During NASCUS' annual meeting in Chicago, Credit Union Journal asked: What is your relationship with your state regulator and are there any places where you disagree?
George West, board member-PSECU, Harrisburg, Penn.
I don't deal with them directly unless there's an issue, and we have not met with them for a couple of years because we have no issues at our credit union. We have a top CAMEL rating. It usually doesn't get beyond the management, and that's good. We don't want to deal with them unless they want to deal with us. I feel we have a good rapport with the regulators. We're a large credit union-the largest in Pennsylvania-and we have good internal controls and we're in very good shape as far as dealing with the regulators.
Valerie Brown, CEO-Service One CU, Bowling Green, Ky.
We're in lockstep. They're interested in our safety and soundness and they've really been an advocate for the credit union in our state. Certainly there are areas where we disagree with our examiners, but that tension is supposed to be there. That's how you reach a balance.
John Edwards, CEO-Connex CU, North Haven, Conn.
We have a good relationship with the commissioner in Connecticut. They've been very supportive in growing state-chartered credit unions in our state. We have some mutual areas we continue to discuss from different perspectives, but it is a harmonious relationship.
Linda Williams, CEO-Akron Firefighters Credit Union, Akron, Ohio
We've always had a pretty good relationship. They're a little bit more thorough, questioning a lot more things that they hadn't questioned before, and I'm beginning to understand why, particularly in lending. And that's one area where we know our members. Each unique credit union has a unique field of membership and you know your members, but we're having to justify a little bit more of why we determine to lend to a particular member or offer a particular lending product.
C. Michael Litzau, EVP-Sooper CU, Arvada, Colo.
It's a positive relationship. I can't say we agree 100%; we've just had an exam a few months ago and we've got a couple things we can work on, but there were no surprises. There have been areas of disagreement in the past-some areas of BSA-but those have gotten resolved very positively.
