MALENY Credit Union’s 3000 members will this week vote whether to transfer its $1.5 million in assets to a charity structure or liquidate the organisation and receive about $439 in cash per member.
In a notice of general meeting, published in Glasshouse Country and Maleny News, the directors of MCU Limited stated that members would be asked to vote on a resolution to transfer its assets to a new charity known as MCU Communities Ltd.
The board wrote MCU Ltd’s current structure was financially prohibitive and its preference was to create a charity that it said would best serve the Maleny community.
In March 2021, MCU Ltd transferred its entire banking business to Queensland Country Bank.
It still owns the property currently tenanted by Queensland Country Bank at 28 Maple Street – valued at $1.5 million – but rent does not cover operating costs, the board stated.
MCU also has $100,000 cash in hand, but $50,000 of that will be used to cover the expense of running the general meeting as well as the cost of legal advice.
Liquidating MCU Ltd would cost between $30,000 and $100,000.
The legal advice to the MCU board indicated that moving its assets to “another organisational structure is a better and more efficient approach”.
“It is clear to the Board that the time has come to wind up MCU,” the notice stated.
“Whilst MCU earns some money from renting Bunya House, that income is not sufficient to cover its operating costs, and would not allow it to make any income distributions to its nearly 3000 members (even if the constitution was amended to allow this).”
If members were to agree to wind up MCU Ltd – which would require a further special resolution – each member would likely receive about $439 after tax, following the liquidation. Members originally paid $10 a share.
The board stressed that the preferred option was to transfer the assets to a charity structure, arguing this would be of greater benefit to the community.
“Fundamentally, the Board is of the view that it would be in the best interests of the members, the Maleny community and other stakeholders for the Remaining Assets to be applied for the public charitable purposes of the Maleny community,” the notice states.
“In considering an alternative proposal, the Board have considered the original objectives of MCU, which included social and economic activities for the benefit of members and the community.
“The objectives of MCU included the social development of the larger community within which the members reside and to assist with furthering the interests of members and the community.”
The general meeting will be held at the Maleny Community Centre this Wednesday at 6pm.
Alternately members can join the meeting online and would have received information on how to connect in.
