Economists and a credit union futurist will man the podiums for the newly merged Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union's conference set for Oct. 25-26 at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Convention Center in Frisco, Texas.

The conference is the 34th annual Economic Forum for Southwest Corporate FCU and the first since the recent merger with Georgia Corporate into the new Catalyst organization.

Speakers will be Steve Rick, senior economist at CUNA; Tun Wai, chief economist at NAFCU, credit union economist Charles Idol and consultant and futurist Tim Lerew.

The economists will review what they see as possibilities following coming federal deficit reduction efforts while Lerew will analyze trends changing the way consumers deal with money and changing money itself, Catalyst said.

Earlier, Catalyst Corporate said it will soon have three new panels of member-owners to help develop and guide its operations.

Catalyst said the “Catalyst Councils” will gather input from the eastern, central and western states, respectively, and advise the corporate on product development, enhancements and “over the horizon” planning.

Catalyst opened for business on Sept. 6 as a result of the merger of Georgia Corporate in Atlanta and Southwest Bridge Corporate, with the new organization based in the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas.

Each council will comprise about a dozen credit union leaders and meet by phone or in person four times a year, Catalyst Corporate said.

“This council process deepens the cooperative relationship with member credit unions as they work side-by-side with staff to set and achieve organizational objectives,” said Brad Ganey, chief operating officer at Catalyst.

“In addition to serving as a springboard for service enhancements, Catalyst Councils will ensure that the corporate's resources are allocated to projects that align with member needs, helping them to achieve their own strategic goals,” Ganey added.

Catalyst said it launched with $93 million in perpetual contributed capital and 882 member credit unions, and has indicated that it will seek to expand, particularly in the western states.