The Ohio Credit Union League has become the latest to adopt what it calls a "pro-member" stance on credit union-to-bank conversions.
"The policy reflects the league's belief that the credit union charter is the charter of choice for providing the public with consumer-friendly financial products and services and that credit union charter conversions should be approached from the members' point of view," the league stated. Among the plans the league said it will pursue will be to continue to seek legislative and regulatory changes (state and federal) that will make the advantages of the credit union charter even stronger; provide credit union leadership with information and persuasion prior to any decision to convert; pursue state and federal regulatory changes to strengthen conversion disclosure requirements to ensure that members are fully informed about their ownership interests; illuminate to credit union directors their fiduciary responsibility to protect the members' interests by advocating for disclosures of personal conflicts of interest. Also provide alternatives, which might include merger, liquidation, and dividends prior to conversion; seek ways to eliminate unjust enrichment of credit union leadership in credit union conversions or in subsequent conversions of the thrifts to stock ownership.
