Berger Blogs About Merger, Virginia League’s Hunt Eyes Evolution of CU System

Once CUNA and NAFCU announced the plans Tuesday to merge the two organizations into America’s Credit Unions, it was stated that the leaders of both groups would not be available for additional comments or interviews for the time being.

Then, Friday morning, NAFCU President/CEO Dan Berger published a blog post on NAFCU’s website with his first comments since Tuesday with what appeared to be a more personal message about the move to merge the organizations.

“This decision was not made lightly,” Berger wrote. “It was a collaborative process, with input from leaders and stakeholders of both organizations over the course of many months. Throughout the discussions, our North Star was: ‘What is best for credit unions?’”

Berger added, “While our announcement was met overwhelmingly with positive reactions, we recognized that there are many questions yet to be answered. And some within the industry may not be fully supportive of the merger. Over the next several weeks, we will be meeting with as many members as we can to listen to your concerns and priorities, and learn how this new organization can best serve you.”

There have been very few negative comments posted by credit union leaders about the proposed merger. CU Times has heard few off-the-record negative comments, but not many public comments such as those from The Tennessee Credit Union ($440 million in assets, 22,796 members) President/CEO Rafael Rondon.

In response to the merger announcement, Rondon posted on LinkedIn: “I am deeply troubled by the merger between CUNA and NAFCU. Both organizations have been dedicated to addressing distinct needs within the credit union industry, and I fear that combining them will dilute their individual focus and priorities, ultimately leading to diminished value for their members.”

In addressing those who may be against the idea of merging CUNA and NAFCU, Berger wrote, “There will be differences among members of America’s Credit Unions. Each credit union is unique. Your institutions serve different communities with different needs. You have different portfolios and hold varying levels of assets. But the common thread through all your institutions is doing what’s best for your members. And you should have the ability to make those decisions about what services to offer, how to innovate and where to grow.”

Berger also added, “Our fight is against burdensome regulation and bad actors, and in defense of consumers who need safe, secure and reliable financial services the most. Not amongst ourselves.”

Carrie Hunt Sees Opportunities of Strength Via Merger

President/CEO of the Virginia Credit Union League Carrie Hunt has an interesting perspective from her current league leadership position and as a former NAFCU executive. For two years, Hunt has led the league after years inside NAFCU as the organization’s EVP of government affairs and general counsel.

On Friday morning, CU Times spoke with Hunt about her view of the proposed merger as a former NAFCU leader.

“I long have thought that we [CUNA and NAFCU] needed to work better together,” Hunt said. “I strongly support collaboration to continue to either move the dial or push us forward in terms of credit union advocacy. And I think we can do that better together. I think that both CUNA and NAFCU have, you know, some of the same, but also some different strengths. So I think if we meld what’s the same for efficiencies and we take what’s best in both organizations, then we really will dramatically improve the results that we get for our advocacy because I think that is what we all really want.”

As the leader of the Virginia Credit Union League, Hunt also said she sees the massive potential for league success if the merger is approved.

“It’s not just that we have CUNA and NAFCU that’s combining, we have the potential to harness the power of the leagues, which are, you know, separate corporate entities and have a single national trade to partner with. So there’s tons and tons of potential there and that’s why this opportunity excites me,” Hunt said.

She said she does hope CUNA and NAFCU officials take into account the amount of work the merged organization will need to do with the more than two dozen leagues in the country.

“I think that it’s important that leagues have a direct voice with this new organization,” she said. “I think that by default, the new organization will have to work with states because if there isn’t an effective working relationship between federal and state, then ultimately that’s when another trade association is going to pop up and try to serve those needs.”

When asked about any negative comments surrounding the merger, she said, “I also haven’t heard a lot of negatives, but the couple that I have heard are more ‘We need alternative organizations to represent an alternative view!’ And I think some of those commenters weren’t taking into account that we do have dozens of leagues who are certainly there to represent their members if there’s a different perspective. But the hope is that we work through differences prior to coming up with the policy positions and tactics so that we can better achieve some of these joint goals.”

Hunt added, “I will just say that no organization is any one person. And I think that if together we put the right structure in place, do our best to pull together the best talent that we have in one moment in time, then we will be in a great position to carry this joint organization forward into the future. So, we always have to be evolving.”

According to Tuesday’s announcement, CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle will lead the newly-formed organization and Berger plans to step aside at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities.

Berger noted at the end of his blog post, “Things will change – but for the best.”