It's hard enough keeping up with all the state and federal laws, rules and regulations related to being a credit union without also having to worry about religious canon law, as well.
That's why a group of 11 Catholic credit unions have banded together to found the Catholic Credit Union Association.
Tom Gryp, President/CEO of the $482 million Notre Dame Federal Credit Union (NDFCU) and one of the founding members of the CCUA, said that forming an association of CUs that follow a similar mission is crucial to remain competitive for the future. He described the state of Catholic CUs as a "small fragmented group that is all over the U.S."
Gryp, whose NDFCU serves 52,000 members, had noticed that the Catholic CUs were struggling in attempts to provide for the needs of their constituency throughout the nation, mainly because of their relative size.
When the Notre Dame, Ind.-based CEO did the research, close to 100 Catholic affiliated credit unions were identified with assets totaling $3.6 billion.
The 11 founding CUs have total assets of around $1.9 billion, a large share of the assets managed by Catholic CUs throughout the country, and they reach more than 125,000 Catholic CU members.
The organization plans to meet twice a year formally and create a "virtual conversation" among staff between the organizations. "We are stronger together than operating apart," Gryp said, noting that the largest association member is not even $500 million in assets.
"I really believe this is a game changer for all parties involved," he added, "a large Catholic lending consortium/cooperative can now compete with national and regional banks," he said.
The association does not include any formal arrangements or mergers, just a collection of CUs with a common mission. "Our mission is to serve God by serving others. We want to do that by doing good and helping out members," the NDFCU CEO said. "We all do it differently; no one is out to change anybody."
Joe Garay, CEO of Oceanside Christopher Federal Credit Union noted one of the key issues he has seen among the Catholic CUs has been marketing. "We shared a lot of things and gave ideas of what works and what doesn't," he said.
While the CEO of the $304 million Oceanside sees no correlation between religious attendance and joining the organization, reaching out to new members is still a challenge for all CUs.
Garay stated that a majority of their new members come through word of mouth; he believes this is because of the great service they provide for their current members.
"Our members have this inherent trust that we will always act in their best interest," Garay said. This was exemplified during the Hurricane Sandy crisis that hit close to home for Oceanside Christopher, located on the south shore of Long Island, in Oceanside, N.Y.
Rob Grech, CEO of Alliance Catholic CU ($438 million in assets, 35,000 members), based out of Southfield, Mich., sees the association as a positive step in keeping Catholic CUs a part of the national movement. "What's important for us is to make sure the Catholic mission for credit unions continues on," he said. "The coalition will make us much stronger than we would be individually."
"A lot of smaller credit unions may be worried about this being a conversation about beginning a merger," Minnesota Catholic CU CEO David Sawin said. He suggests that the CCUA's purpose is to assist Catholic CUs in an attempt to keep as many afloat as possible. "I always thought it would be good for us to work together…there are opportunities to share on loans and best practices," he said. Minnesota Catholic CU ($28 million in assets) serves 3,600 members in the Twin Cities area.
Tom Gryp hopes to add more Catholic CUs to the association's ranks but notes that the group is still in its infancy. "It is important that we stay independent, but we are going to collaborate," Gryp said, "We are able to do things in parishes and schools that we couldn't do otherwise."
