TUSCALOOSA, Ala.–Alabama One Credit Union, which was the subject of numerous, high-profile lawsuits and news reports that even included the state’s governor, has been released from conservatorship by the state regulator.
The $582-million credit union was taken over by the Alabama Credit Union Administration nearly 18 months ago.
“Alabama One’s management team and employees led by William (Bill) Wells, chief executive officer, worked tirelessly to restore sound operations to safeguard Alabama One’s members’ hard-earned money,” said Sarah H. Moore, administrator and chairman of the board of ACUA, in a released statement. “The new leadership of Alabama One transformed the credit union into a great place to work and to do business.”
At year-end 2016, Alabama One reported $70,861 in net income.
The conservatorship at Alabama One and other issues related to the credit union have been high profile in Alabama, and especially in the state capitol, where allegations have been made that the governor has been involved in part of an effort to cover-up loans made by CU. In addition, 11 members of the management team who were let go in the conservatorship filed suit against the state regulator. The CU’s former CEO, John Dee Carruth, filed a separate lawsuit against ACUA Administrator Moore and Alabama Governor Robert J. Bentley.
In an unusual move, the ACUA initially did not name an interim CEO and was instead managing the institution itself, citing the credit union’s refusal to comply with the cease-and-desist order that had been issued earlier. That order had charged Alabama One management with “willful violation of a cease-and-desist order” and “concealment of books, papers, records or assets of the credit union or refusal to submit” those items for inspection and examination by state authorities. More on that can be found here.
CUToday.info has extensive reporting on the credit union. For more, search Alabama One on CUToday.info.