1818 Society Townhall Meeting with the Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union (BFSFCU)

After pensions and medical insurance, the BFSFCU is the biggest concern facing The 1818 Society. 1818 Society members account for a significant (albeit unknown) share of Credit Union assets and many 1818 Society members have their life savings in the BFSFCU. Further, many 1818 Society members are not computer savvy, live overseas, are widowed and/or no longer functioning in English.  While these may account for a small proportion of overall members, it is essential that the Credit Union ensure that these members’ needs continue to be well served.

In recent years, 1818 Society member concerns raised with The Society over the Credit Union performance have been increasing. Coinciding with the radical overhaul of the online banking system in 2011 in the midst of tax season, concerns increased dramatically, and the 1818 management team requested a meeting with the BFSFCU management and the nominated candidates for the Credit Union 2012 Board elections.

Following the announcement of the meeting, we received well over 500 emails from members directly and some coordinated comments by overseas chapters.  While some (less than 10) of the communications were positive, the majority raised constructive concerns. The three main concerns were:

• The Credit Union strategy and how it will benefit members
• Service concerns
• The Credit Union Board of Directors and the election process.

A brief synopsis of the issues raised by members is presented below. 

On January 18, the town hall meeting with the BFSFCU took place – to a standing room only audience.  The BFSFCU management did address many of the concerns in the meeting and also provided draft written FAQs.  However, issues remain in the minds of many members.  We will continue to work with the Credit Union Board and management team to address these issues. We are also finalizing a detailed FAQ with the BFSFCU management which will be posted on the web and emailed to 1818 Society members shortly.

This is the first such meeting to take place between staff and the Credit Union management, outside of annual Credit Union meetings (with their very limited attendance) and we are very, very appreciative of the efforts of the Credit Union management to address the concerns raised. It is apparent that improvement in service is a priority for the Credit Union in 2012 and we look forward to continuing the dialogue that has now commenced.

In The 1818 Society we are very concerned about the composition of the Board and its decision-making, and about transparency of the Credit Union operations while ensuring good governance. In a short meeting it was not possible to meet also with the nominated candidates, and hear their platforms or, for those incumbents seeking re-election, their records of achievement.  However, we feel it is important that 1818 Society members have an opportunity to raise issues with the candidates.  We hope that the Credit Union will arrange an open meeting prior to the elections, but failing this, will establish a blog so that members can raise issues with candidates.  The 1818 Society management team is also inviting the 12 candidates to meet with us and present their platforms.  This will enable The 1818 Society management team to provide you with our evaluations of the candidates prior to the opening of the election process.

Many of you have your life savings in the Credit Union – DO VOTE! Voting is electronic and takes place for 30 days beginning late February.

BFSFCU TOWNHALL SUMMARY OF ISSUES RAISED BY MEMBERS

THREE MAIN AREAS OF CONCERN: Highlighted areas are key concerns

1. What is the Credit Union strategy and how will it benefit members?

- Corporate plan: key issues
- Serving staff of international institutions, needs international focus/services
- Transparency/governance issues:
- Term limits for Board Members.
- More info on the web in members only section to facilitate communication/transparency by Board,  e.g.,  Minutes of  Board meetings; budgets and salaries; tenders/study outcomes such as on service quality; forex services; major expenditures. 
- Basis for expansion strategy? 

2. Service concerns

o Service standards
- Set up objective criteria to judge quality of service and cf with other institutions
  Examples of declining service
- wait time for Credit Union representative increased significantly
- Representatives unable to address issues; lacking common courtesy; language issues
- delays in receiving electronic and mail statements
- deposits to wrong accounts (ca. 50 cited instances)
- charges for overseas ATM transactions
- cost of checks up from $14 to $20 in 1 year.
- Dedicated/specific arrangements for elders and overseas members
- Call centers: privacy issues; quality of service
- Billpayer/wire issues (e.g., Does not retain info on previous wires)
- Staff turnover appears high; client representative training falling short, need specialization

o Financial issues
 - Credit Union serves the staffs of international organizations, does it reflect their needs?,
-  Membership expansion and portfolio risk assessment
-  Who owns reserves? Can annual dividends be increased?
-  Are interest payments, loan conditions, forex rates competitive?

o Online Banking
-  joint account revelations with new online system (provide solution in FAQ)

3. The Credit Union Board and Election Process

- how does the skills set of candidates fit the strategy?
- who is on the nominating committee; what is the vetting process; and what is the basis for the listing of candidates?
- election process and how can it be improved?
- increasing voting participation and use of electronic voting
- use of term limits; consistent with good governance
- desire of members to meet all Board members and current candidates: to know their terms of service, records of achievement, objectives /platform
- Urge the BFSFCU to establish a blog between now and the election to give members the opportunity to ask questions of candidates
- After election, have one Board member serve as liaison for The 1818 Society.

By Sandra Hadler