It was refreshing to read Paul Gentile's comments in his July 4 column regarding the importance of credit unions supporting credit union organizations. In today's competitive environment, we sometimes overlook the value of "keeping it in the industry." Both as a corporate credit union CEO and in my role as chairman of CNBS, I have seen time and again the major advantage the credit union community's cooperative nature has over other industries. Few can boast this unique and beneficial position.

We truly are a different breed…no one understands credit unions better than those whose business is all about credit unions. Some outside vendors may argue this point, but it's a worthwhile exercise for any credit union considering a service provider to examine how well that provider knows what we do. For example, what's the vendor's background and experience with credit unions? Do they have the resources and research capabilities to create products and services to meet our specific needs? How well do they understand credit union rules and regulations? How long have they been serving credit unions?

Throughout my 20 years of serving in the credit union community, I've seen the value of keeping business within the industry when possible. Consider CNBS, a widely used, source of brokerage, advisory and ALM services for credit unions: CNBS was founded by credit unions, has served credit unions for 17 years, provides very competitive pricing to credit unions, and has valuable relationships within the industry to draw upon for additional insights. It also directs all philanthropic support exclusively to credit union causes.