Trusted News for Credit Union Leaders
Credit Union Times
MARCH 22, 2017 | VOL. 28 | NO. 9 | CUTIMES.COM
A CEO’s
Merger
Battle
PETER STROZNIAK
pstrozniak@cutimes.com
t’s unusual when a proposed
merger is opposed by a group
of members. What’s more,
A fierce battle of that proposed
merger scenario is under way in
Pennsylvania.
Some industry leaders contend
this consolidation of the $105 million Cornerstone Federal Credit
Union in Carlisle into the $453
million Belco Community Credit
Union in Harrisburg is an example of a troubling trend of well-capitalized credit union mergers
that may not be in the best interests of members. They are also
critical of the merger voting process, contending that the mail-in
ballots do not provide sufficient
information for members to make
an informed decision. (Note: See
“The Dark Side of Credit Union
Mergers” on page 6.)
Dave Keffer, who served as the
president/CEO of Cornerstone for
more than three decades and retired two years ago, is leading a
group of members opposed to the
merger with Belco Community.
The group, Committee for Cornerstone Independence, has also
hired a lawyer and is exploring options to postpone or block
MANAGEMENT
Y18Y16
redit union executives gathered in
Charleston, S.C., in
March to rekindle
the spirit of cooperation within
their ranks.
Two of the leaders of the “Build-
ing Alliances” roundtable came to
the discussion from vastly differ-
ent starting points: Mansel Guer-
ry from a credit union career in
Mississippi, and David Mooney,
whose credit union career began
after two decades with big city
banks.
The roundtable was sponsored
by CU24, a Tallahassee, Fla.-based
CUSO that allows credit unions of
all sizes to be part of a nationwide
ATM network. Guerry is cu24’s
president/CEO; Mooney is president/CEO of Alliant Credit Union
($9.5 billion in assets, 345,193
members), a Chicago-based
member of the network.
Guerry said he decided to organize the gathering because some
of the spirit of cooperation has
weakened among credit unions in
the last 20 years. This will be the
third annual roundtable, a handpicked group of credit unions diverse in size and location.
“We see credit unions that
are more focused on their own
achievements and growth and
prosperity: Pushing somebody
out of the way so they can get it
before you can get it, hold-
VALUES
JIM DUPLESSIS
jduplessis@cutimes.com
Putting More Union in Credit Unions
FIDUCIARY RULE
DOL and Retirement
Will the fiduciary rule give way
to frivolous class-action claims
brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act?
That question is at the forefront of the Labor Department’s
new analysis of the rule, ordered
by President Trump.
The answer is in the eye of the
beholder. Opponents of the rule
have long argued it will be a boon
for the plaintiffs’ bar; proponents
say the rule’s clear guardrails will
protect against frivolous claims,
so long as firms comply with the
new best-interest standard.
The presidential memorandum issued in February instructs
the Labor Department to assess how the rule’s private right
of action will impact retirement
investors.
The department has requested
comments on whether an increase in litigation will impact
the cost of retirement advice
and investments. Regulators also
want to know if class-action lawsuits against sponsors of defined
contribution plans have been
“particularly prone to abuse,” according to the DOL’s solicitation
for comments.
Stakeholders who want to see
the rule amended or withdrawn
can be expected to focus on
those questions, said Rob Foregger, cofounder of NextCapital,
a provider of automated investment platforms in the institutional and retail space.
“The rule is focused on forcing
conflicted advice out of the Y15
Must Reads FOCUSREPORT:
MERGERS
All credit union mergers are initiated with members’ best interests in mind, right?
Wrong. Learn about a disturbing new trend in which a well-capitalized merger
may not benefit members and instead places the cooperative model in jeopardy,
in this Focus Report. Y6
DDoS Attacks
Learn what they
are and how to stop
them. Y12
Merger Best
Practices
Realize the best
value from a
merger. Y7