TORONTO – NAFCU President and CEO Fred Becker equated credit union executives and officials with everyman Peter Parker who becomes Spiderman and saves the day.
"This is someone who, day after day, has continued to do the right thing, putting the needs of the community before his own," Becker said during his opening remarks at NAFCU's 39th Annual Conference. "His tireless, heroic behavior has inspired countless numbers of people from all walks of life."
But, why not Superman or Batman?
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Though the audience may have been unsure of credit unions' ties to the web-slinging superhero, Becker alluded to a number of similarities between the two. Peter Parker was initially just a normal human being, not from another planet like Clark Kent, and he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth like Bruce Wayne. "I don't know, but I'd be willing to bet he's a credit union member," Becker joked.
Credit unions have more than the ability to help people with their money issues, he said, "They have the power to change people's lives each and every day." He also quoted Spiderman's Uncle Ben stating that "With great power, comes great responsibility." Becker continued, "That line struck a particular chord with me in how it relates to credit unions. Because credit unions have the power to do so much, like Spiderman, they must be responsible with how they use that power-not for profit, but to do good."
Becker explained, "So while Spiderman protects the citizens of his community from the likes of the Green Goblin and Doc Ock, we rescue our members from being swallowed up by record bank profits. Profits that would be even higher were it not for credit unions."
In doing this, credit unions may need to take on a little more risk and have the primary focus on the members and potential members, not their CAMEL ratings. "Yes," Becker admitted, "our charge-offs and delinquency rates might be a little higher but if we can help those that we have the power to help, isn't it a risk worth taking?"
Becker also made a connection to Spiderman and conversions. He said credit union management should inform the membership in a simple and clear manner and let them know that rates and fees will not be as good after the conversion and that the management can personally gain from the conversion. "I wonder how Peter Parker would react if this happened to his credit union? What would his `spider sense' tell him? That something was wrong?"
Becker said, "Even though credit union employees are just regular people, they're in fact superheroes to the members they serve." He concluded by tearing open his shirt to reveal his Spidey costume. -
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