The $32 million Commodore Perry FCU will get its day in NCUA appellate court on Wednesday, Nov. 7, according to credit union President Thomas Renz and sources within the agency.
The hearing before the NCUA’s highest exam appeal authority, the Supervisory Review Committee, is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the regulator’s Alexandria, Va., headquarters.
Representatives from the Ohio Credit Union League will accompany Renz and CPFCU CEO Michael Barr to Washington that day, said Patrick Harris, league director of media relations.
The 5,000-member credit union claims its examiner sexually harassed and bullied CPFCU employees and that he retaliated by reporting inaccurate exam findings after credit union management asked for a different examiner. Agency officials ruled in favor of the examiner.
Renz, Barr and Ohio league officials will attend a meeting at CUNA before the hearing to discuss the appeals process and what to expect at the hearing, Harris said.
The league will not join the credit union at the hearing, however.
“That is just between the credit union and the regulator,” Harris said.
The story line:
- Oct. 26, 2012 Commodore Perry Appeal Set for Nov. 7
- Oct. 25, 2012 CPFCU Prez, Attorney Say Appeals Process Dodges Real Issue
- Oct. 25, 2012 Appeals Panel Can Toss Commodore Perry Exam Findings
- Oct. 24, 2012 Ohio CU Left Wondering How to Prep for Appeal
- Oct. 11, 2012 NCUA Stands by Examiner in Harassment Appeal
- Oct. 9, 2012 NCUA Buys Time in Commodore Perry Appeal
- Oct. 4, 2012 Commodore Perry FCU Says Documentation Proves Claims
- Oct. 3, 2012 Ohio CU Says NCUA Examiner Harassed, Retaliated
The NCUA provided Credit Union Times with a redacted copy of an Oct. 16 letter the agency sent to CPFCU Chairman Charlene Hayes, accepting the Oak Harbor, Ohio, credit union’s appeal request and instructing as to how it should prepare for the hearing.
The letter confirms what Renz said Wednesday, that CPFCU must prove Regional Director Herb Yolles was in error when he denied the original appeal.
“To ultimately succeed in your appeal, the credit union must establish to the SRC’s satisfaction that the Regional Director’s determinations were erroneous,” Supervisory Review Committee Chairman Joy Lee said in the letter.
She continued, “The burden is on the credit union to make such a showing through its written and oral submissions.”
The credit union must provide documentation to support its position that Yolles made the wrong decision, and must also provide documentation that disproves exam findings that led to a weaker CAMEL score.
The letter further advises CPFCU that it may bring credit union staff capable of explaining the evidence to the three SRC members.
The appeal will be just the fifth the SRC has heard in the last 10 years. None of the previous four exam appeals reviewed by the SRC were ruled in the credit union’s favor.
