DEARBORN, Mich. — The members of DFCU Owners United, the group of members of the $1.8 billion DFCU Financial that opposed the CU's attempted conversion to a mutual bank, seeks help from other credit unions in putting pressure on NCUA.

The group wants credit union boards of directors to pass resolutions urging the agency to require DFCU to honor members' petitions and hold a special meeting at which some or all board members could be removed.

The agency has said repeatedly that the CU should hold the meeting, but has not taken any further action, saying that it will not get involved in a dispute between a credit union and its members.

But Catherine Roberts, CEO of the $235 million Research FCU, headquartered in Warren, Michigan, the first to pass a resolution, argued that NCUA's unwillingness to enforce DFCU's bylaws undermined member confidence in the entire credit union industry.

“When credit unions fail to honor their own bylaws, it sets a very dangerous precedent and can result in severely weakening the credit union's governance structure,” Roberts said. “When one credit union is allowed to intentionally ignore its bylaws, this occurrence could reflect poorly on all credit unions.”

Roberts said Research FCU began to pay attention to the DFCU controversy when the larger CU attempted to convert to a mutual bank. Research is also an automotive credit union, serving workers at General Motors. Roberts said that Research's board had been very disturbed that the first indication that members of DFCU would get about their CU wanting to change charters would come in the mail with a ballot.

The board's concerns only grew when, after the application was withdrawn, the CU simply refused to honor its bylaws and to hold the special meeting.

“If a credit union can just ignore its bylaws, then why have bylaws,” Roberts asked. “And we believe quite seriously that the enforcement of CU bylaws is absolutely a matter of safety and soundness for the entire CU industry because credit union members need to have confidence in their credit unions.”

She also noted that NCUA has been selective in when it gets involved in bylaws disputes, enforcing bylaws some of the time and not enforcing them at other times. “I don't recall that there were always clear safety and soundness issues at other times when the agency has insisted a credit union follow its bylaws,” Roberts said.

A spokesman for DFCU Members United said that other credit unions have expressed an interest in the resolution, but that no more had passed it as of press time.

Instant Insights /

DFCU Members Group Seeks Help from Credit Unions

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