(1) The business and affairs of a credit union shall be managed by a board of not less than five and not greater than fifteen directors.

(2) The directors must be elected at the credit union's annual membership meeting. They shall hold their offices until their successors are qualified and elected or appointed.

(3) Directors shall be elected to terms of between one and three years, as provided in the bylaws. If the terms are longer than one year, the directors must be divided into classes, and an equal number of directors, as nearly as possible, must be elected each year.

(4) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, any vacancy on the board must be filled by an interim director appointed by the board, unless the interim director would serve a term of fewer than ninety days. Interim directors appointed to fill vacancies created by expansion of the board will serve until the next annual meeting of members. Other interim directors will serve out the unexpired term of the former director, unless provided otherwise in the credit union's bylaws.

(5) In the case of a merger between two credit unions pursuant to RCW 31.12.461, a board member of the merging credit union may continue to serve as a board member of the continuing credit union for a period not to exceed the equivalent of the duration of his or her unexpired term on the board of the merging credit union, provided that the approved plan of merger or other agreement approved by the director provides for such service on the continuing credit union's board with a corresponding expansion in the size of the continuing credit union's board not to exceed the limits under subsection (1) of this section.

(6) The board will have at least six regular meetings each year, with at least one of these meetings held in each calendar quarter. The director may require the board to meet more frequently than six times per year if the director finds it necessary in order to address matters noted in any examination.

(7) The director may adopt rules to interpret this section.