Congratulations on your new role at CU Times, my favorite CU publication.
In my opinion though, your Jan. 30 editorial is off target (Bankers Win if One-Third of Largest CUs Plan Conversions).
The headline could be "Members Lose" or "Regulators Win" or "Credit Unions Surrender." But not "Bankers Win".
This is a credit union industry problem and as a whole, we need to listen to the rooster and wake up. And while one could challenge the Aite Group survey results, that is also not the point. Unless we mobilize our very vocal membership and demand modernization of the credit union system including a modernization of the regulatory environment, and all the while fight to modernize our institutions as quickly as possible, the dire prediction of the loss of 33% of large credit unions to the banking world could be plausible.
Many would argue we need to get back to our roots. That is not the answer either. It is 2008, not 1930. Few use the services available to consumers in 1930, yet many of our rules and regulations are from that era.
Let's work together to leave a proud credit union legacy for our children and grandchildren 50 years from now by acting today.
Kent Oram
CEO
Idaho Central Credit Union
