Railways Credit Union trading as MOVE Bank may be signalling interest in demutualisation, or at least being open to offers.
In a preview of resolutions to be put to members at this year’s annual meeting, MOVE said any new member who joins after the 2020 AGM must “be and remain a member continuously for at least two years before they are eligible to vote on, or in relation to, a demutualisation proposal.”
Second, the MOVE board propose that “at least 15 per cent of eligible members vote on a resolution on, or relating to, a demutualisation proposal for the resolution to have effect”.
The purpose of this new eligibility condition “is to ensure that only members with an existing relationship with MOVE Bank are eligible to vote on proposals that would have the significant and permanent effect of demutualising MOVE Bank,” the bank said in the MOVE Life newsletter posted to its website this week.
“The purpose for requiring at least 15 per cent of eligible members to vote on a demutualisation proposal is to ensure that a demutualisation cannot occur without the participation of a significant proportion of members in the vote.”
In March, the Financial Review reported that ASX-listed Auswide Bank approached the MOVE board in “a deal worth potentially more than $60 million,” or roughly one times the net assets of MOVE at June 2019.
MOVE did not share the offer with members. And nor, so far, has MOVE published its 2020 annual report.
MOVE has around 22,000 members, with more than $600 million in assets.
It also proposes to drop its railway employees and families bond.