The CU*NorthWest Leadership conference in Liberty Lake, Wash.,sparked a CU smack down after a rousing roundtable discussion.

Jennifer Oliver, CEO of the $83 million, 7,000-member South Bay Credit Union in Redondo Beach, Calif., told the groupof credit union leaders at the recent confab about how her officehad divided into teams and started a competition to increaseloans. She then suggested that it might be fun to do the samecompetition with another credit union.

Evie Rasmussen, CEO of the $35million, 7,800-member United Advantage Northwest FCU in Portland,Ore., rose to the challenge and the smack talk.

“There's just too much sun in California to get much done,” saidRasmussen. “While they're talking we're bringing in the apps andmoving our numbers forward.”

Announcing the new competition to her staff she laid out thechallenge.

“UA's explosive offense, focused determination and obvioussuperior staff are simply too much for South Bay to overcome,” shesaid. “Apparently, the heat and sun on the brains of Jen Oliverwere simply too much when she challenged the veracity of UA.”

Oh, snap.

“We can beat that, do it in flip flops and still have timein the sun to maintain our healthy glow,” Oliver shot back,according to CU*NorthWest, a core processing CUSO affiliated withthe cuasterisk network. “You might think of enjoying somesunshine this weekend, Vitamin D helpsstamina.”

And so the stage is set. On July 1 the compitition began andwill end Sept. 30 where the two credit unions will vie for thehighest net consumer loan growth.

“While making loans today is more important than ever ittakes a great deal of ingenuity, patience and persistence by allstaff,” Rasmussen said. “Having a friendly rivalry between twocredit unions and two states to see who can make the most loansover a three month period is a win for everyone. Members, bothcredit unions, and the staff is jazzed.

“Of course, being the superior credit union with the betterstaff makes this a greater win for United Advantage, but don't tellSouth Bay, they might quit before we get going.”

The smack down is in full swing.

“While reflecting on the end of a wildly successful internalcompetition for second quarter that yielded a 350% increase inconsumer loan fundings, we couldn't imagine a more fun partnervictim than United Advantage,” Oliver said. “We are excited todirect our energies in an event that ups the game for collaborationand in the end, will show South Bay victorious.”

To follow the competition visit the CUNorthWest scoreboard –updated weekly at www.cunorthwest.com. Trash talk journalingincluded.