PORTLAND, Ore. -- Attendees from across the country convened in Scottsdale, Ariz. last month for CU Business Group's second annual conference.
This year's theme was "Innovation in Business Services" and featured a number of keynote speakers, among them, NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland, who discussed pending regulatory changes and examiner focus in business lending.
Anna DeYoung, CEO of $85 million Sky Federal Credit Union, shared how they maximized the credit union's business opportunities through an array of business lending and deposit products. "We simply have to serve businesses in our market," said DeYoung. "We can't let size be a deterrent."
Chris Oldag, senior vice president of lending at $4.5 billion Patelco CU, discussed the credit union's business-loan participation program. Oldag explained the challenges Patelco faced while building its $300 million participation portfolio, which is considered to be the largest in the industry, according to CU Business Group.
Larry Middleman, president/CEO of CU Business Group, shared his views on industry trends in business services and what the future may hold. He also noted the large increase in the number of participations during 2007, as well as the large increase in the industry's business-loan delinquency rate: 0.53% in 2006 to 1.82% in 2007.
Other conference topics included high-performance compensation strategies for business lenders, branding the business experience and techniques for maintaining a mature business loan program. The conference's breakout sessions provided attendees with various learning opportunities, including sessions on portfolio management and advanced deposit products.
CU Business Group is already planning its third annual conference for March 2009 in Scottsdale. The business lending and services CUSO serves more than 250 credit unions in 32 states.
"This is an integral part of our ongoing education opportunities, and we are committed to providing a quality learning experience for the industry," said Middleman on the CUSO's annual conferences.
--msamaad@cutimes.com
