NAFCU CEO Dan Berger's response to the news of 5,300 Wells Fargo employees creating millions of fake accounts sparked a lively debate over whether the credit union industry had blinders on to its own compliance challenges. In addition, CU Times Executive Editor Michael Ogden and Managing Editor Natasha Chilingerian spurred readers to weigh in on disruption and serving marijuana businesses. Here's what they had to say.
It's Time to Embrace the Legal Marijuana Industry
Thank you for highlighting this issue. Your article was great! We too serve the industry in Colorado and often I feel very isolated by my peer group. However, that is changing because of coverage like this!
Sundie Seefried
CEO, Partner Colorado CU
Beauty Is in the Eye of the Disruptor
Michael, I enjoyed your thoughts about disruption. It makes me think about a trend that's been happening since 1970: Credit unions are disappearing at a rate of about 3% per year. In 1970, there were 23,687 credit unions and today there are only about 6,000 – a 73% decline. Most of these disappearances are due to mergers. I wonder, "How long can this trend continue? Will the trend continue until there is just one, massive credit union?" Probably not, but the only way smaller credit unions are going to survive is if they innovate and adopt technologies more quickly.
As a whole, credit unions are slow to adopt technology and new marketing concepts. Credit unions could learn a lot from high-growth companies in other industries.
Derik Krauss
Co-Founder, BloomCU
NAFCU Condemns Wells Fargo Sales Practices
Prison time? Mr. Berger should think before speaking. I know of at least one credit union that acted similar to Wells Fargo and I'm sure there are more.
BillyBobJim
What surprised me was the marketing staff wasn't monitoring their duplicate accounts, in reference to direct mail/e-blasts and such. With most consumers reducing their number of accounts over the past eight years, the duplicate numbers should have decreased, not increased. But then again they are huge and maybe that's not easily monitored.
Amy Courtwright
VP, Marketing
Virginia Beach Schools FCU
Digital allowed staff to fake the accounts too easily and marketing had many ways to monitor. There seems to be a cultural issue at Wells Fargo.
Bryan Clagett
Chief Marketing Officer, Geezeo
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