Physical Security Issue

We had a member yesterday physically threaten a manager and indicate they would be waiting for the branch to close to confront her. The issue escalated after being informed that she had overdrawn her account and was told she was being charged NSF fees. The member has known mental illnesses and has been verbally abusive to staff members for years. The CEO is refusing to close the account and wants to ban her from visiting any branch location, while keeping the account open. We did file a police report as well as extensively document the incident.

I am the BSA/Compliance Officer, who happens to handle some security issues, so I'm out of my depth here. Do we need to file a restraining order? Or do we simply send a letter to the member telling her she is no longer permitted onto company premises?

The CEO is refusing to close the account and wants to ban her from visiting any branch location, while keeping the account open

This is the problem

How is this person going to operate an account if they can not go to a branch?

Your CEO is more of a problem than the customer.

I worked in an extremely large bank and decided to toss some "problem children" even though Regional management disagreed. I was not going to allow threats of violence against staff although management prior to me allowed it. This was a weekly issue. Tell your CEO that he/she will have to call the family members of staff to inform them when their child/wife/husband (your staff member) is killed.

After the first 6 were kicked out the branch became manageable and staff appreciated it.

DITTO!

I don't know your culture, but I would advise that if you can't convince the CEO that closing this account is the only correct course of action, consider closing the account anyway, even if you're doing so in defiance of the CEO's wishes.

If you want to give one more shot at helping your CEO see the light first, your HR Officer could make a good ally. The branch staff could quite rightly complain that they have reported a hostile work environment and management has not taken steps to address it. (Barring the member from your premises is a necessary step. But doing so while holding on to her money could create a UDAAP issue.)

Assuming that you are the Board appointed Security Officer, also be sure to give this incident (and your resolution) an appropriate mention in your annual report.

You can show the pros and cons:

pro
Keeping an account (most likely small dollar)

con
Customer commits an act of violence
Employee (if alive or family) sues bank for multi millions)
CEO may have personal liability as he knows about customer and refused to close account.

I am not the Board Appointed Security Officer. We are a small credit union so we can't simply close the account. We have to give the member an open forum to defend themselves, which I've suggested to the CEO.

Is this a credit union requirement - allowing an open forum? What does that even mean?

NCUA by-laws require a meeting of the membership to expel a member. We are not allowed to close accounts without meeting this requirement. (And just think of how popular we would be if we disclosed the real reason we want to expel a member in an open meeting). This rule applies to members who have committed fraud or threatened violence.

We normally just discontinue all services except for a savings (share) account and that tends to make them want to go elsewhere.

The "open forum" is all based on how the Bylaws are written.

The credit union I work for would view this scenario as immediate expulsion from membership due to a threat of physical harm to credit union employees/members. A letter would be sent advising that the member has been expelled and if they wanted to argue the point in a written letter to the Board they would have a certain amount of time to do it. If necessary a restraining order would be obtained.

Disclaimer: I've been called a loose cannon on more than a couple of occasions in my banking career. This is the type of scenario where I would earn the label.


The rule is faulty, and defying it is the right thing to do.

Reg Warrior has provided a sensible framework for honoring the open forum requirement while still dealing with the threat.

Your credit union needs to seriously update the bylaws. Threats of physical harm should always result in the expulsion of the Member.