As I was perusing the Editor’s Column in the May 16 edition, one of the suggestions caught my attention. 

Sarah Snell Cooke suggested that maybe the best education a new examiner could get was to have a credit union show them how we work. May I suggest an alternative that might work much better? Have the NCUA get some credit unions in that examiners’ region that are well run to train them for about 30 days in the various aspects of the credit union business. These would be strong, well run CUs with a history of excellent exams and service to members. Credit union in the $50 million to $250 million range would be a great place to start. They could be state charters, so there would be less chance for some kind of improper relationship to form.

I know we would be happy to train a few examiners (one to two per year) by just showing them how we do what we do. We could on board them like a new employee with philosophy, etc. Then let them work on the teller line; as a new accounts person; in the direct, indirect, real estate  and business loan areas; in collections; in IT and in the accounting areas.

While the education would be somewhat shallow in each area, the NCUA could set minimum standards for each area for their own employee, and we would be happy to help them achieve their goals.

Kind of a hair brained idea, but since Cooke raised the training issue, I thought I would share my suggestion. It might help with the learning curve and take the contentiousness out of early learning experiences.

James D. Holt
CEO
Mid American Credit Union
Wichita, Kan.