SAN DIEGO-The president and CEO of North Island CU, Mike Maslak, retired Jan. 12 after more than 21 years with the $1.6 billion CU.
Jack Lewis, chairman of North Island's board of directors, said Geri Dillingham, who had been chief operating officer, and Kim Reedy, formerly chief financial officer, are sharing the title of interim co-CEOs.
"Both of them have been with the credit union for a very long time and that provides for a smooth transition at this point and allows us to remain focused on our 2009 plan," Lewis told Credit Union Journal. Lewis said the retirement is not related to losses at the credit union, first reported on cujournal.com, totaling $32.5 million for the fourth quarter and $50.2-million for 2008. "Two separate issues," said Lewis. "Mike had been here 21-plus years. We appreciate his service to our members and we wish him well in retirement."
According to Lewis, the poor condition of the economy was the "primary driver" for the CU's negative numbers, which he said was the first loss in North Island's 63-year history. North Island set aside $31 million in loan-loss reserves in the fourth quarter, which Lewis said is the "largest reserve we've ever had." He added the credit union believes the reserve should be sufficient going forward.
"We expect to be profitable in 2009 because we took large allowances for losses in Q4. We are positioned well and expect a positive month, positive quarter and positive year," he declared.
Southern California went into a housing rollback earlier than many areas of the country, Lewis noted. "Since we went in first, some economists are predicting we will get out first, so we hope those predictions are correct. Like most credit unions, we are in the business of making loans to our members, and real estate loans were a major factor in the loss we posted for 2008."
