One year after taking the reins as president/CEO of the thensix-month-old Catalyst Corporate FCU, Kathy Garner said her 1,500member credit unions can now see evidence of a solid, sustainablebusiness model that drives the corporate's operations.

“Looking back, Catalyst Corporate had a lot to prove a yearago,” Garner said Monday in a release from the Plano, Texas-basedcorporate. “When we asked credit unions to trust us with theircapital, we made a lot of commitments.”

The $2.7 billion corporate has made good on those promises,Garner said. First, Catalyst met regulatory requirements whileoperating a smaller, conservative balance sheet. Additionally,Catalyst assured its members in its pre-launch business plan thatit would establish a board of directors and committees that arediversified in asset size and geography; maintain a full complementof services, with the ability to add new services and enhancements;and, retaining lines of credit and maintaining high levels ofservice. And, the corporate promised to do it all withoutsignificant changes to fees or rates, Garner said.

Catalyst Corporate's retained earnings ratio at Dec. 31, 2012,was 0.84%, already exceeding the 0.45% that the NCUA will requirecorporate credit unions to meet by October 2013.

Catalyst Corporate also tracks its “coverage ratio,” whichmeasures the percentage of the corporate's expenses covered by feeincome.

“The coverage ratio is an important measure of internalefficiency,” Garner said. “Our ability to cover expenses throughfee income means less reliance on balance sheet activity for incomeand reduced exposure to risk. Catalyst Corporate's coverage ratiogenerally ranges between 75% and 85%.”

Garner said she also placed emphasis on transparency during herfirst year as Catalyst CEO. In addition to traditional membercommunications, under Garner's leadership the corporate introduceda regular member update from the CEO, stepped up seniormanagement's in-person contact with credit unions, and incorporatednew processes for obtaining member feedback, such as its Catalyst Councils and member surveys.

Garner said a good example of a service that resulted from amember recommendation is Catalyst Corporate's quarterly DueDiligence Report, which pulls together all financial statements andsupporting documentation in one location.

“Whether you're a member credit union looking to compile a boardreport or a non-member credit union evaluating Catalyst Corporate'sperformance, you can find all the information you need on our duediligence Web page,” she said.

Following on the heels of the merger between its own legacycorporates, Catalyst Corporate completed successful consolidationswith both Western Bridge Corporate Federal Credit Union andFirst Corporate Credit Union. Catalyst Corporate also receivedhigh marks from Western Bridge and FirstCorp new memberevaluations, the corporate said.

Garner said tight merger timeframes made for an intense year,but the broader membership base will benefit all.

“The integrations made a solid business plan even stronger,”Garner said. “Aggregating larger numbers of credit unions gives usthe ability to provide services at a lower cost per credit union.It also provides the momentum to channel resources into ongoingresearch and development for new services and product enhancementsin the future, such as the mobile banking program we introduced ayear ago.”