succession recruitment executive career Source: Shutterstock.

The old Benjamin Franklin saying, "if you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail," rings true even today when credit unions fail to plan for their futures.

For far too many credit unions, especially smaller ones, the failure to adopt and implement a succession plan needlessly exposes them to the whims of outside interests and the potential that a merger is their only option when senior leaders leave. An NCUA analysis found that poor management of succession planning was either a primary or secondary reason for nearly one-third of all credit union consolidations. While the pandemic initially slowed the pace, the number of mergers is now, once again, increasing. And the lack of a succession plan is a primary reason why.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.