Can you pick out the bad apple? There are lots of retirement vehicles aimed at credit union c-suite executives but the fact is they aren’t created equal. Some simply are better than others. Back on the show today is Kirk Kordeleski, onetime CEO at Bethpage Federal Credit Union and now a leading expert on credit union SERPs (supplemental executive retirement plan), and he offers tips on what to look for in a steady SERP…and keep in mind it has to hold up usually for several decades after an executive retires. Along the way Kordeleski tells what credit union board members need to know and do ..read more

Your mother dies or maybe it’s your spouse and you’re a named beneficiary in the will so surely it’s a matter of presenting a few papers and some ID at the relative’s credit union and then you’ll walk out with a check. Dream  on. When Saeid Kian’s father died from pancreatic cancer - meaning there had been time to get his financial papers in order - Saeid assumed it would be straightforward to gain access to his dad’s accounts.  He assumed incorrectly. Months went by as he dealt with lumbering, inefficient systems at multiple financial institutions.   These were months of fr ..read more

Welcome to the CU 2.0 Podcast Greatest Hits show. There are over 300 shows in the library and yet a reality in the podcast business is that few of us ever even look at more than maybe the half dozen most recent shows. That’s why we are going to resurface some of the best and most popular shows as Greatest Hits. This is show #5 - San Francisco Fire Credit Union exec Josephine Chew tells about how the institution created its we want to be your side bank campaign and she also exudes humor, creativity and wisdom about how to market a credit union. She knows the other side of the street too. She ..read more

It’s a war out there for deposits. You know it.  But what you might not know is how to actually get more deposits, especially from new members. Psst. Here’s the secret: digital account opening. That’s what Apiture’s Jennifer Dimenna is here to tell us -but first there is this mind numbing statistic: about half of all credit unions do not have the capability to offer digital account opening. And yet this is 2024. How many potential new members simply log out when they realize they’d have to come into a branch to open an account - and they take their digital mindset and their dollars do ..read more

SELCO, at $2.7 billion in assets, is a big Oregon credit union.  It has had an active community relations - and giving - portfolio.  And then an idea took hold: SELCO decided to organize its activities and out of this has grown SELCO Steps Up where the credit union reimagines, expands, and organized its community relations portfolio. Every credit union should be looking at doing something similar.  This is the path towards getting the most for the community out of the credit union’s talent and treasures. “Through SELCO Steps Up, we are looking for ways to identify the changing ..read more

It was two years ago when we kicked off the first Kirk Kordeleski Money Talks podcast where the onetime Bethpage Federal Credit Union CEO talked about the rising importance and adoption of SERP retirement plans for c-suite credit union execs but also about the massive changes that are transforming the credit union industry. There’s a monthly show, an hour of prime listening for those working in the credit union industry and also those who want to sell into it. That means there are approaching two dozen shows in the archives. But here is number one. It’s definitely still worth a listen ..read more

Welcome to the CU 2.0 Podcast Greatest Hits show. There are over 300 shows in the library and yet a reality in the podcast business is that few of us ever even look at more than maybe the half dozen most recent shows. That’s why we are going to resurface some of the best and most popular shows as Greatest Hits. This is show #3 - a reissue of CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 239 David Metz CEO of Prizeout and Darlene Johnson, EVP of Suncoast Credit Union, on Value Upping Gift Cards It’s a show with everything. A new twist on putting money in members pockets: ad tech. An eloquent credit union leader fro ..read more

Kirk Kordeleski, onetime CEO at Bethpage Federal Credit Union, said it and his endorsement in a Credit Union Times article was so glowing that I knew I had to talk with Austin Wentzlaff, CEO of startup Nook.  said Kordeleski: “I firmly believe that Nook is at the forefront of something truly exceptional for the credit union industry. Drawing from my experience as a former credit union CEO, I can attest that every credit union grapples with similar challenges related to member loyalty and engagement – precisely the issues that Nook was established to address.”   Just what is Nook?&nb ..read more

The Callahan report on credit union financial performance in 2023 exploded like a bomb.  Credit Union Times shrieked: “Credit Union Earnings Fell to Record Low in 2023, Callahan Data Shows.”  The publication added a kick with its subhead: “But CU results are even worse when the most recent three months are extracted for earnings and originations.” Had the sky in fact fallen? Then I saw a post on LinkedIn by Kirk Kordeleski, the onetime CEO of Bethpage Federal Credit Union, where he sought to add context to what Callahan had reported and what it in fact means for credit unions. I ..read more

Maybe 15 to 20 percent of your members have a neurodiverse condition - anything from dyslexia to color blindness - and, surprise, that means they will face big challenges everytime they log into a mobile banking app because that technology just isn’t designed with such conditions in mind.   Enter Mahalo with its Thoughtful Banking mobile app which features a neurodiversity module. Mahalo elaborated on what this means: “Among the platform's new features are left and right-hand use modes, font color options for those with Dyslexia or visual impairments, and the ability to disable animation ..read more