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If I say a temp worker, probably you think of a fill in receptionist and that’s true as far as it goes.  But talk with O2 Consulting Group and it’s a plunge into a whole new world - especially impacting smaller credit unions, ones under perhaps $500 million in assets.  Where exactly does that CU find the talent to, say, implement an AI program? Just maybe a fractional e CTO - shared by two or more CUs - or a temporary exec is exactly the cure.

Enter Bonnie Ortiz,  CEO of O2 and longtime COO at the Partnership Credit Union, She’s worked inside at credit unions  - she knows the terrain - but now she also has assembled a team of seasoned credit union talents who are available for fractional and temporary roles at credit unions, to help solve anything from tech issues to compliance matters.

It’s a fact: credit union operations have become increasingly complex. The day of the shoebox credit union is long gone.  Real talent is needed but that talent may be too  costly for a smaller CU.  The O2 solution is  a potential lifesaver.

Also on the show is David Martinez, CIO at $500 million  Arlington Federal Credit Union, a credit union that  has used O2 talent many times.  Martinez is a happy customer.

He’s also a past guest on this show. There a link in the show notes and the topic is about how mid sized CUs can survive, indeed thrive.

Keep listening to this episode and Ortiz offers keen insights into the nuts and bolts of a credit union merger. She’s looking at the issue with a COO’s eyes: how exactly will this merger work? The concerns she raises are keen.  .  Any CU considering a merger - and who isn’t? - needs to give this a close attention.

Listen up.

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Here’s the bad news: AI today is more of a promise than a working reality at most credit unions, says Al;ex JImenzez, a consultant with Backbase, which focus on helping FIs achieve more and better consumer engagement.

But then Jimenez has plenty of very good news for credit unions - and, he insists, their size gives them exceptional advantages when competing with far less nimble mega banks. Do not think smallness is a liability. It just may be a winning advantage.

Along the way Jimenez talks about genuine use cases where AI is in fact bringing real results to credit unions.  

And he insists that the AI tool kit in credit unions is going to get much bigger and better, sooner rather than later.  It’s a space to keep watching because very real results are coming.

Listen up.

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Live from Munich Germany on today’s podcast is Dr. Marlene Wolfgruber, AI Strategy Lead at global automation company ABBYY and, between her advanced education at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, a school Google’s AI tool Gemini says is one of Germany’s best and a leading university in global rankings., and her work for  ABBY, a global technology company specializing in intelligent document processing (IDP), process mining, and linguistic software., she brings  two decades of AI knowledge to the show.

She brings a captivating message to the show: . What’s especially caught our eye is this: “Financial institutions will leverage AI-powered hyper-personalization to deliver finely tuned financial products and advisory services, dynamically adjusting to individual customer needs, preferences, and financial behaviors in real time. “

As I read that it is saying that while today meaningful personal banking services are reserved for the highest economic strata, AI will usher in a new day with all of us will be able to get genuinely personalized advice and suggestions that will come not via a human but a machine.

And the  AI advice just may be very, very good.

Along the way Wolfgruber tells how close we are to that day of real personalization and what has to happen to get there.

She also offers fascinating insights into the journey that has brought AI to where it is today - and also why suddenly ;y large language models such as ChatGPT are on every lip, certainly every lip in credit union c-suites. 

Oh, and while Dr. Wolfgruber has the credentials that certify her as a propellerhead, she talks in a way  that I can understand and that means you can too.

Listen up.

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Could this really be the end?

For going on 20 years I have heard screams - usually emanating from one trade group - that the credit union tax exemption was in peril.  I thought that was a terrific membership renewal hook but didn’t seen any likelihood of passage.

This year is different. This year the threat is real.  On the show is Jason Stverak,, chief advocacy officer at DCUC, the Defense Credit Union Council, whose membership includes the nation’s biggest credit unions but also smaller ones too.  All primarily serve military, active duty and retirees.

DCUC has not been the association with a long history of yelling about tax exemption.

But Stverak says that indeed the threat is real.

He also explains what the impacts on DCUC credit unions would be were the tax exemption to go away. And the impacts would be sizable and harmful, both to credit union members and the communities in which DCUC members operate.

In a recent show, onetime Bethpage CEO Kirk Kodeeski warned that if credit unions lost the ax exemption their business model would be shattered.

On this show we hear exactly what that would mean for defense related credit unions.

It’s ugly.

By the way, how much money do you think would be saved were the tax exemption to go away?

Three billion dollars.

That is chump change in today’s Washington DC.

Hear how DCUC is fighting back in this show.

By the way, four years ago DCUC CEO Tony Hernandez (US Air Force retired) was on the show. Hear his episode here.  

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Here’s the question: Is the First Tech - DCU merger of behemoths a sign of mergers to come or it is an outlier, a one-off deal that arose because of unique circumstances and histories??

Kirk Kordeleski, onetime CEO at Bethpage, itself a member of the behemoth club, and now a SERP expert  with PARC Street Partners, and he comes with strong opinions abut credit union mergers.

But there’s more on the  show including Kordeleski’s musing about the longevity of the credit union tax exemption - and how important it is to the credit union business model.

Kordeleski also ponders the probable future of NCUA in an era of slashing federal spending and federal employee body counts.

Just about all the credit union hot buttons get  pressed in this show..

And Kordeleski also addresses this question: if you are the CEO of a $10 billion credit union that just now merges with a $5 billion credit union should you ping the board the next day and ask for a 50% pay hike.

Place your bets now:

Is this RIP for NCUA?

Is it say goodnight to the tax exemption?

Are mergers the best way for a credit union to grow?

Or is interna; growth the shrewder option?

And should that CEO ask for the 50% pay boost?

Listen up.

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Here’s the money question  for you to ponder: : should you close that branch on  Third Street and open a new branch in a neighboring town? Keep in mind that the ballpark cost of opening a new branch is $2.5 million. As for costs in a branch closure there always are some and there also may be remember losses.  How to do the math?

Meet Steven Reider, president of Bancography - that’s the company that won best in show at Finovate fall 2024 for its Bancography Plan software tool that helps a credit union alanalyze branch closings and openings and also possible mergers.

Decisions that had been made based upon gut instinct now can be supported with analytical data.

How hard is Bancography Plan to use? It’s so easy, said Reider, even a CEO can use it.

As I tell Reider in the early moments of the show I’d never heard of such a tool before combing upon a Bancography press release.  But I knew when I read it I had to get this guy on the show.

Oh…the costs are surprisingly affordable.

Listen up. 

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Call this your must listen podcastg before GAC.

Because in this show you will be hearing explicit advice about your CAC 2025 to do.

Here's what is at stake: the credit union tax exmption on the future of NCUA.

Will credit unions lose their federal tax exemption?  Will NCUA be shuffled into a couple desks in the basement of the Treasury Department?

Issues of monumental importance to the credit union  movement are actively under discussion in Washington DC and longtime credit union lobbyist John McKechnie is on the showto report on the latest rumblings on Capitol Hill.

The big takeaway from this show: these issues very much are on the table in today's  Washington DC

On the date of this recording  - February 18 - McKechnie expressed optimism about credit unions retaining their tax exemption.

But he also stressed that what will be needed to win this fight is a concerted action by many, many credit union people to get the message across that to keep doing the valuable work credit unions do they need to keep that tax free status.

That means put on your shoes and get busy walking the Hill.  

And be ready to walk it not just during GAC but in the weeks and months afterwards because, stresses McKechnie, relationships with members and staffers on the Hill are forged via repeat contacts.

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If I told you I have a podcast where a credit union executive tells you about high rates on CDs, free checking, and super cheap new car loans, how quickly would you turn the dial and give a listen to Joe Rogan?

Right, you know the answer.

So I will tell you what I really have is a fascinating podcast with Josh Rodriguez at West Community Credit Union in Missouri, an institution approaching a half billion in assets.

That’s because Rodriguez is doing things I’ve never heard about at credit unions.

But keep in mind on LinkedIn he identifies himself as Innovator/CU Professional/Storyteller.

I met Rodriguez at the CU 2.0 Live event in Arizona in June and when he told me he is a storyteller I knew I had to get him on this show.  I had never before encountered a credit union executive who said he/she is a storyteller.

And you know…stories are the most powerful form of communication.

In this show, Rodriguez talks about why stories are so potent, he also talks about a creative content package he has developed to help West Community’s employees better know the execs in the c-suite…and maybe also do some thinking about their own career development.

And then he drops the bomb that West Community has planned a series of podcasts where members will tell their stories about their relationship with the credit union.  You have to hear how Rodriguez describes this project - and hear, too, the passionate excitement in his voice as he opens his playbook.

Here's the website for these shows http://bankingonyoupodcast.com/

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Keith Leggett is a name that used to provoke cursing by usually mild mannered credit union executives - and so here he is again in a CU 2.0 Golden Oldies podcast.

Leggett has retired from the American Bankers Association, where he was chief economist, and he also has put -30- on his Credit Union Watch blog but this show from the archives is well worth a listen in 2025 because it focuses on credit union - bank mergers and also on credit union tax exemption.  Two issues that are even bigger headlines now.

In the show we discuss Maine Harvest, an innovative credit union idea that alas merged with Five County Credit Union in 2022.

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This is the weather report from GAC, last week’s credit union confab in Washington DC.  On the show to report on key developments is Sarah Snell Cooke, former editor in chief and publisher of Credit Union Times and now a consultant to credit unions' business partners.

The big question at GAC was: is this really the end of the credit union federal tax exemption?

Also on the agenda was what’s the impact of staff reduction - a la DOGE - on NCUA?  Can the regulator adequately perform with significantly reduced staff?

Which leads to the big question: will NCUA be merged into another agency?

As for that last point: Cooke’s firmly held opinion is that if NCUA is merged into another agency this will spell the end of credit unions as we know them.  That’s a gloomy prognosis but Cooke explains on the show why she believes it.

On the show too she predicts that that demolition of NCUA won’t happen.

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Can a $350 million credit union play in the big leagues? Don’t tell Christine Blake, CEO of $350 million Cardinal Credit Union in Ohio, that she can’t.  Because she is.  

A few years ago Cardinal signed on as the official credit union of the Cleveland Browns, one of the historic football teams dating back to 1946.  Yes, the Browns have had a few rough years recently but this is a team with real history.

And an enthusiastic fan base in Cleveland, said Blake.

On the show she tells how she made the agreement with the Browns and what it means for the credit union.

She also tells about Cardinal’s Lil Brownies card which helps children learn about finances.

But she’s on the show with big news about an innovative Professional Sports Team  Credit Union Executive Summit where credit unions with relationships with pro sports teams will come together for three days of meetings in San Francisco, March 19-21 Among the presenters along with Cardinal are ENT - the official credit union of the Denver Broncos - and Northwest Financial Federal Credit Union which has a relationship with the Washington Commanders.  

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Cliff Rosenthal literally wrote the book on CDFIs, community development financial institutions.  Hear his story in this podcast that dates back to 2019, episode 37 in the vaults.  

Rosenthal was on the show last year - episode 311 - talking about a new book he co-authored with Michael McCray entitled Community Capital. It’s part Rosenthal autobiography, part the sgtory of the death - the murder? - of an African AMerican credit union.  Hard hitting stuff.

But the story starts here, in episode 37 and it now is our Greatest Hit  #24

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About 4.7 million homes sold in the US in 2024.

Does that sound like a dead market?

On the show today is James White of Total Expert which provides tools to help credit unions more efficiently close mortgages. What Total Expert offers is a  powerful CRM for loan officers that automates much of the process.

Also on the show is Zakary Short, vice president of mortgage production at Utah Community Credit Union,  with assets over $3 billion.

Short’s team are satisfied users of the Total Expert tools and he tells why.

The message of this episode is plain: although some institutions have walked away from the mortgage business, others - like UCCU - are prospering because they know homes are still selling and people need mortgages.

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Hopeful.

Determined.

In a conversation with Renee Sattiewhite, the CEO of the African American Credit Union Coalition, she came across as both hopeful and determined.  And she believes there still is work to be done and she definitely is not giving up.  

Definitely she knows the landscape in today’s Washington DC is dramatically different but she does not see that as a call for waving the white flag of surrender.

Along the way you’ll hear mentions of some of the great heroes of AACUC such as Bill Porter and Bert Hash Jr. and Bill Bynum.  But you’ll also hear the names of many very successful women.

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said you can’t step into the same river twice, change is our constant. So it definitely is today and Renee Sattirewhite is determined to contribute her views on the kinds of changes we need to be making.

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On today’s show, Mac Thompson, ceo  and founder of White Clay - a company focused on helping financial institution use data to build better, more profitable member and customer relationships, and he comes bearing a bitter pill for CU execs to swallow.

According to a recent Harris Poll sponsored by White Clay, “Roughly two-thirds of FI users (68%) do not feel truly known by their primary financial institution, with almost a third (31%) feeling like just another account number..”

Surely credit unions, which pride themselves on their member relationships, do better?

Yes but hold your self congratulations. The number for credit unions is 63%, said Thompson in the show.

It gets worse: 41% of members say they would switch FIs if another  institution offered more personalized financial guidance.

But Thompson also has good news: institutions can harness data, data they often already have on hand, to enrich their personal relations with members.  He discusses this in detail.

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What’s next for WOCCU?

Is there a next?

The trigger for the question is a notification from the U.S. State Department that paused all funding for USAID programs for 90 days.  There’s no promise that funding would resume after 90 days.

Caught in this are three major WOCCU projects - in Ukraine, Ecuador and Peru, and sub-Saharan Africa.

That background is why we knew we had to schedule a call with WOCCU to learn what’s happening and what the future is.

On the podcast are Paul Andrews, WOCCU VP of International Advocacy and Erin O’Hern, WOCCU International Advocacy and Regulatory Counsel. 

This show is surprisingly upbeat, despite the profound uncertainty about the future of USAID monies.  

WOCCU still has plenty of good works to do and that it believes it can continue doing.

You’ll also hear how you can help WOCCU now.

Listen up.  

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Quick now, what is NACUSO?

Of course that’s the National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations  - and CUSOs just may be the credit union secret power.  

On the show today is Seth Brickman, former CEO of QCash and now president of Ranqx, a powerful tool that can gather the necessary financial info from a wouldbe borrower, analyze and issue a verdict on a business loan application in a matter of minutes.  

A typical credit union would take a couple weeks to get to that verdict - which, by the way, is “no” in two out of three cases.

Brickman is a credit union true believer and he especially believes that credit unions have the pole position in lending to small businesses in their community - if they also have the right tools and process automation.

On the show Brickman tells how Ranqx works - and it is already working at credit unions including MSU Federal Credit Union and also at CUSOs.

Which brings us back to the question that opens the show: Does NACUSO matter?

Brickman  has a passionate answer and - spoiler alert - probably you can guess it.

Listen up.

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Credit unions, most of them, want more small business loans on their books but few credit unions know how to speedily and profitably process small business loan applications and consequently most are lagging when it comes to booking business.

Meet Alex McLeod, a serial startup entrepreneur who now is tackling thee small business loan market with AI powered software that her company, Parlay Financial, is now selling to credit unions.  

Her key message: succeeding in the small business marketplace requires the ability to offer fast verdicts on a loan app - same day preferably.  And because many of these loans are small, machines have to carry a lot of the load.

The rest of her message is that the technology to enable all this is at hand.  ANd that’s the game changer that just may help many credit unions to finally succeed at small business lending.

Heads up: the show begins with around five minutes where we learn Alex;s journey to now and Parlay Financial.  Most of these shows have similar chat at the beginning but usually that winds up  on the cutting room floor. Not this time.  You’ll  know why when you hear this story.

Listen up. 

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On the show today is Peter Rice, CEO of Hanscom Federal Credit Union, a  $1.9 billion institution headquartered in Boston that took flight in 1951 at Hanscom Air Force Base.  

Rice is a repeat guest.  His first appearance came in 2021 when he was Chief Banking Officer at Workers Bank.  That episode has been reposted as Greatest Hit #25.  

On this show Rice’s mind roams across the many issues credit unions are now wrestling with - the possible loss of the federal income tax exemption, possible changes at NCUA in the DOGE restructuring of Washington DC, the retirement of America's Credit Union’s CEO Jim Nussle, Hanscom's acquisition of The People’s Bank (Mayland), pending regulatory approval, and a new WealthTrek facility in Government Center, Boston that is reimagining banking today and tomorrow.

But there’s more. We also talk about Rice’s walks on the Camino de Santiago, where he has three times earned a compostela,  a certificate of completion, and he muses about writing a management book about the Camino.  By the way your podcast host has earned two Camino  compostelas, in separate walks.

And there’s even a detour into the political history of Ireland, where Rice grew up.

This is a show with lots to unpack.

Listen up.  And listen again.

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Welcome to the cU 2.0 Podcast Greatest Hits #25.  This show dates back to August 2021 and it aired as episode 162. The guest: Peter Rice, now CEO of Hanscom Federal Credit Union, and then he was Chief Banking Officer at Workers Credit Union.  He came on the show to talk about a new, dazzling branch concept.  

You’ll hear how Rice’s mind works in the show.

And a few days after the posting of this Great Hit a new episode with Rice will post where his mind roams among the hot topics in credit unions today.

If Joyce’s Dubliners is a prequel to Ulysses, this podcast is a prequel to Wednesdays.  Listen up.

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I’d expected this to be an AI free show but, let’s face it, that just isn’t likely in 2025 but the good news is that in the show Pete Major,  vice president of fintech services at CUSO MDT, offers concrete AI use cases at work in MDT and he also, importantly, offers cautions about security and the leading AI tools.

In a rush to stay abreast of the fast moving AI universe are some credit unions losing sight of the need to be very sure of the security of the tools they use? Maybe.

Major provides tips on how to stay secure while still using AI tools..

But there’s a lot more in this show.

We talk for instance about the need of CUs to keep security in mind when using any technology tools.  If there are flaws - and there have been some doozies in recent years - it’s the credit union that will be saddled with the bulk of the blame.

On a happier note Major discusses a suite of tools for small business members at credit unions - and, he says, demand for the tools is very hot.  Is offering good tools a path to winning more business members? Just maybe.

We close the show pondering what the developments in Washington DC - anything from an end to credit union tax exemption to an end to NCUA - might mean for credit unions and also the rising CU interest in merging.

There’s a lot to unpack in this show.  

Listen up.

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This show started out as an exploration of Jack Henry’s 7th annual Strategy Benchmark Survey where CEOs of credit unions and banks reveal what really matters to them.  It’s a data trich survey, there’s a link in the show notes and I say that because the talk with Lee Wetherington – Senior Director of Corporate Strategy at Jack Henry quickly veered into what’s happening in Washington DC and how changes - especially at CFPB - may impact credit unions.

Along the way we discuss how this is an age where data rules, open banking is coming at you ready or not, you probably don’t know your members nearly as well as you think, and small business relationships probably aren’t what you think but they may well be critical to the future of many credit unions.

Does that spicy stew have your taste buds dancing with excitement? It should because this is a show that plunges into the unexpected but it’s stuff you need to know about banking tomorrow.

Listen up.

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Peter Duffy’s message is plain: The pace of mergers will get fatter and it will involve credit unions of all sizes, from the small to the mega institutions. First Tech and DCU may seem an outlier but now there is ENT and Wings and the pace will keep up, says Duffy who now has joined SRM.

Will the chaos and uncertainty in Washington DC slow the merger pace? Duffy thinks not, indeed the pace may quicken.

That’s because, says Duffy, economies of scale are now the Holy Grail of financial institutions.  Bigger is a competitive advantage, he says.

He does make one surprise prediction: he believes the number of credit unions deals with banks will decrease.  Listen to hear why (and it doesn’t have much to do with ICBA’s caterwauling).

Listen up.

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This show is a proof to me that my insistence on doing podcasts without written questions in hand or a script is the right way.

I agreed to this show - a talk with Michael Crowl, ceo of $4 billion Austin Texas based UFCU - because I’d heard he had been developing an interesting strategic plan.

At many credit unions there are strategic plans but often they aren’t interesting and often, too, nobody pays any attention gto them anyway.

Supposedly UFCU and Crowl, who has been at UFCU for 20 years and has been CEO since September 2022, were different.

Indeed they are.

But pretty quickly we veered off the plan and dove into how this guy had risen to the CEO job at a very big credit union.  He grew up in government housing.  He worked his way through the University of Houston.  Then he went into investment banking, earned a good score and then - he went into teaching math at a high school.

A few years later he happened into a job at UFCU and fell in love with what a credit union is and could be for its members.

In the show I even ask the hardest question to throw at a CEO - when did you decide you wanted to be CEO and how did you get there?  And Cowl gives a simple but honest answer.

I ask an even harder question: is this your last job?

It’s a great show - and I had no idea it would turn out this way.  But that’s the magic of doing this work this way.  

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Welcome to CU 2.0 Podcast Greatest Hits #26 and on the podcast is 

Kirk Kordeleski, onetime CEO at Bethpage Federal Credit Union, and one of the industry’s most perceptive thinkers. In this show - from November 2022 -- Kordeleski muses on what he calls the five generations of credit union CEOS and he also offers tips on surviving a recession, advice that very well may be timely.

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When Bert Hash, Jr. took over as CEO of MECU in 1996 it was a $400 million institution with one branch that served municipal employees of Baltimore. In this podcast he tells about the institution he took charge of. It had exactly zero ATMs.  It did not dispense cash to members - if a member wanted a withdrawal, they were issued a check and most went across the street to a bank to cash it.  

Hash, who came to MECU after a long career with banks, knew there had to be changes.  Within his first six months he put cash in the branch, installed the first ATM, brought in computers and prepared the institution for the battles ahead of it.

When he retired in 2014, MECU had assets of $1.3 billion, a membership of 106,000, and it had grown from one branch to 11.

I knew I had to talk with him even before I heard that story and that was because retired SECU North Carolina CEO Jim Blaine and Renee Sattiewhite of AACUC  enthusiastically seconded the motion.

When I initially asked Bert, he momentary hesitated - did he belong in the company this podcast features? Of course I knew he did. But he is a decent, modest man and you will hear that personality throughout this podcast.  

In one section he tells of taking a call from an irate member who believed MECU had made a mistake with his account. Bert agreed with him but still the man went on and after 30 minutes, the man was still threatening to move his account to a bank.  Bert told him he was sure he would find at least one thing different at a bank. What, asked the man. "You won't have a half hour conversation with the bank CEO trying to convince you to stay," said Bert.

His is a credit union life and it is made all the special because, as an African American, he faced challenges in his career path and in his leadership of MECU.  He tells his story in this podcast which is an especially personal document.

At the end, you will hear a podcast paste on where a recording of a call Bert made to me is.  That's because as he reflected overnight about what he had said when asked if he witnessed racism in financial services, he decided he had more to say. His perspective is thoughtful, nuanced, realistic. (Sound quality is different. But the recording is audible.)

He offers a brief summary of the 100+ year of African American credit unions, tells why he think them important in reaching out to the underserved, and offers a stirring perspective on the real credit union mission.

Along the way, you will hear mention of many past CU2.0 podcasts - Jim Blaine, Bucky Sebastian, Gary Oakland, Renee Sattiewhite, Bill Bynum, Cathie Mahon, and Marc Schaefer.

This podcast is recorded in Phoenix - thus the first remarks from Bert.

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Beware the shiny tech objects.

On the show today is Tennessee Credit Union League's CRO David Griffiths who says a huge problem many of the league’s credit unions wrestle with is fragmented technology adoption - how do the many tech pieces work together? Or more bluntly: can they work together at all?

Old cores are a real problem for many Tennessee credit unions.  So is the cost of middleware.

Griffiths tells about solutions that are working in his state, with both big credit unions and also the many credit unions with assets under $500 million in his state.

He specifically discusses solutions the league is spearheading - it’s good stuff that helps demonstrate there remains a place for credit union leagues, at least the ones that cann talk tech.

Also on the  show is Saahil Kamath, head of AI at Eltropy - which has been busy adding to its tool kit for credit unions and insurinng the tools work together.  Note that he had indicated he was under the weather and probably would only listen.  But he winds up talking at some length and he offers thoughtful insights into what is really working as credit unions seek to get their tech tools talking with each other ,

Listen up.

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Open banking - two words that just may change your life and this change is coming at you, ready or not.

In late October the CFPB finalized a rule that made open banking a must have for the nation’s biggest financial institutions by April 1 2026  - and by April 1 2030 the bigger credit unions will have to comply too.

Don’t ask me to explain the choice of April 1. It’s a rather infelicitous choice but open banking is  nonetheless a good thing, for FIs and their customers/members.

Here’s what CFPB has to say about it: “Too many Americans are stuck in financial products with lousy rates and service,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Today’s action will give people more power to get better rates and service on bank accounts, credit cards, and more.”

The Bureau goes on: “Today’s rule ensures consumers will be able to access and share data associated with bank accounts, credit cards, mobile wallets, payment apps, and other financial products. It aims to address market concentration that limits consumer choice over financial products and services. Consumers will be able to access, or authorize a third party to access, data such as transaction information, account balance information, information needed to initiate payments, upcoming bill information, and basic account verification information. Financial providers must make this information available without charging fees.”

Right now, radio silence about open banking prevails in credit union land - AI has sucked up almost all of the industry’s tech energy - but that will change as calendar pages flip us closer to the deadline for compliance.

Yes, it’s true that the vast majority of credit unions will never have to comply.  FIs with assets under $850 million are exempt.

But choosing to ignore open banking may be signing an institution’s death certificate as members and prospective members grasp how open banking is in their best interest.

But here’s the deal: on the show today is Lisa Arthur who tells why embracing open banking is in the best interests of just about every credit union.  She also tells how open banking already is well established in many countries - the US is a laggard - and what’s involved in climbing aboard this train.

Listen up.

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The transition from OM To PARC Street Partners continues smoothly, says Kirk Kordeleski who explained that the group inside OM that had been focused on creating SERPs for senior credit union executives have all moved to PARC Street. Kordeleski’s message: there have been no disruptions in service.

Not everybody in credit unions has gotten the message however so Kordeleski is actively spreading that message.

Along the way, in this show he talks about crafting retirement plans for credit union executives in today’s environment of much higher interest rates. It can be done, PARC Street is doing it and in this show Kordeleski tells how.

He also predicts that the demand for good retirement plans for senior staff will only increase.  Credit unions are competing for people with big banks and fintechs and credit unions need competitive weaponry to attract and keep talent.

Kordesleski also muses that the merger trend will continue.

It’s a full show.  Listen up.

Hear episode one in Money Talks here.  Episode 2 is here. Episode 3 is here. Episode 4 is here. Episode 5 is here. Episode 6 is here. Episode 7 is here. Episode 8 is here.  Episode 9 is here. Episode 10 is here.  11 is here. Episode 12 is here.  Episode 13 is here.  Episode 14 is here and that’s one you don’t want to miss because it is part 1 of So You Want to Be a Credit Union CEO? Part 2 of Becoming a CEO is here. Kordeleski on making events work for you is here.  Kordeleski on the first news about the creation of PARC Street is here - it’s a detailed explanation of the why and how this just might be a benefit to credit union clients.

In this episode Kordeleski mentions Doug English who has creative ideas about growing a credit union executive’s retirement income.  Here is a link to our podcast with him.  

Want to know more about SERPs - or other matters raised in this podcast? Email Kordeleski kkordeleski@ParcStreetPartners.com

Have suggestions for topics to explore in this show? Email me, Robert McGarvey - rjmcgarvey@gmail

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Sacred cows make the best burgers.  It was some 25 years ago when I first heard speaker and consultant Robert Kriegel throw out that phrase and he even titled a book with it. It’s a good read and still in print. Every CU c suiter should read it.

That’s because we have entered an era where what worked yesterday…doesn’t. Survival is the issue.

In today’s podcast Peter Duffy, a credit union expert and a managing director at Piper Sandler, tosses out that sacred cow phrase as a piece of key advice he offers credit union board members at board retreats he now regularly speaks at.

In the credit union context what the phrase means is look hard at what you are doing and ask - are we doing this well, is it essential to who we are? Face facts: a lot of what many credit unions do is done because “members expect credit unions to” - even if the credit union isn’t especially good at it and despite the reality that nowadays there are lots of places to get a mortgage or car loan or a credit loan or a CD or…keep going down the list and ask, is this one of our sacred cows?

This podcast gives a taste of what’s discussed a the board retreats and the range is wide - should we stop issuing our own credit cards, should we outsource mortgages, and - maybe the crucial question of the moment - with whom should we merge?

That last is on the list because, says Duffy, suddenly lots of credit unions are chewing the merger question.

There’s a lot to digest in this show.

Listen up.

Duffy has been on the show before - in 2022 talking merger mania and in 2020.

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The headline on the CUTimes article by David Jones tells you why you want to listen to this podcast: Invest in PESO to Build a World-Class Credit Union Marketing Strategy.

Jones is an EVP at the William Mills Agency in Atlanta and their trade is public relations which, increasingly, follows a PESO model.

What’s that?

PESO is a formula crafted by Gini Dietrich and it refers to Paid Media (such as advertising), Earned Media (write ups in publications, etc.), Shared Media (think social) and Owned Media (sponsored content for instance).  Once upon a time most PR revolved entirely around earned media but as that channel has atrophied, eyes have been focused on alternative avenues - such as Paid, Shared and Owned.

In this show Jones elaborates on the PESO model and we delve into how it just might help credit unions (and definitely fintechs!) get more visibility.

At what cost, Jones talks money in the show.

Here’s the reality: most credit unions do PR badly if at all.  Many fintechs are no better.  Find out what you are missing in this show.

Listen up.

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Picture this: a member comes into your office and says he wants a million dollar loan and he has collateral.

What kind of collateral?

The head of a tyrannosaurus rex, a huge dinosaur and, yes, there is a market for t rex bones

What do you do?

The temptation is to say get the hell outta here.

But just maybe the smarter, very 21 century solution is to call UPTIQ where the mantra is THE LENDING PLATFORM FOR HOLISTIC ADVISORS.

On its website, there’s this elaboration: “Whether its money to buy a new home, start a new business or fund working capital, UPTIQ's turnkey technology enables financial advisors to connect their clients to a network of lenders who can fund any liquidity objective.”

Yes, UPTIQ also will handle mainstream lending and borrowing needs.

But it does not shy away from the exotic, said Taylor Adkins, chief product and marketing officer.

To simplify what UPTIQ has done is stick together software that helps match up financial advisors who have clients with borrowing needs with lenders who have cash on hand to lend.  If it’s an exotic loan, fine. If it’s a more conventional loan, that may be fine too.

There definitely is a place for credit unions in this equation, said Adkins.  What, you don’t have any financial advisors on staff anymore? That may not matter with UPTIQ - in the show Adkins explains.

Definitely, credit unions have tightened up lending practices but just about every credit union wants to make loans - and a talk with UPTIQ very well might help get some additional loans funded.

Listen up.

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Call this show beyond credit scores.

The reality is that in 2023 credit scores are as common as nitrogen on our planet.  There is nothing special about offering access to credit scores to members because, well, they can get them anywhere.

Personally I can think of a half dozen different accounts of mine that provide free access to credit scores.

Probably I have more that I have simply ignored.

So why am I talking about credit scores? Because Backbase, which bills itself as the engagement banking platform and it provides online and mobile banking to many US credit unions, and SavvyMoney, have teamed up to offer the SavvyMoney credit score to members at credit unions on the Backbase platform.

And what SavvyMoney offers is way beyond a credit score. That’s the starting point, but SavvyMoney also offers action steps for consumers (“here’s how to lift your 680 credit score to 750”) as well as suggesting possible loans to members.  The tools also may help steer members into appropriate investments such as CDs,

This is a credit score with lots of financial wellness pointers and action steps built in.

On the show are Brian McNutt, Backbase’s vice president of product management for the U.S. mid-market, and Chris Fraenza, SavvyMoney’s chief revenue officer.

Listen up.

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This is the trade-up home buyer’s dilemma: in most cases, until his/her existing home actually sells, he cannot truly close on a new home.

Home sellers are increasingly wary of the standard contingency clause that gives a buyer an out if his/.her present home doesn’t sell.

Those sellers like all cash buyers.

What’s a trade up home buyer to do?

Enter Calque, the trade-in mortgage company.

Calque, on its website, tells how its process works: “Fill out a 5-minute questionnaire on our website, and we will send you a purchase price guarantee (PPG) within 3-5 business days. The PPG assures you that if your house doesn’t sell on the open market within a specified timeframe (usually 120 days in most markets), Calque will buy it for a mutually agreed upon, fair price. Once you accept the PPG, a lending partner will pre-approve you for your new home loan.”

Here’s the end game: “Sell your original house on the open market for maximum value. If you aren’t able to sell and close on it within the specified time frame (usually 120 days in most markets), Calque will buy it for the PPG. Either way, you move forward with a conventional loan on your new home.”

Where do credit unions come in? Jeremy Foster, a Calque senior executive, explains that credit unions, which already have the trust of their members, can readily explain the admittedly innovative Calque process to their members.  

Set up in the Calque system is fast and simple, no core interface required.  A credit union would be up and running with Calque in two weeks to two months, says Foster.

Now about now you are probably wondering what kind of weird name is Calque. The good news is that is exactly what I ask Foster in the beginning of the show.

Know that a calque is also called a loan translation - here’s a link that explains what this linguistics mumbo jumbo means.

Claque is a brilliant play on words - but it also may be just the device for removing a big slice of friction and anxiety from the trade up home buying process of members.

Listen up.

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Just when you thought Sam Bankman-Fried had signaled the end of crypto, there just may be cause for optimism about the future of crypto and blockchain.

Think about this: it was just maybe a dozen years ago and optimism was wide and deep about both crypto currencies and blockchain.  What has happened to decimate that optimism? Lots of theft and money - in the billions of dollars - that had gone missing.

Conclusion: the underlying system needs a foundational fix.

Meet Nicolas Biagosh of Q Protocol where the slogan is “the future of governance has arrived.”

It’s simple, isn’t it? The problem with crypto has been faulty governance.

That’s where Q Protocol comes in.  Here is what it says about itself: “ Q provides a governance backbone for the Web3 world, allowing you to build intergalactic organizations that go beyond code-is-law.

Technically, the Q Protocol comprises an EVM-compatible proof-of-stake blockchain and a set of smart contracts.

But this simple technical description does not do the protocol justice: Beyond the code, Q is based on a novel concept of how we can transact in the decentralized world, combining the benefits of a public, open and decentralized ledger with the transparency of enforceable private contracts.”

In the podcast Biagosh offers a largely non technical explanation of what Q Protocol is all about and why this just may make a difference for you.

Will Q Protocol be the backbone of a new kind of cross border banking?

Listen up.

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Meet your new Best Friend: Rocket Mortgage.

Is that boos and curses I am hearing?

Understand: I know many in the credit union universe view Rocket Mortgage as the enemy.  That opinion even has been voiced on past episodes of this podcast.

Understandably, too, Rocket Mortgage - the leading US mortgage originator - has enemies.  Leaders usually do.

But in this show, you will hear Sam Schey, Executive Vice President, Partnerships

Rocket Mortgage, tell exactly how Rocket Mortgage may in fact be a genuine friend to credit unions.

The Credit Union Times story tells the story: “Rocket Mortgage to Woo Small Credit Unions.”

In the show Schey indicated that the target market probably is small and mid sized credit unions.  Large credit unions with large mortgage departments probably aren’t prime Rocket Mortgage targets.

But smaller institutions - especially ones that have shrunk their mortgage activities - just may be ideal for letting Rocket Mortgage handle their mortgage process and, in return, Rocket Mortgage will pay the credit union as it writes mortgages for members.

The credit union also has the option to retain the paper. 

Listen to Schey - there are many different ways to configure the Rocket Mortgage options at a credit union.

Early in the show listeners who don’t follow Big 10 football may be puzzled by the banter about the Michigan State Spartans.  Schey is an alum of MSU. The backstory is the day the podcast was recorded MSU fired its football coach Mel Tucker. There’s a link in the show notes to an ESPN story that tells this sordid story.  

This short interlude is left in the show because Schey - under attack - handled himself superbly.

Another link in the show notes is to a biographic squib on Dan Gilbert, a co-founder of Rocket Mortgage and probably its leading light.  To call him an interesting guy is an understatement.

Listen up.

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Listeners to this podcast know that Kirk Kordeleski, onetime CEO at Bethpage Federal Credit Union, is a busy guy. That became vivid one recent day when I signed into LinkedIn and saw a Kordeleski post where he announced he had become a partner in a new company formed to create SERPs for credit union executives: PARC Street Partners, where PARC stands for Pay Attract Retain Compensate.

Kordeleski of course had been involved in SERPs at OM Financial, but he - and other OM employees - have now moved over to PARC Street. In the show Kordeleski tells why and why this just may be very good news for credit unions and their executives.

He also stressed that service for SERPs that had been set up via OM has now shifted to PARC Street.  There will be no service disruption, he stressed.

Minutes later Kordeleski posted that he had been named an advisor to Black Dragon Capital - a fund formed by Luis Hernandez, well known in the credit union world for the DNA core, which for its time was a genuinely revolutionary core.  Black Dragon focuses on funding fintechs that serve credit unions.

In the podcast Kordeleski talks about what he hopes to do at Black Dragon.

Word of advice: Follow Kordeleski on LinkedIn.  

Listen up.

Hear episode one in Money Talks here.  Episode 2 is here. Episode 3 is here. Episode 4 is here. Episode 5 is here. Episode 6 is here. Episode 7 is here. Episode 8 is here.  Episode 9 is here. Episode 10 is here.  11 is here. Episode 12 is here.  Episode 13 is here.  Episode 14 is here and that’s one you don’t want to miss because it is part 1 of So You Want to Be a Credit Union CEO? Part 2 of Becoming a CEO is here. Kordeleski on making events work for you is here.  

Want to know more about SERPs - or other matters raised in this podcast? Email Kordeleski kkordeleski@ParcStreetPartners.com

Have suggestions for topics to explore in this show? Email me, Robert McGarvey - rjmcgarvey@gmail

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That whistle you hear - the AI train is leaving the station and forward thinking credit unions are hopping aboard.

Here’s the reality: the big banks are all in with AI. So are the big fintechs.  

Where does that leave you?

Behind is where you are likely to be unless you begin to grapple with AI and its potential to transform financial services and your institution.

The analogy is to the Web.  Forward thinking financial institutions hopped into it in the mid 1990s. Laggards hung back, often into the 21st century.

A big difference now is everything moves faster.  

AI needs your focus now. Immediately. Today.

The good news is that CU 2.0 is holding a two day AI intensive workshop on October 26 and 27 in Ashland OR.  There’s a link in the show notes.  

Attendance will be extremely limited. There will be plenty of opportunity for getting questions answered.  

In this podcast there’s a preview of what attendees will learn, as told by Kirk Drake, the CU 2.0 founder and author of an AI Book, and also Saroop Bahrwani, founder of Senso.ai and an expert on AI and how credit unions can put it to good use.  Both will be among the main presenters at  the Ashville event.

Like what you hear here? Sign up for more by attending the event.  A year from now you don’t want to be saying, I should have gone.

Just go.

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The United States is awash in medical debt.  How much is there? Hard to say but Kaiser Family Foundation has an estimate of $220 billion and, yes, that’s billion with a b.

Enter CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which believes there is a lot of double billing, inflated charges and downright illegal medical debt collection tactics.  

CFPB is looking at banning reporting of medical debt to credit bureaus which the agency says unjustly lowers the credit scores of some 15 million Americans.

Which is why we brought Jeff Grobaski back on the show. CEO of Fort Collins CO based Epic River, a lending as a service provider that helps medical practitioners and hospitals place their unpaid debts at credit unions which pay no fees for the paper and, even better, the credit union assumes little risk.

Nada.

Grobaski was on the show a year ago but the question now is how do the CFPB proposals impact what Epic River is doing?

The other question is why are hospitals and doctors happily turning that paper over to Epic River.  Grobaski explains in the show. It really is a win-win-win, for the patient with debts, for the medical provider with bad paper on his books, and for the credit union that can turn that loan into performing paper and in the process acquire a new member.  

This sounds too good to be true? Listen to Grobaski - he gives the nuts and bolts in the show.

Grobaski, incidentally, is a finalist in this year’s credit union luminaries sweepstakes. As the pub said, “Under Grobaski's leadership, Epic River has been able to connect credit unions with local health care providers to improve patients' ability to pay through low- or no-interest loans. Epic River's program accelerates patient payment, minimizes collection expenses and enhances cash flow for participating health care providers.”

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Whither credit union lending - or put more bluntly, when will today’s liquidity issues and their constraint on lending lessen?

That’s a huge topic - liquidity is a key concern at just about every credit union - and that’s why we brought together three experts with different takes on lending and liquidity.

There's Mac Thompson, founder and president of White Clay and a data analytics expert. He’s also a former CU 2.0 podcast guest.

There’s Barry Kirby, a co-founder of Union Credit which aims to help credit unions grow their memberships.  He too is a past podcast guest. 

The third guest is Gary Lewis, managing director of lending and deposit solutions at Jack Henry and, you guessed it, also a past podcast guest.  

This is a lively conversation about lending, liquidity and also related topics such as the threats posed by non banks, the need for better credit union curation of technology options, and a coming to grips with the credit union generational shift from Baby Boomer members to Millennials and Gen Z and what that shift entails.

You may not agree with all you hear on this show - that’d be boring, wouldn’t it? - but you will get ideas about what you need to be doing to keep your credit union in the game and winning.

Listen up.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com
 
 

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Have you ever spent two days at an industry meeting and on your flight home you found yourself wondering, why did I go there? Did I get a thing useful out of this?

Join the club.  Events regret is widespread.

And then there is Kirk Kordeleski, former CEO of Bethpage Federal Credit Union which he grew into a colossus and now he's an executive with O.M. Financial, where he helps credit unions create competitive retirement packages for c-suite executives. 

The idea for this show came from Kordeleski’s Facebook feed where one week he is in Homolulu, the next Atlanta, the next Michigan, the next Washington DC and the travel whirlwind goes on as Kordeleski travels from industry event to event.

Two questions came to mind: why hasn’t he burned out and how does he get useful results from this travel schedule?

Kordeleski is on the podcast to tell us his how to of traveling sanely and making it all work for him.

In a few words the recipe comes down to this: know the results you want and have a plan to get them.  But Kordeleski’s formula is much more detailed than that. He tells his secrets now.

Listen up.

Hear episode one in Money Talks here.  Episode 2 is here. Episode 3 is here. Episode 4 is here. Episode 5 is here. Episode 6 is here. Episode 7 is here. Episode 8 is here.  Episode 9 is here. Episode 10 is here.  11 is here. Episode 12 is here.  Episode 13 is here.  Episode 14 is here and that’s one you don’t want to miss because it is part 1 of So You Want to Be a Credit Union CEO? Part 2 of Becoming a CEO is here

Want to know more about SERPs - or other matters raised in this podcast? Email Kordeleski Kkordeleski@om-financial.com

Have suggestions for topics to explore in this show? Email me, Robert McGarvey - rjmcgarvey@gmail

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BNPL.  When we talked with Bryce Deeney, CEO of Equipifi, about his BNPL focused startup in December 2021 BNPL probably sounded to most listeners like a new alphabet soup and who really cared about it?

Flashforward and quite possibly you personally have used BNPL. If you haven’t a relative or friend definitely has.  Companies like Aftrpay, Klarna and Affirm are major fintech players. And there are mainstream entrants into BNPL such as AMerican Express and Apple.

Here’s the question: where’s a place for credit unions in BNPL?

Know that the big BNPL players are busily making deals with retailers, both online and bricks and mortar. They are disintermediating traditional financial institutions and that means you.

Enter Bryce Deener and Equipifi which have been busily creating tools for credit unions to offer BNPL as a payments option to their members. In this show, Deeney tells why a credit union needs BNPL in its arsenal (you don’t want to lose members do you?), why BNPL is so popular with so many of us (and it’s not just Gen Z by the way), and how BNPL has morphed in just a couple years.

Case in point: the majority of BNPL deals now feature interest payments or other fees. Didn’t know that? Understandably: two years ago the BNPL pitch was pay over 90 days, no fees, no interest. No more. Money no longer is free and the BNPL providers have morphed.,

And take heart because Deeney and his team are working hard to give credit unions a place at this table.

Listen up.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com
 
 

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Fednow just may change your credit union’s entire approach to how money moves in and out.  

That is fact and the fact is all the realer because Fednow actually launched in July. Sure, real time money movement has been talked about for at least a decade bur that was just talk, now it is real.

Could you ignore it for the time being? That would be to your detriment, warns this podcast’s guest expert on Fednow, Richard Crone, a longtime payments guru.

Crone also tells a fast way to gain significant experience with instant money movement. You may not like this particular piece of advice - over 4000 credit unions currently are not following it. But give a listen to Crone’s argument and you just may be persuaded.

Crone also says that credit unions have a huge built-in advantage over community banks in regard to real time payments. This is a fight waiting to be won. If only you get involved.

Listen up.

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What’s in your fintech blueprint?

Wait, you say, what’s a fintech blueprint? Good question and if you didn’t ask it probably you should have because few credit unions have current blueprints or even old, dusty ones.

On that note, how often should you update a fintech blueprint? On the show today is  Prakash Natarajan, managing director for payments strategy for SRM and he says every three years. 

Ask me and I’d say every two years.

Either way the point is that the fintech landscape is fast morphing - who knew about generative AI 9 months ago - and an institution needs a blueprint that sets out fintech priorities and why they matter.

Otherwise you are at the mercy of the next fintech sales person in your office who waves a shiny object in your face and, yep, it’s cool…but do your members and institution really have to have it? That is why you need a blueprint.

Background reading for this show is the SRM report Why Every Financial Institution Needs a Fintech Blueprint. It’s free, click here

Listen up.

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How many zombie members are on your credit union’s books? You know who we mean - they sometimes also are called ghost members. They have a few bucks parked in the institution from back when they became members but, nowadays, they are mainly invisible. And worse: the credit union often charges no monthly fee but it may pay a monthly fee for that member’s access to online banking even though the member doesn’t use it.

You want to know Daniel Haisley.  He runs innovation at Apiture, a North Carolina based digital banking provider that serves some 300 credit unions and community banks.  It serves some mega institutions but Haisley  says Apiture’s sweet spot is serving mid sized and smaller institutions.

And Apiture has a tool for helping to activate those zombie members. In the show Haisley tells how it works and what kinds of results it delivers.

He also answers the big question: when a new credit union customer comes to you why are they leaving their existing digital provider.  

And before we close he offers Apiture’s take on AI and credit unions today.  In three words it’s optimistic but cautious.

Listen up.

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Consider this show all you want to know about credit union boards and gender and ethnic composition.

Know this: you probably will be surprised, and disappointed, about one statistic you will hear.

Also know: the source for this show is a 69 page report, Credit Union Boards of Directors: Board Size, Gender, Race and Institutional Performance, 2012-2021. Download the report, it’s free via consulting firm, CuCollaborate. 

The report is statistics rich and in this show we talk about the research methodology so you will hear how the report was created.

We also talk about possible future research projects involving boards.

And you know what, credit union boards are remarkably opaque.  Most members know very little about their board - indeed they may not even know there is a board and it is, theoretically, elected by the membership.

Speaking for me - not CuCollaborate - I think there is a great opportunity for dramatically enhanced board transparency.

Most credit unions complain about a lack of candidates for board seats - but just maybe there’d be more member interest in that service if more members had an inkling of what the board does and how this matters to member satisfaction.  A point to ponder.

Listen up.

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What’s in a name?

Shakespeare asked that question but right now lots of credit union leaders are doing likewise.  For good reason. The institution’s name may no longer suit the present realities as SEGs fade away, geographic bases shift and sometimes, just maybe, there’s a sense that a more timely name might well have greater appeal for millennials and Gen Z who are the future.

Enter Phil Davis and North Carolina based Tungsten, a branding company that has helped hundreds of businesses change their names including a number of credit unions.  Among Tungsten's clients are Additional Financial, a rebrand of the former Central Florida Educators Federal Credit Union, as well as Radiant Credit Union, a rebrand of the former SunState Federal Credit Union. 

Also on the list is Skyla, formed after Charlotte Metro Credit Union and Premier FCU joined and opted for a new name.

Davis says he expects more credit unions will knock on his door as they realize something has to change if they want to stay relevant..

Of course it’s not just the name - often the credit union has to also change how it does business and impose a more digital attitude - but now is a time when we are indeed likely to see a growing number of credit unions opting for a makeover.

In the show Davis tells what’s involved, how long it usually takes, how much it costs and what benefits typically result.

Listen up.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com
 
 

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Ask Kirk Kordesleski, onetime CEO of Bethpage Federal Credit Union where he pursued an extremely aggressive business strategy designed to double the size of the institution in five years, to mame a key challenge facing credit unions right now and he is blunt: a new generation of leaders has to be prepared and prepped and there is no time for delay.

The Baby Boomer generation of credit union CEOs is fast retiring.  The youngest are 58.  The oldest are 76.  

There is a booming job market for new CEOs. Opportunity is knocking.

Kordeleski is doing his part in empowering candidates. He’s mentoring a growing number of ambitious credit union executives.

In this show he shares some of the big lessons he imparts including big surprises that may come from the credit union board and senior leadership early in a new CEOs reign.

Listen to the very end and Kordeleski reveals an event he’s holding where wannabe CU CEOs  will get in-person training and pointers.

Hear episode one in Money Talks here.  Episode 2 is here. Episode 3 is here. Episode 4 is here. Episode 5 is here. Episode 6 is here. Episode 7 is here. Episode 8 is here.  Episode 9 is here. Episode 10 is here.  11 is here. Episode 12 is here.  Episode 13 is here.  Episode 14 is here and that’s one you don’t want to miss because it is part 1 of So You Want to Be a Credit Union CEO?

Want to know more about SERPs - or other matters raised in this podcast? Email Kordeleski Kkordeleski@om-financial.com

Have suggestions for topics to explore in this show? Email me, Robert McGarvey - rjmcgarvey@gmail

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Bill Partin, the recently retired CEO at nearly $2 billion Sharonview Federal Credit Union in the Carolinas,  went there after a long career at multiple Southern California credit unions where he ended in the c-suite at Partners, the Burbank based  institution created to serve Walt Disney Company employees.

At Partners he worked for then CEO John Janclaes and one day Partin asked his boss when he planned to retire.  He said in effect not soon.

Partin then told him he wanted to be a CEO and so he would be looking elsewhere.

His boss did the right thing: he supported him completely.

Soon Partin landed the job at Sharonview and, in the show, he tells about his journey there.

But there’s a lot more in this show. For instance: Partin started in credit unions as a part time teller when he was putting himself through a community college.  He kept working at credit unions as he proceeded to earn a bachelor’s degree - and he just stayed in the industry because he knew it was where he wanted to be.

Nowadays Partin has authored a book, The Leadership Bet, and he’s also on the speakers circuit talking up that topic.

What is the leadership bet? It’s the three pronged formula he implemented at Sharonview -

*Be disciplined

*Execute your plan

*Take risks

Wait: take risks! Isn’t risk a four letter word in a CU exec’s vocabulary?  You bet - well, maybe you don’t bet.  But, yes, risk is a tough concept for CU execs to embrace.  Partin explains why it’s essential, especially today.

Keep listening until the end because just maybe the meatiest points are served up last as Partin talks about the how to of creating a good credit union board - and why many boards aren’t what they need to be.  It’s hot stuff.

Listen up.

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What magic pill can help keep hundreds, indeed thousands of credit unions from vanishing over the next decade?

Vim Anand, CEO of Member Support Services, says his CUSO can create operational efficiency and cost savings through economies of scale and standardization.  The focus is on backoffice technologies and, says Anand, MSS’s tools deliver 20+ % cost savings.

But don’t take his word for all of this. Also on the show is John Bissell, CEO of $1.6 billion Greylock Federal Credit Union in Pittsfield MA. Bissell is a new MSS member-owner and he explains that the credit union took this step because he sees this as a way to stay independent and local and both of those are crucial to Bissell who believes they are a big part of the credit union special sauce.

Greylock, by the way, is the biggest credit union in MSS - the two other member owners are >$400 million apiece - and MSS is actively seeking new member owners because Anand’s goal is $8 to $10 billion in total assets.

And the payoff, says Anand, will be helping more credit unions stay independent.

As for why Bissell is set on keeping Greylock independent understand that he grew up in a Greylock family. His dad logged 30 years at GE which was the SEG that powered the birth of the credit union.

Listen to the show to hear Bissell’s story of how an Amherst College grad with an English degree migrated to Seattle but after 10 years he felt the call to return to western Mass, as locals call the region.

Do you want more credit unions to stay independent? Listen up.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com

And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto