Eight special resolutions did not pass
Surrey, B.C.: Following its annual directors election, Coast Capital Savings will welcome back two candidates and add one new face to their 10-member board of directors, the Board announced to members at its Annual General Meeting last night.
With 12 candidates standing for election, Mary Jordan and Robin Chakrabarti were re-elected along with newcomer Faye Wightman, all for three-year terms.
Each of the three successful candidates received more than 10,000 votes. The next closest candidate garnered 5,674 votes, while the remaining candidates each received vote totals ranging from 2,987 to 1,262.
“This is clear direction from our members that they believe these individuals have the skills needed to govern a $14.8 billion financial institution,” said Christian Findlay, chair of the members’ Nominations Committee. “We are pleased to welcome Mary and Robin back, and to add Faye’s significant expertise in community engagement, human resources and strategic development to our team. We also thank our departing director, Susan Senecal, for her commitment to Coast Capital.”
Members were also asked to vote on eight special resolutions, four from Coast Capital’s Board of Directors, and four from individual members. They focused on director compensation, director term limits, CEO compensation disclosure and director election campaigning. Each of the Board’s resolutions received over 50% member support, and more support than any of the opposing resolutions. However, none of the resolutions received the two thirds (66.67%) of member support required to pass.
“The members have spoken, and we appreciate the time they took to become informed and to vote on these complex issues,” said Glenn Wong, chair of the board’s Governance Committee.
Despite the vote outcome, the government regulator, the Financial Institutions Commission of BC, (FICOM) will require CEO compensation disclosure and the implementation of director term limits in 2014/2015. The credit union will continue to move forward to meet or exceed FICOM’s expectations. With no approval for change, the status quo will be maintained for election rules, which prohibit active campaigning for a Director seat.
Wong acknowledged that, with no member-approved outcome on the topic of director compensation, the board will listen to more member input and reflect on what the best next steps should be.
“This is the second year this issue has been raised by the membership, and we take that seriously. We consulted with members over the past year to find a compensation framework they felt was right. This vote outcome tells us we still have more work to do to find the approach they believe is fair and in the best interest of the credit union,” Wong said.
He added that a summary of the outcome of the vote has been posted on Coast Capital’s website and the Board’s next steps will be communicated directly to members in the coming weeks.
About Coast Capital Savings
Coast Capital Savings is Canada’s second largest credit union, owned by its 512,000 members. It has 50 branches in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island regions of British Columbia and has exciting plans to grow. Product innovations include Canada's first free chequing account from a full-service financial institution. Coast Capital offers one of Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™ and was named one of 2014’s BC’s Top Employers. It is a member of Canada's Best Managed Companies Platinum Club and an Imagine Canada Caring Company. To learn more, visit www.coastcapitalsavings.com.
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Coast Capital Media Line:
Phone number:778.391.6225
Email address: media@coastcapitalsavings.com