ALEXANDRIA, Va. -
"The agency has not received a merger plan that has been approved by both boards as required," said John McKechnie, director of public and congressional affairs at NCUA. "Both boards must be involved before it can move forward."
As a result, it will not be enough for Wings to convince Continental's membership on the merger. Instead, the Continental board must be persuaded to approve the merger. On a website created by Wings at www.continentalwings.com, members of Continental are urged to sign an online-petition urging the board to consider the merger. But even if Wings can entice a large number of Continental members to sign the petition, the CFCU board can still rebuff the merger bid. At that point, the members' only recourse would be to petition the board for a special meeting to recall the board and install in its place a board of directors amenable to the merger proposal, according to NCUA.
But the real problem, some have suggested, is that this is a situation the CU community-and its regulators-have never seen before and wasn't contemplated when the laws and regulations were created.
"The question becomes, who is the governing body that is looking out for the consumers in this situation," observed Dan Kampen of the Rochdale Group and former CEO of U.S. Central Credit Union. "In other industries and sectors, there have been hostile takeovers, and there are rules of engagement in place. There is someone making sure that the disclosures on both sides are fair and accurate."
