A Direct Line Blog

By Donya Parrish, MCU VP- Risk Management

As democratic organizations, credit unions are owned by your members and governed by a volunteer board of directors, but you also have an important document that controls much of that process — your bylaws! While much of the language in that document is standard, there are places that credit unions have varying versions and choices that have been made. It is important to know what YOUR version requires for days notice, the election process, number of board seats, and more.

With COVID impacting the annual meeting the last two years, some of you may have adopted a variation to allow for a delayed or an electronic meeting. Will you continue that or move back to your standard in-person meeting? What do your bylaws require?

In 2019, we posted a blog on the importance of using your governing document as a beacon for the annual meeting. That advice continues, but it is also recommended that you ensure you have someone review it in plenty of time to meet your notice and nomination timelines, and that you have a copy available at your annual meeting in case any questions arise.

One note is that NCUA did release a 2020 version of standard bylaws that you can consider adopting in whole or in part. Your league is currently modernizing and updating our own bylaws for member review and vote in May. The process is not easy, but it is critical and worth the time. Reach out if you have any questions about your credit union’s bylaws.