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Vice Chairman Hood Announces a “Blueprint for 2020” Initiative during the Big Ten Credit Union Conference

June 9, 2007, Alexandria, VA – National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Vice Chairman Rodney E. Hood delivered an address during the Big Ten Credit Union Conference (BTCUC) at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN. During his speech, Mr. Hood invited those present to work together to increase student membership, employment, and participation in the credit union industry. Hood referred to this new initiative as the “Blueprint for 2020: A Plan to Strengthen the Future of Credit Unions.”

Hood acknowledged that as the baby boomer generation begins to retire in the coming years, the composition of the financial services landscape will change significantly and there are few candidates from generations “x” and “y” waiting to assume roles in this arena.  “While hedge funds and private equity are the careers du jour, America’s financial services providers will need dedicated professionals in marketing, operations, accounting, risk management, compliance, and sales in order to remain viable, sustainable, and competitive,” said Hood.

The Vice Chairman stated: “I would like to work with a group of credit union and university leaders to develop a program that fosters future credit union leaders.” The Vice Chairman credited John Milazzo, President and CEO of Campus Federal Credit Union in Baton Rouge, LA for helping to inspire the idea along with positive contributions from Tyrone Burke, President and CEO of Georgia State Federal Credit Union in Atlanta, GA. Mr. Hood stated that after discussions with these credit union leaders, “I intend to convene an informal study group of college officials and credit unions leaders to draft a framework that can be used to attract well-trained and highly competent new credit union employees, board members, supervisory committee members and credit committee members.”

Participants in this 2020 Initiative will include accredited colleges and universities with credit unions in their field of membership, such as: Community Colleges, Technical Colleges, HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and MBA Programs. Mr. Hood outlined the desired results as follows:

• credit union internship and mentoring opportunities for college students;
• strategic consulting projects for MBA students;
  • working with credit unions to perform management assessment of timely issues, such as membership growth, marketing campaign, product analysis, and membership segmentation
• creating relationships with representatives from college career planning and placement offices to participate in career fairs;
• creating symposia and curricula for students to receive academic credit while interning at credit unions;
• providing low-income designated credit unions with contributions to pay for summer interns; and
• cultivating new board members, supervisory committee, and credit committee members for the credit union system.

The success of this initiative, according to Hood, could be measured by the following:

• increased percentage of career fairs that involve credit unions;
• rise in number of interns within the credit union system;
• membership growth among Gen Y; and
• new employees with core competencies for the future financial services landscape.

In closing, the Vice Chairman thanked Notre Dame Federal Credit Union and the attendees, and said he looked forward to working with them to further develop the ‘Blueprint for 2020’ initiative. 

The National Credit Union Administration is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, also operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), insuring the deposits of over 85 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the majority of state-chartered credit unions.