Maurice Smith, the longtime CEO of Local Government Federal Credit Union in Raleigh, N.C., has been named chairman of the National Cooperative Bank.
Smith is joined on the NCB board of directors by leaders from across the cooperative and community-development sector, including housing, grocery, small business, health care and more. Pat Jury,
“NCB is a mission-driven financial institution,” Smith said in a press release Wednesday. “I am enamored by the principles that bind credit unions. Our focus on members’ wellbeing, democratic control and community are core values that define us as cooperatives. NCB embraces these ideals.”
Congress chartered the National Cooperative Bank in the late 1970s before it was privatized in 1981 to provide financial services for housing and commercial cooperatives across the country. Credit unions are a key sector within NCB, and the number of CUs that rely on the bank for depository and correspondent banking services continues to grow, according to the press release. Credit unions and credit union service organizations alike are eligible for NCB membership.
Smith, who also recently served as chairman of the Credit Union National Association, likened the bank's efforts to those of the wider credit union movement.
“Much of what NCB does is familiar to me,” he said in the press release. “Our terms of art are similar. As financial intermediaries, our functions are comparable. For NCB, the differences are not plentiful.”
National Cooperative CEO Chuck Snyder was chief executive of Temporaries Federal Credit Union early in his career and emphasized the shared roots and philosophy the organization has with credit unions.
“We are proud to have Maurice serve as the board chairman for NCB,” Snyder said. “His credit union experience will be instrumental in helping us to stay abreast of the needs of credit unions and the product offerings we can provide to best serve their needs. We invite all credit unions to learn what we have in common.”
