Indeed it is Time to Challenge the Status Quo

In Paul Gentile’s Sept. 6 column entitled, “Time to Shatter Some Longstanding CU Beliefs, Benchmarks and Philosophies,” I was pleased to see Gentile challenge both credit unions and regulators to question the status quo, and think about how we can best serve members in today’s rapidly changing economic and financial environment. Risk-based capital regimes are now the norm throughout the global financial services industry. As Gentile implied, many credit unions could also benefit from some additional flexibility in raising new capital. Overall, capital reform would help better position the credit union system to meet its core mission of serving members of all means. Credit unions are clearly focused on returning real value to their members. While we need to maintain our rich heritage, we need to remain innovative in order to stay relevant to new generations of members. I urge you to keep challenging us to excel! Bob Burrell EVP & Chief Investment Officer WesCorp San Dimas, Calif.