The Group of Concerned Members of the New Building Society (NBS) said it has always called for a forensic audit of the society and an examination of the manner in which it has been and is being managed.
According to a press release, it said too there should be an independent scrutiny of the integrity of those who manage the affairs of the society including the Board of Directors. In the light of this, the group said it noted with admiration the resignation of two directors of the society: Leon Gunn-Rockliffe and David Yhann.
“This moral stand by the two resigning directors vindicates what the group has been advocating all along, and the position of the group that the affairs of the Society were not being conducted in accordance with modern practices of good governance and proper accountability,” the statement said. It was exemplary of them to distance themselves from such blatantly unacceptable conduct, the group said.
The call and concerns of the Concerned Members remain even more pertinent and relevant in the light of the disclosures made by Gunn-Rockliffe and Yhann, the release said. “It is the group’s considered opinion that a select committee be appointed to review the rules of the society in an effort to bring them into accord with modern practices and financial accountability and good governance that reflects the size and operations of a multi-billion dollar financial institution.”
The group said it also noted with dismay that the society has declared a loss of $73 million on a fraud claim last year, which declared loss results in a reduction of available profit equivalent to approximately $2,400 for each member.
“We remind our members that the Chairman had assured us up to several months ago that there was no fraud and no risk of loss to members,” the group said.
It said too it has and continues to call on the directors to account to the members of the society “in plain language what the results of their mismanagement would mean to the members.”
