Former FDIC group chief joining AT&T.

A credit union bankers love to hate has a new chief executive.

Beginning Jan. 3, Marcus B. Schaefer will take the reins at AT&T Family Federal Credit Union, Winston-Salem, N.C. Mr. Schaefer has been chief executive for FDIC Employees Federal Credit Union in Washington since 1986.

AT&T Family's practice of adding unrelated employee groups to its membership rolls earned it the enmity of North Carolina banks, four of which sued to stop the credit union's growth in 1990. A federal district judge in September ruled the government's policy that allowed the credit union to grow was legal. The four banks, backed by the American Bankers Association, have appealed the decision.

Mr. Schaefer, 42, is no stranger to the slings and arrows of riled bankers.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, bankers blasted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for giving the credit union free use of its office space. The credit union began reimbursing the agency in 1992, and the money went straight to the Bank Insurance Fund, Mr. Schaefer said.

"I guess you could say we helped lower their insurance premiums," he said.

Mr. Schaefer replaces David Datewyler, who resigned from AT&T Family in December 1993 after being chief executive for 10 years.

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