WICHITA, Kan.-Despite being chartered nearly 70 years ago, the new CEO at Catholic Family FCU says his CU's biggest problem is a lack of awareness.
"This credit union has been here since 1947, but when I go into the churches, I don't think they realize what a Catholic credit union could mean to them and their parishioners," said Michael Taylor, who in January took over as CEO.
Taylor said he's unsure why the awareness gap exists, but said that one of his chief priorities is to narrow it. He has already begun visiting local Catholic churches and hopes to meet with priests, parishioners and church business directors to reintroduce them to CFFCU. That strategy is a repeat of the same philosophy he used in his previous position as EVP at Northwest United FCU in Denver.
"Since we're a Catholic credit union, word of mouth is our best advertising. I try to get into the Catholic churches just so they know who I am and I know who they are, and hopefully they refer some of their parishioners to us."
Taylor also hopes to pick up a few church business accounts along the way.
Because of CFFCU's small size-about 4,300 members and $26 million in assets-Taylor said it is imperative that it grow in both membership and loans. He hopes to grow to 6,000 members and $21 million in loans (about a $7-million increase) within the next two years.
To that end, awareness is key. "We're the only Catholic credit union in Wichita, which gives us an edge, because we do have a large Catholic population here. One of the main things is just to get our name out there, so people know who we are."
When it comes to boosting loan volumes, Taylor said he expects second mortgages and auto lending to be the primary drivers, along with some indirect lending. But the new CEO said he is also somewhat wary of indirect lending because "basically you win at indirect by volume, and once your volume starts to slow down, you really have to monitor it, because your charge-offs can overcome your volume. So we monitor it on a daily basis."
In addition to its headquarters, the CU has a branch in northeast Wichita that it shares with Mid American and Cessna Employees CU. One of his goals is to begin putting small branches in some of the local Catholic churches within the next three years. "We did that in Denver in two churches ... and they were very successful," he said. "That's one reason I want to build relationships between us and the Catholic churches, priests, business officers and parishioners."
Taylor offered the same time for expanding some of the CU's e-services. While CFFCU currently offers online bill pay, e-statements and more, "one thing we do not offer is mobile; we're just not big enough at this time to offer that service." The goal is roll out within the next three years.
