SEATTLE— The role of credit union boards is evolving as it becomes more of a challenge to maneuver in the post-Great Recession financial landscape, according to Parker Cann.
Cann, a former senior vice president and general counsel at BECU here who has also served as a CEO and a state regulator noted “credit union boards face more complex challenges” in the areas such technology, risk and regulation.
Parker Cann
The result of that, he said, is a new premium on board governance. It’s an issue he will speak to during a Sept. 15 symposium that is open to credit unions and which is being co-sponsored here by Lass Advisory Services LLC and the law firm of Foster Pepper. More information on the event can be had by emailing events@foster.com.
One topic he will speak on is board committees, especially the use of audit committees instead of supervisory committees.
Audit committees usually are appointed rather than elected, whereas supervisory committees are typically elected at state-chartered credit unions (federally chartered CU supervisory committees can be appointed).
Audit committees are “a simpler form of governance,” he told CUToday.info, with roles more clearly laid out and a clear distinction between board and committee.
“A supervisory committee thinks it’s the board sometimes,” he added wryly.
More Professional Practices
Having an audit committee is part of what’s been referred to as the growing professionalization of credit union boards as they seek to respond to overseeing more sophisticated operations.
Cann said some of the largest credit unions have adapted more professional practices in terms of governance, but it isn’t something he believes is limited to bigger asset CUs.
“All this has to be tailored to the specific credit union,” he said. “Not every credit union wants to have an audit committee.”
Cann is expecting a lively discussion of this and other topics during the panel sessions at the symposium, which will be held at the Seattle office of Foster Pepper. He is also expecting the event to be widely interactive with the attendees participating freely.
Interactive Discussion Planned
John Lass, whose firm is co-sponsoring the event, also said he expects the event to be quite interactive between panelists and participants. He recommends anyone who wants a particular question to be discussed, they should get in touch with him before the symposium at John@LassAdvisoryServices.com.
Cann retired in January of 2017 from BECU, where he had worked since 2009. He has also been chief executive at Columbia Credit Union, Vancouver, Wash.; executive vice president and chief operating officer at Arrowhead Credit Union in San Bernardino, Calif., and Director of Credit Unions for the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions.
William Longbrake, former chief financial officer at Washington Mutual Bank and currently a director at BECU and several other firms, will be the keynote speaker at the free event.
Other panelists will include Bradley Thoreson, Foster Pepper attorney and trustee of Seattle Pacific University; Steven Peltin, Foster Pepper attorney, chair of Foster Pepper’s employment and labor practice, and board secretary of Seattle Theatre Group; Rafael Stone, Foster Pepper attorney and Seattle Times board chair; and Lass, President of Lass Advisory Services LLC and former senior vice president of strategy at CUNA Mutual Group.
Also on the Agenda
In addition to the audit/supervisory issue, other topics will include the board-management relationship; board composition and succession planning; diversity; board assessments and the role of the nominating committee.
Lass sees the increased focus on the role of board governance as “a healthy and much-needed development.”
He gives four reasons for the heightened focus. Besides the audit/supervisory issue, the others include shifting state regulatory constraints on board compensation, meeting frequency and other issues. Succession is another, and the fourth is technology.
“As technology has given members better access to information, boards understand that their members are far more astute and able to obtain and evaluate data – thus requiring the implementation of best practices,” Lass feels.
Pretty Serious Discussion
Lass says he expects the symposium “will be a pretty serious discussion on governance.”
He added he has seen a lot of interest from his credit union clients on the topic over the past 18 months, including transition issues, regulatory changes, compensation for boards and frequency of meetings.
Lass said there could even be a repeat of the symposium topic if there is enough interest, he says. Governance is an issue, he said, that doesn’t receive enough attention at industry conferences.
What does he think attendees will take away from the symposium? He hopes they will leave with a “re-enlivened sense of how powerful the cooperative model continues to be when strong practices are employed.”
—Mark Fogarty