Michael Helke for UNFCU Board

2574 members have voted for me, thereby electing me to the Board. I thank them for their support and their trust and pledge to work hard to achieve the programme for which they have voted.

Do you have an account with the United Nations Federal Credit Union? Are you:

• unhappy with the service you are getting?
• concerned about UNFCU's financial soundness?
• dissatisfied with the information available to members?
• troubled that overseas members are underrepresented on the Board (1 out of 9 Directors)?
• waiting for accounts in Euros and Swiss Francs?
• thinking about terms of reference for the next CEO (an issue on the horizon)?

Then help me do something about these issues. Vote for Michael Helke when your ballot papers arrive.

My candidacy is based on 10 years service to UNFCU first on the Credit Committee then on the Board. During this time I served on the Executive Committee and the CEO Search Committee (which selected the current CEO). I understand the governance, regulatory and operational issues involved. I am experienced in collective decision making and know the workload Board membership entails. In addition, I have exercised significant financial responsibility at the UN and WIPO.

Faced with massive growth, the Credit Union has become preoccupied with operations and procedures. Increasingly the members are required to comply with regulations and conditions driven by its operational requirements rather than their needs and convenience. As a result, the customer experience has seriously deteriorated. It is time the Credit Union put the members first again, after all they are the owners.

Members away from New York constitute 60% of the total membership and own 80% of the assets of the Credit Union. Yet they must make do with dollar accounts and are grossly underrepresented on its Board. Despite major investments in offices around the world and a new computer system for multiple currencies (the conversion to which was chaotic), the Credit Union still offers only one. The panel of volunteers the Board has co-opted to advise it on the view from the regions, though well intentioned, is no substitute for Board Members duly elected and empowered to represent the membership in decision making. It is time the majority of the membership were brought into Credit Union governance and got the services they need.

If elected, I will work to:

• restore the quality of service offered our members to what it once was, particularly in New York where it has declined the most. The Credit Union's size is no excuse for impersonal and mechanical service. Bigger financial service organizations are capable of providing high quality personalized service.
• make the full range of products and services a reality in Euros and Swiss francs and in US dollars.
• eliminate the service charge on foreign currency credit card and ATM transactions.
• hold annual meetings on a rotating basis in Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi, Rome and New York.
• diversify the Supervisory and Nominating Committees by adding members not from New York.
• decentralize the review of credit applications so that local factors are taken into account.
• to promote transparency in information provided to members
• improve access to Credit Union services and facilities for members visiting another duty station. To access UNFCU offices in New York, for instance, requires going through airport style security.

900+ members nominated me by petition and have told me about their needs and concerns. Add your views at http://michael.nhelke.com/comments. Also, join my mailing list at http://michael.nhelke.com/subscribe so I can keep in touch as we work together to make the Credit Union responsive to you.