GFA Federal Credit Union's chief executive to retire in spring

Tina Sbrega, a pioneer in credit union-bank acquisitions and pot banking, plans to retire in the spring from her role as president and CEO of GFA Federal Credit Union in Gardner, Mass.

Tina Sbrega, president and CEO of GFA Federal Credit Union
Tina Sbrega, president and CEO of GFA Federal Credit Union

Sbrega will continue as chair of Lighthouse Biz Solutions, a subsidiary of GFA, according to a press release on Wednesday from executive search firm, D. Hilton Associates, which the GFA board has hired to help find its next leader. She has worked in financial services for more than 45 years and has been with GFA since 1980.

Since Sbrega became president and CEO in 2009, GFA has expanded its branch network and doubled its assets to almost $600 million. In 2012, GFA was the first credit union to buy a stock-owned back. It was also the first financial institution in Massachusetts to provide financial services to the legal marijuana industry, according to the press release.

“I have had such a tremendously rewarding career; it has been such a fulfilling experience to have had the privilege of serving as the leader of such a quality and forward thinking organization,” Sbrega said in the press release. “I have been so fortunate to have had the support, trust and confidence of the Board over the past 12 years to lead the credit union to what it has become, and I am so very grateful for the support of the management, our Better Banking team, and community.”

GFA earned $2.1 million through Sept. 30, down about 8% from the same period a year earlier, according to call report data from the National Credit Union Administration.

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