OSWEGO, N.Y. – Tom O'Toole left behind an extensive banking career before coming to Compass Credit Union. The president/CEO of $17 million Compass Credit Union shared some of the differences he's encountered during his prior banking days in a recent Oswego County Business article. O'Toole has held management positions at three commercial banks. His father was president of Homestead Savings Bank in Utica and helped O'Toole get his first job at Syracuse Savings Bank after graduating from college. O'Toole's brother is also a banker. One difference is "you're not worried about competitors taking your customer base away, so (the credit unions) help each other," O'Toole told the publication. "Banks are very profit-driven and competitive." He also touched on what may be a misunderstanding about CUs regarding their tax-exemption status: "Our payrolls and property are taxed; it's only our earnings that aren't." O'Toole admits he wasn't familiar with the credit union world prior to entering the movement but turns out, "Fortunately they liked me," he said on his CU role of which he's served for 17 years. Chartered in 1966 as Alcan Employees FCU, the CU recently changed its name, expanded to a multiple group charter and serves nearly 3,200 members.