A NEW PRESIDENT
FOR A NEW ERA OF
CREDIT UNIONS Paul Gentile took over the reins of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire Credit Union Leagues and the Credit Union Association of Rhode Island on January 6. He came to the Leagues/Association after a year on the national credit union scene as executive vice president of strategic communications for the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and six years as president of the New Jersey Credit Union League (NJCUL). Before joining the NJCUL, Gentile was the editor/publisher of Credit Union Times, the nation’s largest independent credit union trade publication. During his first month on the job, Gentile has hit the ground running by reaching out to credit unions for input throughout the Leagues and Association. However, he took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about his philosophy on the credit union system and future plans for the Leagues and Association.
Q
: One constant in your credit union career has been your work as a communicator. You have been quoted as saying that getting the word out to the public on the benefits of credit unions was a high priority for you in your new role here in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Could you elaborate on some of those ideas? : It’s simple; if we don’t tell our story, no one will. Here at the League, we will be compiling the good work credit unions do in their communities and sending that to the Hill quarterly. I can’t tell you how important that can be to keep that local tie with our lawmakers in D.C. We will certainly be much more active on the press front.
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One thing I’ve always stressed is positioning credit unions as the financial literacy leaders of the financial services marketplace. We will be working on efforts to tell that good story on a grand scale. And of course, coming soon will be some efforts on consumer awareness. It will include social media. People debate the ROI of social media, but the real question should be, ‘What’s the opportunity loss for not being there?’ We also have to use awareness to attract younger consumers. We have a great story to tell. Research shows young people want to do business with “values-based” organizations. Going Green. Going Lean. Credit unions fit right into that. We are values-based and we must use that in our messaging.
Q
: Credit union leagues have been around since 1919, the year the Massachusetts Credit Union League was initially formed. Clearly things have changed a great deal, but the pace of change seems to be picking up. Could you give us your thoughts on the evolving role of leagues? : The core role of leagues is advocacy. I believe the buckets of advocacy are evolving. With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and a reg-heavy National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), regulatory advocacy is as vital as political advocacy. Let’s take NCUA’s recently released RiskBased Net Worth proposal. That will have lasting effects on credit unions for years to come. We need to all work cooperatively together to ensure the agency understands the impact of that regulation and adjusts it accordingly. You will see the League survey
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its members more to garner feedback so we can do a thoughtful comment letter to the agency. I also think we’ve been missing the boat for years on consumer advocacy. Consumer advocacy can be a key cog in helping us on the political side. The more consumers value us and are aware of us, the more powerful we are. When lawmakers truly understand how vital we are to consumers, our voice with them will be stronger.
Q
: Small credit unions face some tremendous challenges. Yet many of them continue to do a great job of meeting the needs of their members. Could you share your thoughts on how the League can help these credit unions thrive in the future? : We must have offerings that assist small credit unions. Those services must be tangible. Small credit unions are facing serious challenges with the new regulatory environment, changing member demographics, a tough economic environment, and more. I have witnessed where cooperation can make a difference on the small credit union front. Can we have small credit unions on a common core system to reduce costs for them? Common marketing materials that can be branded individually? I think there’s a great opportunity in common loan programs that allow credit unions of all sizes to participate at a level they choose. There’s so much opportunity. I am excited to dive into this area. I am meeting and talking with small credit unions to get their perspective. Believe it or not, sometimes the hard part is that they haven’t
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Continued on page 16 spring.2014 | centerpoint | 15