San Francisco FCU Board Ousts CEO Jonathan Oliver

SFFCU Chief Lending Officer Ray Shams is serving as acting CEO of the $1.4 billion San Francisco Federal Credit Union following the departure of Jonathan Oliver.

“Last week, the SFFCU board of directors announced the departure of Jonathan Oliver as the credit union’s CEO following a unanimous decision by the board to fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities in serving the best interests of the membership,” the credit union said on Tuesday in a prepared statement following an inquiry from CU Times on Feb. 15.

The board has launched a nationwide search for a new CEO.

“Finding the right individual to lead SFFCU into the future is the board’s highest priority, and it will move quickly and thoughtfully to fill this position,” the credit union stated. “The board has complete confidence in Ray and the SFFCU executive team and looks forward to working with them to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. Under their leadership, the credit union’s exceptional staff will continue to focus on serving its members and communities.”

Oliver did not respond to CU Times’ requests for comment.

He joined SFFCU in June 2017. At the end of that year, the credit union posted a loss of $4,066,831.

By March 2018, the credit union sued the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency for $28 million in compensatory damages over a failed taxi medallion program. By the end of 2020 the credit union posted a loss of $31,359,428.

In November 2021, a jury found that the city did not breach a lender agreement with the credit union that forced it to foreclose on hundreds of taxi medallion loans worth millions of dollars. Following the jury’s verdict, a California judge ruled in July 2022 that SFFCU must pay $6.3 million in attorney fees to SFMTA. The credit union is appealing this ruling.

Although SFFCU’s membership increased during Oliver’s tenure from 44,120 in June 2017 to 49,780 at the end of 2023, the credit union’s total loans have declined over the last four years.

While loans increased from $721,510,180 in June 2017 to $800,436,360 at the end of 2019, loans have declined every year since 2020 from $668,661,987 to $447,289,653 in December 2023, according NCUA financial performance reports. Following the loss of $31 million in 2020, SFFCU recorded net gains of $847,100 in 2021, $14,832,800 in 2022 and $26,386,795 at the end of last year, NCUA performance reports showed.

In addition to the SFMTA lawsuit, the credit union has been embroiled in two other wrongful termination lawsuits with four former employees and a defamation lawsuit that SFFCU filed against two other former employees.

Last November, a San Francisco jury found that the credit union was liable for disability discrimination against Bert Lee, a former SFFCU supervisor for its loss prevention department. The jury determined the credit union fired her because of her physical condition and that the credit union also retaliated against Lee after requesting an accommodation.

According to court documents, the credit union fired Lee allegedly for poor performance.

The jury awarded Lee $350,000 in lost past earnings and an additional $150,000 for post emotional distress.

SFFCU is appealing the jury’s verdict and declined to comment.

In August 2020, three former employees, Richard Moscardini, Addie Campbell and Peter Tam sued the credit union for age discrimination, failure to prevent discrimination and wrongful termination. They were fired for allegedly violating the credit union’s policy, court documents showed.

In June 2023, a San Francisco jury found that the credit union fired Moscardini, a former branch manager, because of his age and that it failed to take reasonable steps to prevent age discrimination against him. Moscardini joined the credit union in 1986 when he was 23 and was terminated in 2019 when he was 55.

The jury awarded Moscardini $76,000 for lost past earnings and $30,000 for lost future earnings.

The credit union is appealing this case and declined to comment.

For Campbell, a former member service representative, the jury found that she was not fired because of her age at 57 in 2019.

Tam, a former branch manager who was 46 when he was fired in 2019, dismissed his claims against SFFCU last May.

In April 2021, SFFCU filed a defamation lawsuit against two former employees, Rodney Fielding and Jeremiah Mosley.

The credit union alleged Fielding and Moseley posted statements on a Facebook page that they knew to be false, and/or that they made the statements with reckless disregard as to their truth or falsity.

“All of the alleged statements are false and are defamatory and slanderous on their face and have the tendency to injury plaintiff (SFFCU) and its reputation and business,” the credit union said in its lawsuit.

Fielding and Mosley have denied SFFCU’s allegations in court filings.

The case is pending in California Superior Court for Contra Costa County.