ALEXANDRIA, Va.-While former NCUA Board Member Geoff Bacino admits that he is not as good a politician as he once thought, which he said is evidenced by his inability to win a full appointment, he added that working as a credit union regulator did reveal other, possibly more important things about himself.

The former President Bill Clinton recess appointee's term expired with the recess of the Congress. When asked why he wanted to serve as a credit union regulator for so long, (he has made several attempts to obtain a seat on the NCUA Board.) his automatic answer is "To make a difference."

But, to go beyond what may have sounded clich?, Bacino added, "I know credit unions. It was in my blood.I felt I could be a good regulator. I felt I understood credit unions, which is important." In saying credit unions are in his blood, Bacino was not exaggerating; his father, Ted Bacino was a NCUA executive. Prior to joining NCUA, he was president of Bacino and Associates, a lobbying and public relations firm in Alexandria, Va. Before that, he served as a lobbyist for the CUNA. He also co-founded the National Association of State-Chartered Credit Unions and served as executive director of the National Association of Share Insurance Corporations.