DFCU Financial Fends Off MemberOpposition

DEARBORN, Mich. - (02/16/06) – A small group of DFCU Financialmembers turned out for the credit union’s special meetingWednesday night, most of them to voice their opposition to plans toconvert the credit union giant to a mutual savings bank. Themajority of the 100 members in attendance appeared to oppose thecontroversial charter switch and overwhelmingly backed a motion byDon McKinnon, one of the founders of the 55-year-old credit union,to abandon the conversion bid. “We don’t need anotherbank, we need a credit union,” said McKinnon to applause fromthe crowd. However, McKinnon’s motion was ruled out of orderby the parliamentarian. Directors and CEO Mark Shobe spent most ofthe two-hour meeting, held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel adjacent tothe $1.8 billion credit union’s headquarters, fending offquestions about the effects of the conversion, including thepossibility if insider remuneration, and voting and ownershiprights of members after the conversion. Dozens of members were seenleaving the meeting with bumper stickers that read,‘Don’t Make Our Credit Union A Bank.’