ST. PAUL, Minn. – Would the founding members of Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union be surprised their credit union is now a member of the Billionaires Club? President/CEO Kyle Markland figures the answer is definitely “yes.” After all, he points out, the credit union's assets back when it was formed in 1930 were stuffed in a shoebox in the basement of the state capitol. Today AFPCU is the largest credit union in Minnesota with state-based assets. On one hand, that's obviously good news. But at the same time, Markland agrees size can make you a key target for bankers. “All large credit unions, and we happen to fall into that segment, are targets,” Markland says. “Because we're large we have branches throughout the state. We're fairly visible in our communities. “But the fact we're large has nothing to do with our service concept, our value system and the commitment we make to our members. As a large credit union I think we have a certain responsibility to demonstrate the credit union difference. We try to practice that every day.” Originally State Capitol Credit Union, the credit union served state employees working in St. Paul. Today APFCU's field of membership covers not only all state of Minnesota employees but employees at the University of Minnesota; any organization that receives funding from the state such as schools, community colleges, hospitals, counties, cities and municipalities; plus a half-dozen communities and even Minnesota Twins employees. The credit union has a major presence in cities throughout Minnesota where the state has facilities such as state hospitals and highway department offices. You'll also find APFCU in many county seats. In fact, city, county and state employees still account for just over half the membership. That means Markland and other APFCU executives keep an eye on the state's economic health and budget “The state experienced a budget deficit for a couple years. We've also seen a strike by state employees which led to some disruptions in service. What tends to happen is tight times for the state budget flow down to the counties and municipalities,” Markland says. “Although the impact was not as great as it would be on a single-sponsor credit union, we did see some government layoffs. The good part is we were able to weather that through our diversification throughout the state. The university system has been fairly stable.” As the state has bounced back, it's now the long-term impact of the national economy that concerns Markland. It's something the credit union can't control. He believes credit unions will feel the interest margin squeeze for a long time. “I've been in the credit union industry for over 25 years and I think the next 18 to 24 months are going to present the biggest squeeze I've seen on our bottom line. My fear is the economy going into a recession. “It's also an opportunity to do what we do best and show our members we're here for them through thick and thin. Our whole strategy is to build relationships founded on trust, and I think that strategy is recession-proof.” To keep members, APFCU offers a Member Loyalty Program. Members earn points based on length of membership, the amount of products and services used and other factors including referral of new members. Points accumulate much as they do in a frequent flyer program. Members can use their points to earn dividend increases on certificates, breaks on loan rates and rebates on mortgage closing costs. Member reaction? “It's been very, very popular,” Markland says. “We just rolled it out in October 2005. When you reward someone who's been a member for 25 or 30 years, they see the value we place on their long-term membership.” In an era when many people quip that if you want loyalty, get a dog, “Member loyalty has been a tough issue. I do believe that comes down to the value of an individual credit union, and of the industry, to members. We just need to provide so much value to them they have no other choice but to be loyal to us.” After all, in many communities a member can simply walk down the street to a large national or regional bank. There are also likely other credit unions a member can join. “A lot of credit unions have switched to community charters and gone after communities in the seven-county area here in the Twin Cities. I look at that competition differently. I see that competition as something that really makes us a better credit union. I don't mind competing for members against another credit union.” Markland points out almost 5 million people live in Minnesota. Minnesota credit unions have perhaps 1.5 million members. So he sees the remaining 3.5 million as an opportunity. The challenge is, “What do we need to do to demonstrate our difference and our value to them so they will become members?,” Markland asks. If Markland sounds like someone who aimed for a credit union career from the time he was in elementary school, that's not really true. In fact, he indicates he got into the industry completely by accident. He always thought he'd be a lawyer. Unfortunately, when he was a junior in high school in Tampa, Fla., his father was one of the air traffic controllers fired by President Ronald Reagan when they went on strike. A guidance counselor at Markland's school was aware of the situation and indicated his credit union, Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union, was seeking summer interns. Would Markland be interested? Markland was hired and his credit union career was launched. He continued at SSFCU beyond his summer internship, working fulltime while attending Hillsborough Community College and then University of South Florida to earn his accounting degree. He also has an MBA from Regis University in Colorado. He worked at GTE Federal Credit Union in Tampa, then was recruited by Bellco Credit Union in Englewood, Colo. He was there for seven years, starting as vice president of finance and becoming executive vice president and CFO. Then, at 34 years old, in 1998 he was hired as president/CEO of APFCU. Even though he grew up in Florida, “I probably miss the climate in Colorado more. You could ski in the morning and golf in the afternoon, or visa versa,” he explains. “But when we moved to Minnesota, we decided the weather is what you make of it. You have to adapt. In Florida, June, July and August were pretty miserable because of the heat and humidity. In Minnesota, January and February can get a little long. But you acclimate yourself.” In the Twin Cities area that means spending a lot of time at indoor and outdoor hockey rinks. Markland and his wife have two children, a daughter who is 12 and a son 10 years old. Both are very active in sports from hockey to baseball and lacrosse. Markland is proud of his family, and of the staff at APFCU. “Our employees are very driven and passionate. They know what our strategy is, they know what our goal is, and they know what their role is. It doesn't matter if I'm talking to a teller, a loan officer, a manager or a vice president. They feel good about what we're doing here,” he says. “At the end of the day, we're here to help people. It's an amazing experience to be part of the employee body here.” -

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