Q&A talks with Tony Emerson, president and CEO of The Credit Union League of Connecticut.
Q: How is the overall state of credit unions in Connecticut? What are some of the challenges facing your membership and their members?
A: The overall state of credit unions in Connecticut is improving, albeit slowly… but steadily. Loans are beginning to increase steadily, membership continues to rise, and delinquencies are falling. The challenges facing credit unions coincide with the general economy and anticipated future recovery. That is to say, members who may be contemplating borrowing money are in many cases waiting to see if the overall economy recovers. For those that are ready to borrow or transact business, credit unions are ready, willing and able to serve their needs.
Q: What’s coming down the road for the credit union industry in Connecticut? What are some of the changes that might revolutionize the industry?
A: We continue to see the advent and implementation of new technologies as the biggest change to how we conduct business with our members. Online banking continues to grow, but new technologies like video teller machines and member remote deposit capture and iPhone apps are beginning to take hold. In some cases, this is redefining how a credit union interacts with its members.
Q: Your website has this statistic: Over the next five years, more than a quarter of all credit union CEOs will reach retirement age. This quickening pace of potential retirees is expected to continue over the next 19 years. What does that experience drain mean in the credit union industry? How should credit unions be preparing for this?
A: Fortunately, we at the league have taken a leadership role in this arena by establishing our “Young Professionals Program.” Through this program we are able to help credit unions provide the training and education that mid-level professionals need in order to advance into CEO positions. In addition, many of our credit unions have their own training and mentor programs. As of yet, we have not seen a shortage of qualified candidates applying for vacant CEO positions.
Q: At your upcoming Leadership Conference, one of the topics is going to be using reward programs to keep members. What is the turnover rate among credit unions when it comes to membership accounts? Or is this more of a draw to get members to open new accounts and lines of credit?
A: This topic is actually centered on creating “affinity” products/services for members that they require or use anyway. It is all about making it easier for our members to do business with us… to include lowering costs on such things as cell phone bills, power bills, and various financial products. We here at the league sponsor various programs like these and have realized terrific participation from our member credit unions. Through these programs we have been able to save Connecticut credit union members literally hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Q: Another topic at the conference is going to be five critical leadership cornerstones necessary to guide your credit union into the future. Can you summarize what they are?
A: This is actually a topic that will be addressed by a special speaker, Jennifer Kuhn. The five cornerstones are discussed in the book, “The Leadership Challenge.”
Q: What are some of the big legislative challenges facing credit unions on the federal level? Or, is a Republican Congress friendlier to credit unions?
A: Credit unions are having a difficult time achieving passage of the restoration of their full ability to lend to their business-owning members or to achieve an increase in the cap. I would say that this is more of a matter of legislative priority not controversy with Congress. We have many federal legislative issues but at the forefront, because many banks are withdrawing credit from small businesses, credit unions have been asked to expand credit to small businesses by their members. This growth is threatened because credit unions are approaching their cap, and it is frustrating because we could be further assisting in the economic growth of our country if it was restored or increased. We know that there is little time in this Congress to get anything passed this year due to the pending elections, but we are pressing on to get some meaningful change as long as it promotes safety and soundness in the credit union industry.
