has signed as many as2,000 like-minded members to a petition urging the removal of thenine directors who voted to convert the $1.8 billion credit unionto a mutual savings bank. The dissident members have not decidedwhether to press the case for removal, now that the board haspulled the conversion bid, but there is lingering anger.“These people are pissed. There’s a lot of them whowant to move on with the recall,” said one source involved inthe opposition. But, it’s not clear whether themembers’ group can call off the recall, now thatthey’ve collected so many members names to the petitions. Asimilar case occurred in 2002 when angry members of U.S. Senate FCUstarted to recall directors of the Capitol Hill credit union, andwere unable to stop the recall after the board gave in to theirgrievances. As a result, a majority of the directors, some who hadserved more than two decades, were removed from the board. MargaretBlohm, the spokesman for the members’ group, hailedMonday’s decision, but said they were still discussing how toproceed with the recall. “It is a positive first step and welook forward to receiving more information from the board ofdirectors about ways in which the credit union will better serveits member-owners, including improved communications and a plan forreturning access capital to its member-owners,” she told TheCredit Union Journal.