Quorum Federal Credit Union (Purchase, NY) is allowing anyone to join the credit union by simultaneously joining an association, Select Savers Club.
Quorum’s online membership application has the following option “I would like to join the Select Savers Club and become a member of Quorum.”
So, what do we know about Select Savers Club and its relationship to Quorum FCU?
Select Savers Club, Inc. was founded in 2006. To become a member of Select Saver Club, you paid a one-time lifetime fee of $5. Starting in November 2007, members of Select Savers Club were eligible to join Quorum FCU.
However, Select Savers Club appears to be closely connected to Quorum FCU.
Three of Select Savers Club's Board members listed on its website either previously worked for Quorum or are currently employed by Quorum -- Heather Sulca, Marisa Conforti, and Danean Sheil. In addition, three other board members have the same last name as three officers of Quorum FCU -- Diane Slifstein, Kimberly Schade, and Tavis Briechle -- and are probably related to these Quorum officers.
In addition, there is no evidence that Select Savers Club is an active association. The last newsletter on its website is from August 2008 and the last announced membership meeting of the club is for the third quarter of 2008.
According to Guidestar, "[t]his organization has not appeared in IRS records for a number of months and may no longer exist."
So, although the club does not appear to be active or may no longer exist, it is still being used by Quorum to qualify people for memberhip in the credit union, who otherwise are not eligible for credit union membership.
As I have previously stated, the simultaneous signing up of an individual to an association in order to make them eligible for credit union membership contradicts congressional intent that there needs to be a genuine affiliation between credit union members in order for credit unions to fulfill their public mission. Membership in Select Savers Club or any other association needs to be more than the checking of a box on a credit union’s membership application.
Read ABA's letter to NCUA.
Keith - the chances are a prom dress will drop at midnight faster than the NCUA will act on your request for an investigation over credit union qualifying memberships in pseudo-associations. The Select Savers Club is not an exception to the rule - it is the rule.
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