TAMPA, Fla. – GTE FCU, which has been struggling with big losses caused by the region’s real estate slump, announced this morning the hiring of Joseph Brancucci, chief operating officer for BECU and founder of credit union online mortgage bank Prime Alliance, as its new president and CEO.
GTE, the one-time $2.2 billion credit union, is replacing former CEO Bucky Sebastian who left December after the credit union wracked up losses of $27.3 million for 2008 and $44 million for 2009 and failed in a bid to forge a mega-merger with Suncoast Schools FCU, another troubled credit union giant serving the same market. GTE, which has been under NCUA’s special cases because of its financial troubles, eked out a $66,000 net for the first quarter of 2010.
Brancucci has been at BECU since 1995 and has been instrumental in leading BECU efforts in paperless consumer and real estate lending, teller-less branches, risk management, talent
management and development, and operating efficiencies. He founded Prime Alliance
Solutions, Inc. which provides a mortgage technology and business solution to over 1000
credit unions. He will remain as Chair of the Board and CEO of Prime Alliance. Brancucci has been a senior executive in financial services for almost 40 years including tenure at Freddie Mac
and a South Florida credit union.
Brancucci will join GTE in early July.
