The Obama administration announced on Oct. 21 the nomination of Carla M. Decker, CEO of District Government Employees FCU, to replace NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland, whose term has expired. Reaction I've gathered from around the industry has been highly mixed. In general, a great diversity of thinking exists across the industry as to what's important and relevant. That's good. In formulating your own opinions, there are several pieces to consider.

I've heard quite loudly, Why would she be nominated when her credit union is in financial trouble? This is a valid point. The capital ratio at DGE FCU dropped more than 200 basis points over the last year. Delinquencies are 2.63% and charge-offs 2.12%. ROA was negative for 2010 but on target to end 2011 on the plus side after three quarters of profitability. Net worth is down 20%, marketing share is down 1.46%, loan growth is down 16.8% and asset growth is down 1.7%. However, in my mind an even more important number is that membership growth is negative 4.57%. 

One West Coast credit union CEO I talked to is hopping mad. He wants someone nominated from a credit union but also a well-performing one. On the flip side, another CEO said you have to look at what the credit union is trying to accomplish. DGE FCU is trying to serve the underserved, who have been the worst hit class by the economic crisis. These types of efforts are exactly why credit unions came into being and grew tremendously during the Great Depression.