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Partners FCU’s supervisory committee plays a leading watchdog role.
The board of Partners Federal Credit Union relies in part on a “very active committee structure” to oversee diverse and increasingly complex operations based in California and Florida, says Chair John Walsh, CCD.
The 11 directors of the $1.6 billion Burbank, California, credit union serving 160,000 members, are appointed to four committees that take the lead on governance, compensation, technology, and finance and operations issues so that the full board can maintain a more high-level view. At both the committee and board level, the aim is a “noses in, fingers out” approach to monitoring strategic execution, says Walsh, a CUES member.
On the risk management front, the Partners FCU supervisory committee plays a leading watchdog role, with direct oversight of the credit union’s internal audit unit and the responsibility of reviewing whistleblower reports. The supervisory committee fulfills its duties independently of the board and staff, and its members sit in on every board meeting as nonvoting participants.
“At the end of our meetings, when the board adjourns into executive session, the supervisory committee provides a monthly update on any open cases and other issues,” Walsh explains.
To govern the credit union productively, the board must also govern itself. The governance committee is tasked with assessing and guiding “board effectiveness and efficiency in fulfilling its governance and oversight responsibilities,” Walsh says. “They monitor current board operations and they’re leading the effort to ‘modernize’ the board, which focuses on improving the way the board runs to make us better at what we do.”
Toward that end, the Partners FCU board is working with Matt Fullbrook, manager of the Clarkson Centre for Board Effectiveness at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a faculty member for CUES Governance Leadership Institute, to “assess our performance and understand what’s working and not working,” he says. That self-examination focuses on four main areas: the efficiency of board meetings, overall board performance, ongoing education and training, and the future of the board as it relates to changes with the sponsor.
“We’re looking for ways to improve decision-making and making sure we have the right level of visibility and the right types of conversations. We’ve been getting better at overseeing ourselves,” Walsh adds. cues icon
Karen Bankston is a long-time contributor to Credit Union Management and writes about membership growth, operations, technology and governance. She is the proprietor of Precision Prose, Eugene, Oregon.
