Members of Servus Credit Union are angry that its CEO, Steve Blakely, has received a $3.6 million bonus right on the heels of the executive announcing that he would retire on April 30, the Edmonton Journal reported.
Bill Anhorn, chairman of the CU, told the publication Blakely received the bonus for 2008 because there was no guarantee that he would keep his job after a merger with two Alberta, Canada-based CUs.
"I don't think I can say that [the bonus] had nothing to do with it," Anhorn said in the April 3 article. "Basically, we looked at the entire situation and the board considered what was in the best interest of the corporation in terms of moving forward and continuing to complete the vision of establishing this first province-wide credit union."
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In March 2008, Servus merged with two other CUs creating a financial institution that now serves 400,000 members. Blakely was appointed the new president/CEO on April 8, 2008.
In addition to the bonus, Blakely received $474,000 in salary and benefits. According to the Edmonton Journal, members reacted angrily to news that Blakely had received a $3.6 million bonus writing letters to the editor and speaking on local television news stations. Servus CU said after consulting with lawyers and accountants last year while studying the merger proposal, it was determined that a finalized merger would terminate employment contracts of Blakely and two other CEOs, who would then be entitled to severance pay, the publication reported.
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