For Polish-born Oskar Mielczarek, the new CEO of the 72,000member, $1.4 billion Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union,taking the helm at the CU means helping Polish & Slavic balanceits traditional leadership and service role in the Polish-Americancommunity with the need to evolve into a 21st century financialinstitution.

It s a role for which he is uniquely suited, having been born inWarsaw but growing up in other European countries and receiving hiseducation at leading European and North American universities.This, combined with experience at some of the largest banks both inthe U.S. and overseas, meant that he comes to the institution bothaware of its role in the Polish community and with a set ofskills he believes the credit union can use.

“I have known the organization for a long time,” Mielczarek saidin a phone interview, “but I hadn't been following it that closelyand was amazed to see how greatly it had grown,  $1.4billion in assets, 72,000 members, a footprint in three states. Infact, I circumstantially came across the position through an ad inThe New York Times.” 

Mielczarek explained that PSFCU had a lot to attract him,including a platform built up serving Polish and Slavic-speakingpeople for years combined with a steady record of growth despitesome of the leadership controversies that have marred the creditunion in the past.

He also noted that his dual background as both a Pole and animmigrant gave him an affinity with the people the credit union hadbeen founded in 1976 to serve, but he acknowledged that so muchtime spent outside Poland had left his Polish a little bit rustyeven as he picked up English, Spanish and French.

“Polish was always spoken at home in the various countries myfamily lived. My mother taught me the language, although I neverattended a Polish school. Unfortunately, although I'm an avidreader, I haven't read enough in Polish,” he explained. “It's avery complicated language, and I sometimes make grammaticalmistakes,” he added. But at that point PSFCU's spokesman, MarianPonata, broke in to gently object: “His Polish is fine,” Ponatasaid. “He speaks Polish very well.”

Mielczarek credits the staff of the credit union for helping himget used to working at a not-for-profit financial institution asopposed to larger, for-profit banks.

“Our employees have a tremendous loyalty,” he said, “Justtremendous. Many of them treat the credit union almost like asecond home. Some of them have worked at the credit union theirentire time in America. You just don't see this type of dedicationat other financial institutions.”

Mielczarek observed that loyalty played both directly andindirectly into what he called the CU's social mission, a term thathe used to describe both the credit union's mission to help membersmeet their financial goals as well, as an institution, to have beenphilanthropic and economic leader in the Polish community.

In addition to helping members meet their financial goals,Mielczarek pointed out the credit union has led the way with aprogram of scholarships for students from Polish schools, healthfairs where elderly and lower income people from the community canbe vaccinated and screened for illnesses, as well as makingdonations and serving as a resource on a wide variety of communityissues.

But as strong as this link to the Polish community has been andcontinues to be, he noted that it also presents challenges,primarily of geography and demography.

The geographic challenge has been to expandpast the CU's original locations in New York and New Jersey andinto other parts of the country that also have large Polishpopulations.

The CU made the first move in this direction by opening branches in Chicago, the home of the largest Polish-speakingpopulation outside of Poland, a move Mielczarek described as “verysuccessful” but which still leaves Polish communities in otherparts of the country, particularly in Florida and Massachusetts,without a financial institution that understands their uniquehistory and needs.

“Remember why this credit union was founded,” he remarked. “Itwas founded because the first members needed an institution thatcould let them borrow money to start businesses and buy homes inAmerica. Many individuals with no credit history, no one willing tohelp them,” he said. “And they couldn't find it elsewhere, otherthan at Polish & Slavic. We were the only ones that gave them abreak.”

The second challenge is demographic. Like many other creditunions, PSFCU has found it has an overall aging field ofmembership, but Mielczarek reported that the credit union faces thechallenge of identifying with younger generations, second or thirdgenerations, who might still have pride in their Polish identitybut not speak Polish as readily or feel as identified with thePolish community and the credit union.

Mielczarek reported that currently roughly 13,000 of the creditunion's 72,000 members are under age 25, a number which he wouldlike to see grow with the addition of new technologies.

“I don't think new technologies like new media or a applicationsfor mobile phones would be nice for us to have,” Mielczarek said.“I think they are a must if we are going to keep on growing andserving new generations of members in the way they want to beserved,” he added emphatically. But he is cautious too about makingadditions to the credit union too quickly.

“I am not in favor of change just for the sake of change,” hesaid. “Any change we make needs to be part of our strategic visionand plan for where we want the CU to go. We want to be innovativewithout forgetting the conservative evolution that has allowed usto succeed for the last 35 years,” he added.