What CU CEOs Are Saying About Bankruptcy

"We need that bill to pass. Six out of 10 people who file for bankruptcy with us have some ability to pay. This will go a long way to holding them accountable."

-Bill Winter, president of St. Cloud FCU, St. Cloud, Minn.

"I think this bill is way overdue. It will help us get rid of some of the abuses, more than we can now. By abuses, I mean some of those people who build up debt then use bankruptcy as a financial planning tool. Even one of these is very frustrating."

-Thomas Griffith, president of Pacific Northwest FCU, Portland, Ore.

"There are too many people who file for bankruptcy who don't really need it, who I feel should have dug themselves out of their own hole. There is a need for bankruptcy-bad things happen to good people-but there are too many (people) filing who don't need it."

-Larry Mortenson, president of Zia CU, Los Alamos, N.M.

"Bankruptcy has become sort of a strategy for some of these young people, sort of a financial planning tool." She said the bill should discourage this practice.

-Kristi Mukumela, president of Novation CU, St. Paul, Minn.

"Any change to the current environment would be a help. This will help develop more integrity among members to pay back their bill."

-Bruce Simmons, vice president at USAlliance FCU, Rye, N.Y.

"We have about 12 or 14 bankruptcies a year and about $25,000 in charge-offs. That's a large amount for such a small credit union. With some meaningful means-testing some of that would be repaid."

-Floyd Rummell, president of Dakota Territory FCU, Deadwood, S.D.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER