EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. -
Why is this not a good deal for members? "Wings talks about price comparisons, but they have been selective in their comparisons. Pricing is a floating issue, it changes daily. They are bigger, but we are able to offer truly personal service, individual solutions to individual problems. There's just not a lot they could do that we don't already do for our members," Glatt said, adding that a merger would dilute his members' voices in decisions regarding the credit union's future.
What member feedback hve you gotten? "An overwhelming number have said 'don't do this,'" he related. "They cite the history of the credit union's 55-year ties to Continental. A lot of them say, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' They have said don't want to become 'just a number' at a big credit union. We have said they are not for or against this merger, they just want to know why it is or isn't a good deal for them. But what we are hearing most isthey are happy with the products, happy with service and happy with the pricing."
What issues does this raise for the movement as a whole? "I have had calls from so many other CEOs saying that this is such a sad commentary on our industry that any credit union would act this way, act so bank-like," Glatt said. "It's important that credit unions out there realize this is not just a Continental issue. If this thing goes through to its ultimate conclusion, we'll see the self-cannibalization of the industry. It will be the end of the industry if we do not all stand up. Credit unions need to put pressure on NCUA to, at a minimum, hold hearings on this."
Given the current rules-which require both boards' support, meaning your members would have to petition for a special meeting to recall the board-how likely is it that this merger will succeed? "It would not be very likely at all," Glatt said. "But there should be some kind of regulation in place that addresses the issue of: can someone go around the board and take an initiative to the membership until they get an answer they want."
Would such regulation become a problem in the case of credit union conversions? "That is an issue, and we have to be very careful about that. But this is not the same as conversion," Glatt replied, noting that in a conversion, it is the members themselves who seek to go around the board, whereas in this case, it is an outside entity. And next time, that outside entity might not be from within the credit union movement, he added.
