Hawaii Offers Utopian Ideal of Bank-CUrelations

HONOLULU - (10/26/04) — In keeping with the AlohaSpirit of the host city for CUNA’s Future Forum, CUNA CEO DanMica promised not to bash the banks and instead pointed out a localnewspaper ad taken out by Bank of Hawaii that wished “aheartfelt mahalo to our credit union partners,” as an exampleof how banks and credit unions should peacefully coexist.“Banks everywhere could take a lesson from Bank ofHawaii,” Mica exhorted, but he noted that in states likeUtah, for example, it’s hard to imagine such a thing as banksand credit unions getting along. “This is truly paradise herein Hawaii, where they have created an environment where we can allwork together.” CUNA recently sent a letter to 100 banks,urging them to drop the “bank/credit union feud” andsuggesting how much the two industries could achieve if theyweren’t so busy fighting each other, and a few wrote back tosay they don’t consider CUs their enemy, he related.“But I will promise you this. We’ll fight ‘em orwe’ll love ‘em, but we’ll never give up andwe’ll always win,” Mica averred.