Surrey, B.C.:Coast Capital Savings members have voted in support of a special resolution that will amend several of the credit union's rules in readiness for a planned transition to a federal credit union in 2018.
The result of the special resolution vote, which took place March 15 to April 12, was announced at the credit union's 2017 annual general meeting on May 3. With the second highest voter turnout in Coast Capital's history, surpassed only by the 2016 member vote to become a federal credit union, the 2017 special resolution passed with 85.4 per cent of members approving the rule changes – well above the required 2/3 majority.
"We are grateful to the nearly 50,000 members who made their voices heard in the special resolution vote. Your involvement is a critical part of our ongoing process and reinforces the mandate you gave us last fall to become a federal credit union," said Bill Cooke, chair of the Coast Capital Savings board. "This special resolution vote and the resulting rule changes move us one step closer to federal credit union status, but we still have lots of work to do and we will continue to keep our members informed as we make progress towards this goal."
The 2017 special resolution asked members to approve various rule changes aimed at aligning Coast Capital's operations with federal credit union requirements. They cover immediate amendments to the credit union's authorized capital provisions, as well as rules that will come into effect upon becoming a federal credit union, including changes to the credit union's legal name, a requirement that the head office remain in B.C., and, adjustments to election procedures.
"While the changes to our rules will not affect our members' day-to-day products and services or significantly affect our governance, the alignment to federal requirements is an important step in our journey to help more Canadians achieve financial well-being," said Don Coulter, President and CEO of Coast Capital Savings. "Becoming a federal credit union will not only help us fulfill our mandate of becoming the most trusted financial institution in Canada, it will result in responsible, sustainable growth that will enable us to meet the needs of our current and future members long into the future".
The close of Coast Capital's 2017 AGM also marks the start of three-year terms for three board members; new director Valerie Lambert, and incumbents Robin Chakrabarti and Mary Jordan. All assumed their board roles by acclamation, based on Coast Capital's current rules, which stipulate that an election is not required if the number of candidates who put their names forward is the same as the number of vacancies on the board. Glenn Wong, chair of the Coast Capital Savings board nominations committee, said this is only the third time in the credit union's history that director positions have been filled by acclamation.
"We always welcome the opportunity that the voting process provides for member engagement and for new perspectives from incoming directors and this has been our longstanding governance tradition," Wong said, adding that six out of ten current directors were voted to the board in the last six years. "We are very pleased to fill our current vacancies with two highly experienced incumbents and an exceptionally qualified new addition to the board and thank the members for participating in the governance of our credit union."
Visit national.coastcapitalsavings.com/specialresolution for more detailed information on the 2017 special resolution and Coast Capital's website for more information on the director's election/acclamation.
Coast Capital Savings is Canada's largest credit union by membership. An Imagine Canada Caring Company, the credit union invested $5.6 million into local communities in 2016, focusing on empowering and engaging youth. It has 52 branches serving its 543,000 members in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Okanagan regions of British Columbia. Product innovations include Canada's first free chequing account from a full-service financial institution. To learn more, visit coastcapitalsavings.com.
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