The Florida Senate

657.021  Board of directors; executive committee.--

(1)  The credit union shall have a board of directors consisting of at least five directors to be elected from the members in the manner prescribed in the bylaws.

(2)  Directors shall hold office for such terms as the bylaws provide.

(3)  Each director, upon assuming office, shall acknowledge that he or she is familiar with his or her responsibilities as a director and that he or she will diligently and honestly administer the affairs of such credit union and will not knowingly violate, or willfully permit to be violated, any of the provisions of the financial institutions codes or pertinent rules of the commission. The signed copy of such oath shall be filed with the office within 30 days after election.

(4)  The board of directors shall fill any vacancies on the board by appointment until successors are elected as provided in the bylaws.

(5)  The board of directors and the executive committee shall meet as often as required in the bylaws.

(6)  The board of directors must determine the general direction of the business affairs, manage the funds, and maintain the records of the credit union in a manner that is consistent with safe and sound credit union practices.

(7)  The board of directors must exercise the following duties which are nondelegable:

(a)  Require any officer or employee who has custody of or handles funds to give bond with good and sufficient surety in an amount and character determined by the board of directors in compliance with rules adopted by the commission.

(b)  Establish the maximum amount of credit which may be extended to a member and establish written credit policies, including, without limitation, security requirements and terms of repayment.

(c)  Establish written policies governing loans, investments, equity, personnel, collections, the conduct of officers, employees, and committee members, and continuing education for directors and committee members and other policies necessary for prudent credit union practices.

(d)  Declare any dividends on shares.

(e)  Adequately provide for reserves as required by this ¹part or by rules or order of the commission or office or as otherwise determined necessary by the board.

(f)  Employ a chief executive officer, whose title may be either president or general manager, or, in lieu thereof, designate the treasurer to act as the chief executive officer and to be in active charge of the affairs of the credit union.

(8)  The board of directors must exercise the following duties, which may be delegated within specific guidelines and policies established by board resolutions:

(a)  Act on applications for membership, or appoint one or more membership officers to approve or deny applications for membership, under such conditions as may be prescribed in the bylaws. A record of a membership officer's approval or denial of membership must be made available to the board for inspection. A person denied membership by a membership officer may appeal the denial to the board.

(b)  Determine, from time to time, the interest rate or rates which are charged on extensions of credit and authorize any interest refunds to members from income earned and received in proportion to the interest paid by them on such classes of credit and under such conditions as the board prescribes.

(c)  Determine the interest rates which will be paid on deposits and the manner of calculating those rates.

(d)  Invest funds, except that the board may designate an investment committee or any qualified individual to make investments pursuant to written policies established by the board.

(9)  The board of directors has authority, which may not be delegated, to:

(a)  Limit the number of shares and the amount of deposits which may be owned by a member, which limitation must apply to all members.

(b)  Designate a depository or depositories for the funds of the credit union.

(c)  Suspend and remove any member of any of its committees for failure to perform his or her duties or for other just cause.

(d)  Establish any committee determined to be necessary and appoint its membership.

(e)  Call special meetings of the members.

(10)  The board of directors has authority, which may be delegated within specific guidelines and policies established by board resolutions, to:

(a)  Authorize the employment of persons necessary to carry on the business of the credit union.

(b)  Authorize the purchase, lease, rental, or sale of personal property necessary to carry on the business of the credit union.

(c)  Borrow or lend money to carry on the functions of the credit union.

(11)  The board of directors may appoint an executive committee which may be authorized to act for the board in all respects, subject to such conditions and limitations as are prescribed by the board in writing. The executive committee shall be composed of the executive officers as defined in s. 657.022

History.--ss. 1, 6, ch. 80-258; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 10, 58, ch. 85-82; s. 3, ch. 90-51; s. 1, ch. 91-307; ss. 1, 82, ch. 92-303; s. 9, ch. 93-111; s. 533, ch. 97-102; s. 1744, ch. 2003-261.

¹Note.--Chapter 657 is no longer divided into parts; former part II was repealed by s. 1978, ch. 2003-261.