And at the AGM, they nominated new board members. However, those board members have to be vetted. Ideally, there would have been a nominations committee that would be meeting quarterly per annum. However, this committee was only established a week ago, so they have their work cut out for them. And there's already an apparent conflict of interest. The chairman, Leonardo Chavarria Jr, spoke to our colleagues at PGTV.
Leonardo Chavarria Jr., Chairman of Nominees Committee, TTCU
"What happened is that, in my case, I got a call from the credit union about a week prior to the actual AGM. This was the AGM that was postponed, or the first AGM that was actually designated, I think, about a month ago."
"And then we had the one that was held today. So really, yes, if I recall, there should be about a month notice for the formulation of nomination committees. And the nomination committee should also be meeting at least on a quarterly basis per annum."
"The process should be that whoever is nominated, because it's a floor nomination, there has to be some kind of due diligence of these individuals to ensure that these individuals do not have a criminal record, for instance, will not be a conflict of interest in their duties, things like these."
"So I believe that the nomination committee should meet again and vet these new members to ensure that we have people with the proper reputable character and favorable image in the community to represent the credit union."
Reporter
"We have recently found out that one of the new members is actually the common law wife of the managing director of the credit union. Do you find that that's a conflict of interest, or will you have to discuss that with the committee to vet this one person?"
Leonardo Chavarria Jr., Chairman of Nominees Committee, TTCU
"Well, certainly that will be something that will have to be discussed with the other members of the nomination committee, indeed. But in a case being such that there is a clear conflict of interest because there is a spouse-related type of relationship, then it warrants us to go back and really do more due diligence and vet individuals in cases like these."
"I really know that the credit union is a very favorable financial institution and it caters for the unbanked in Toledo especially. So the members that are considered unbanked by our commercial banks are people who have an opportunity at the Toledo Teachers Credit Union."
"So it is a financial institution that we need to protect and we need to ensure the integrity of this institution. So whatever we need to do to safeguard such institution should be done. And I believe that as a member and chairman of the nomination committee that it is my duty to ensure that we have a solid board of directors and other subcommittees to ensure that this credit union moves forward and that we secure the future of this credit union for future generations here in Toledo."
