PORTLAND, MAINE -
"This is going to be a watershed event for credit unions, just as conversions have been a watershed event," said Alan Theriault of CU Financial Services, which consults on charter conversions, among other issues.
"Certainly in recent years, there are things that have happened in the credit union movement that haven't happened before," said Bill Cheney, CEO of the California CU League. "There are some things to be concerned with, such as the inverted yield curve and slowdown in member and deposit growth. But on the other hand, credit unions are stronger than ever financially, and we have more members than ever. The spirit of people helping people is still strong. And people are united in the movement, one credit union making an unsolicited offer for another notwithstanding."
And it's not just credit unions that need to be concerned, but other cooperative industries, as well, noted Paul Hazen, executive director of the National Cooperative Business Association.
"All I know about the Wings/Continental merger or 'hostile takeover' is what I've read in the CU press, but I can say that it is unprecedented," he observed. "It's not the way cooperatives go about combining their businesses. It's clearly unusual and doesn't seem to follow co-op principles and values. Neither does it seem particularly healthy for the co-op sector."
Not healthy, but perhaps not enough to kill it either. "The credit union movement has survived all kinds of interesting attempts to pull it apart. This is not different, but it is new," said Texas CU League CEO Dick Ensweiler. "I have great confidence in the credit union system, which includes credit unions, the leagues and CUNA. As long as we are talking about the issues, I have confidence we'll come to good conclusions and hang together. I'm quite confident the credit unions can solve these issues."
And perhaps, what is going on shouldn't come as such a big surprise. "This might just be the next step and I don't know why we wouldn't think it would be," offered Tom Gaines, CEO of the Tennessee CU League. "Taken that way, it's not a huge leap, it's a progression. But it's not traditional, and its not the way credit unions usually do business."
