For example, in the past several years Patelco–the country's 13th largest credit union– has put more branches in areas with a large Latino population and beefed up its remittance programs, under which immigrants can send money back to the country from which they came.

It also has been active in marketing health savings accounts, and Hunter notes with pride that the credit union has opened 15,000 of those accounts since they were allowed to offer them in January 2006.

"There hasn't been a change in our purpose, but there has been a drastic change in the way we've done things," he said in an interview. "When I started, there was no Internet. In addition to the technology, the demographics of our area have changed."

To adapt to these changes, Hunter practices an inclusive management style but avoids micromanaging.

"We very much have a team approach," he said. "We lay out what we do and then give my managers the freedom to do it. My management has been together a long time and that helps as well. Also, I have a very active and involved board."

He added that said the increased competition from big banks in the area, such as Bank of America, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo, has forced Patelco to focus on providing even better customer service and rebranding itself so more potential members are aware of what it does.

Patelco has also grown through acquisitions. It recently agreed to acquire Cal State 9 Credit Union, which had serious financial difficulties and was in state receivership. After the transaction is completed at the end of June, Patelco, which has $4 billion in assets, will have 50 branches. Most of their branches are in the San Francisco area, but it also has branches in the Sacramento area, Eureka, Calif. and in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Ill.

Hunter said the trend towards larger credit unions getting bigger will continue because of cost savings.

"The fields of membership are broader than when I started. It's become much harder for smaller credit unions to succeed because of economies of scale," he said.

From a national perspective, Hunter received attention last year when Patelco decided to convert back to federal deposit insurance. He said the ban on privately insured credit unions from joining the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and some cost savings, prompted the decision. Pateco CU converted to private insurance in 2002, under the leadership of former NCUA Board Chairman Ed Callahan.

Hunter predicted that "you won't see a lot of additional movement between public and private, what we did wasn't part of a trend, we just made a good business decision."

Though financial services are in his blood–Hunter's grandfather was banker–the 58-year-old life-long bachelor didn't originally set out to work in the field. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he studied sociology at the University of California-Riverside and worked his way through college helping out in the carpentry shop.

"I was a no-skilled handyman working with carpenters and painters," he quipped.

He used the job as a springboard to his eventual career because his boss was on the board of RAFE Credit Union and encouraged Hunter to consider working there. He started as a collections intern and rose to assistant manager and also earned a master's degree in administration and finance at University of California-Riverside. Hunter continued his rise through the ranks of credit unions by becoming a technical information specialist in the research and information department of the at the California Credit Union League. After two years at the league, he moved to WesCorp Corporate Credit Union as vice president of finance and operations. He then became executive vice president of Orange County Teachers Credit Union.

He joined Patelco in 1987 as chief financial officer and then was promoted to president and chief operating officer in 1994, a position he held until he was promoted to the top in 2003.

When not working, Hunter enjoys playing tenns and hiking. After he retires, he plans to explore possibilities in a second career unrelated to the financial industry that he's always had an interest in but won't identify.

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