Early Comment Letters Object To Call For More Open Records

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NCUA's effort to open up the internal workings of credit unions to members appears to be running into some opposition, with several prominent credit union managers expressing their disapproval.

The agency's proposal follows calls for more disclosures in the wake of moves by some CUs to pursue bank charters.

In a comment letter to NCUA, John Simmonds, CEO at Southeast Financial FCU, said the proposal to disclose to members all compensation deals related to mergers is an "encroachment on personal privacy" and "exhibits an implicit mistrust by the NCUA Board and its regulators of all senior management officials of credit unions that are considering mergers."

Kirk Kurdeleski, CEO of Bethpage FCU, said because there have been no scandals regarding compensation paid in the thousands of credit union mergers the past few years there is no need for additional disclosures.

Frank Berrish, CEO of Visions FCU, questioned the need for a separate rule increasing member access to books and records, saying that member rights in a credit union should not be equated with those of shareholders in a public company. Shareholders, he said, buy stock in order to maximize their profit, while credit union members have no such expectation, he asserted.

Mark Shobe, CEO at DFCU Financial, said the 1% requirement, with a maximum of 250 names to request access to internal records, can invite disruptions by a small group of members, as it did last year at his credit union, where members tried to recall the board for its ill-fated conversion to bank. The 250 names amount to less than one-sixth of 1% of DFCU members, he noted.