LENEXA, Kansas — Reaction to James Nance's removal from the head of US Central and the installment of Francois Henriquez as interim CEO has been muted in the corporate CU community.
A number of corporates declined to comment on the move or didn't return inquires. No one speculated as to why the NCUA made the change; the regulator said in a statement that the "action was taken due to divergent views about how to move US Central forward" and refused further requests for comment.
Nance served as vice president for asset/liability management for U.S. Central from 1993 to 1996. Most recently, he was chief administrative officer at Icap Capital Markets Llc in New Jersey, before he was brought in to run the troubled corporate when NCUA took it over on March 20.
Several sources in the corporate world predicted Henriquez's long history in the industry would absorb any shockwaves that the firing may have made, suggesting Nance's successor is well liked in the industry and would perform his job ably.
"I see it as a positive move. Francois has already reached out to corporate CEOs to reestablish open channels of communication," David Savoie, President/CEO of Louisiana Corporate, told Credit Union Journal. "Over the past several months, there had been no virtually no communication between the U.S. Central CEO and corporate management; instead, it had been handled almost exclusively by NCUA conservatorship staff. A closed lane of communication between US Central's CEO and corporates does not serve the interests of credit unions at a time when leadership is required. Apparently, NCUA recognized this, and moved to correct it. Francois has spent his career in this industry, is an articulate communicator, and represents a positive step forward."
Corporate One FCU President/CEO Lee Butke did not try to guess why the regulator made the decision to remove Nance, but he did express "every confidence" in his successor.
"We have known Francois for many years and trust that U.S. Central is in good hands," he said. "Francois has been an integral member of the U.S. Central senior team for years and his excellent rapport with all the corporates will serve U.S. Central well during this time of transition."
