NEW YORK CITY-No one could have been prepared for what happened to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. And certainly no credit union disaster preparedness plan could have ever foreseen the perspective of XCEL FCU on that day.
Now, a decade later as the U.S. and the world mourns the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, XCEL FCU, which was headquartered in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, recalls not just the events of that extraordinary and tragic day, but the aftershocks it felt in the days andd weeks afterward.
XCEL serves federal, state, and local government employees. The credit union was founded as Port Authority of New York and New Jersey FCU, which built the World Trade Center complex that opened in the early 1970s. James Wisnieski, the CEO at the time of the attacks, was attending a meeting in Albany, N.Y. on Sept. 11. He told Credit Union Journal at the time he had lost family as a result of the terrorists' actions.
CEO Linda McFadden, who was VP-operations on the morning of the terrorist attacks, recalled that the credit union performed well during the crisis, managing to safely evacuate all of its employees from the 39th floor and continue to serve members from its other locations, including families of the 150 members who died that day. Yet what began to surface six to 18 months later still troubles McFadden today.
"The staff sort of self destructed over the next year or so after the attacks," shared McFadden. "About 18 months after the bombing there were no employees left who were working inside our World Trade Center office on September 11."
McFadden said some of those employees took new jobs, some went on workers' compensation for mental disability and never returned, and some just began to show visible signs of trouble in their work patterns-like one young woman who prior to Sept. 11 had always on time, and then couldn't get into the office by the start of the day anymore-and eventually moved on.
"Many of our employees had trouble dealing with public transportation afterward and being in crowds," noted McFadden. "They could not put the disaster behind them."
What may have lulled the credit union's management into thinking staff had come through the attacks mostly unscathed is that when those employees returned to work after Sept. 11, most showed no outward signs of trouble. But that began to change as the months passed, said McFadden.
Others Affected, Too
It wasn't just staff form the Trade Center branch who were affected, pointed out McFadden. Many who worked nearby at XCEL's Federal Plaza location eventually could not cope, as well. "While they did not face the danger that those in our Tower office did, they had to be evacuated into the same horror and dust that filled the streets."
With its main office destroyed, XCEL now has since established its headquarters in Bloomfield, N.J.
"The one thing I wish we could have done differently after the attacks is to pay more attention to employees mental well-being, despite them not showing any outward signs of trouble," said McFadden. "Although we had counselors available for the team, we did not make counseling mandatory. In our disaster plans today is greater attention to helping people cope. That was the one piece of our plan that was missing right after Sept. 11."
The $130-million credit union has a strong disaster recovery plan today that is tested annually, shared McFadden. While XCL FCU staff performed admirably and effectively during the Sept. 11 crisis, McFadden acknowledged the plan could have been stronger. "At the time we had a disaster recovery plan that was written after the 1993 bombing attack on the North Tower. But it was something that sat on the shelf, and when the planes struck the Trade Center our teams executed well, but more on gut instinct and reaction."
Member Behavior Affected
The Sept. 11 attacks, too, affected member behavior, pointed out McFadden, who said members became much greater users of electronic services. After the attack the credit union immediately put up a message on its website that said it was still operating and encouraged members to bank online.
"Obviously, you could not get to our remaining New York City location for a while so members signed up for home banking, bill pay, etc. And right after 9/11 it was not easy getting in and out of the city. It really drove members to be users of electronic services, which I think many would not have done on their own. Today, 90% of our transactions are done remotely."
The loss of the Trade Center office, however, has hurt membership growth, contended McFadden. The 14,500-member CU has grown by only 1,500 to 2,000 members in the last 10 years. "Our Trade Center branch saw tremendous foot traffic and members would come in during work hours, talk, and they really liked the office. I had six tellers working at all times. You just don't get the same kind of growth with members relying more on online access."
Looking back ten years, McFadden said the attack on the World Trade Center has made the credit union stronger, bringing it closer to members as staff helped many work through the days and months following the disaster, further emphasizing what credit unions are about. "Our mission statement is to put members at the forefront of everything that we do-9/11 just engrained that even further throughout the entire credit union."
