SAN DIEGO – North Island Financial CU, struggling with the region’s economic troubles, said yesterday it has hired John Tippets, the well-respected former president of American Airlines Employees FCU, as its new president and CEO.
Tippets retired from the Fort Worth, Texas, credit union in June 2008 after building it into a $5 billion institution and one of the most successful credit unions in the country. He spent 42 years with American Airlines and 17 as CEO of the credit union.
North Island Financial has been hurt by the decline of the real estate market in Southern California and reported a $50.2 million loss for 2008, after which its long-time CEO Michael Maslak retired. For the first nine months of 2009, North Island Financial recorded a $36.2 million loss, pushing down its net worth to 4.4%.
Tippets began work at the $1.4 billion credit union yesterday.
