Annual General Meetings (AGMs) are critical events in the year of well-governed co-operatives, and credit unions take them very seriously. Credit union AGMs are traditionally face-to-face meetings, but many are anticipating a challenge to doing theirs in the traditional way given COVID-19-related social distancing requirements. Video-conferencing presents a potential opportunity to facilitate member participation in this key governance event, but is it allowed? Credit unions need to consider the requirements of the law and their rules. This new report from CFCFE considers the relevant legislation in Ireland and the UK, and considers the model rules of the trade associations in these countries, in order to offer guidance to credit unions on how they might approach this. The paper can be viewed and dowloaded here.
This paper is the first of two – the next one, addressing the technical and practical considerations involved in holding a virtual AGM, will be released in the coming weeks.