Continental Fires its First Legal Salvo, Attorneys Seek Cease and Desist of Merger Campaigning

ATLANTA — Frustrated with Wings Financial Federal Credit Union’s continued campaign to urge members to call for a vote indicating interest in a merger, Continental Federal Credit Union has requested a formal cease and desist of all campaign activities. According to an April 9 letter obtained by Credit Union Times, attorneys for $182 million Continental have called on $1.6 billion Wings Financial to end its “hostile takeover campaign” including discontinuing “unlawful conduct, all misleading and deceptive statements and the Web site Wings Financial is running at continentalwings.com.” Failure to do so, according to the letter, “will require Continental FCU to consider all available legal, equitable and regulatory remedies.”

The April 9 letter to Paul Parish, president/CEO of $1.6 billion Wings Financial and Chairman Donavon Mayer from law firms Styskal, Wiese & Melchione, LLP and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP said Wings Financial has “disrupted the business of the members of Continental FCU, engaged in trespass upon [Continental's] premises, interfered with employees, deliberately sought to impugn and damage [the CU's] reputation and business, used [the CU's] name without permission and violated numerous laws included but not limited to unfair competition” per several California Business and Professions Codes. In an April 10th e-mailed statement, Wings Financial said, “Wings intends to continue the campaign to educate Continental FCU members about the merger proposal.” The CU did not respond to questions from Credit Union Times on how long it plans to continue the campaign nor did it reference any of Continental’s concerns in the cease and desist letter. Continental FCU President/CEO Tom Glatt said he is disappointed that Wings has chosen to continue with its member campaign. “We had assumed the board would do the right thing and in light of the fact that they have committed illegal acts, this also further reinforces our point that it is time for NCUA to step up. [NCUA] said they weren’t going to be passive. They said they will look at this issue,” Glatt said. “Our attorneys have written them a letter outlining the reasons why we want them to stop and they have chosen to ignore it,” Glatt said. “They continue to disappoint us.”