In the run-up to its proposed consolidation with Georgia Corporate, Southwest Bridge Corporate FCU has announced a lineup of 26 Town Hall meetings in eight states over the next few months.

No conversation about the future of corporate credit unions goes very far before an ugly question intrudes. Isn’t it time to extinguish corporates entirely and turn the correspondent service work over to banks?

Glum is the one word summing up of the mood of the bridge task forces, at least for Members United Corporate Bridge and Western Bridge and their plans to create viable entities for tomorrow.

Call the NCUA suit against WesCorp’s outside directors the warning shot that, whether the NCUA wins or loses that case, makes clear one fact. Serving on a credit union board involves risks, responsibilities, accountability and losses when the job is not done well.

There may be no more contentious question in the typically placid world of credit unions than this: How many corporate credit unions are needed to keep the system smoothly functioning? And that leads to the allied question: Do we need any corporates at all?

The NCUA's recently filed amended complaint in its court battle with Siravo, et al., runs for 63 pages, but four words in bold on the front page sum up the document: Demand for Jury Trial.

In accordance with NCUA's instruction that bridges transition to independently operating corporates, Western Bridge issued a statement that indicated it planned to pursue a new charter.

Southeast Corporate Federal Credit Union yesterday announced it had held its seventh and final town hall meeting for members, with sessions held throughout Mississippi and Florida.