BC gets a new super-regulator. Credit unions must help it be successful.
Ownership and Accountability
Democracy Debased
The May 2019 Central 1 Triennial Governance Review report has provoked too little discussion. Unfortunately, it reflects another incremental shift away from models of democratic ownership upon which the co-operative business model is based. This is another step in the effective ‘dis-mantling’ of second tier credit union entities as political agents for credit union members. […]
Credit Union Technocracy
Technocracy is replacing democracy in our credit union world. The proud claims to consumer co-operative ownership are hollowing. The roles for member-owners and their representatives (elected directors) have narrowed. These changes have political and other implications. Our recent BC Advocacy Day delegation reflected the changing nature of our BC credit union system. Credit union executives […]
Go Local? Together….
Provincially chartered ‘local’ credit unions may want to create their own coordinating entity or federation to serve that set of interests.
Leadership Wanted
Fragile FI’s
BC credit unions have declining political leverage. Banks and credit unions are created and nurtured as political accommodations. Banks are rooted in the constituencies they serve and the political clout of those constituencies, for good or bad. This is the core premise of Fragile by Design: The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit, […]
Regulatory Over-reach
BC credit unions now have ‘two’ regulatory systems; the second one has been implemented using ‘opportunities’ within the Financial Institutions Act (‘FIA’), not envisioned under the FIA.
Confucian Co-operativism
Co-operatives can value free markets without conflating these with capitalism, and the monopolies that result.
Ownership Lost
On paper, credit unions are ‘consumer owned’, but the reality is something different. Cooperative ownership is the unique feature of this form of business, each member-owner has one vote in major decisions, but as credit unions grow the ‘owners’ are eased out. Their control over the business is lost. In truth, consolidation means that member-owners, […]
Small is Beautiful?
The e-Newsletter from the CCUA came out this week with an unusual entry at the top. This was the text: 100 Largest Credit Unions and Caisses PopulairesThe latest listing of the largest 100 Canadian credit unions and caisses populaires is out. Some of the highlights As of Q2 2018, the largest 100 credit unions and […]