TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas credit unions were wasting no time Monday in issuing safety/soundness messages to their members and reminding them of CU financial strengths following the weekend failure of a $752 million Topeka bank.
In a letter posted on its Web site, Gavin A. Wittman, president of the $113 million Educational CU of Topeka, wrote that "with the news of Columbian Bank closing, it is natural for there to be questions about your investments with other banks and more specifically with ECU. I want you to feel 100% comfortable that Educational Credit Union is not only healthy and growing, but is actually enjoying one of its strongest years of performance."
Wittmann also wrote that CUs like his "invest in you, our members, not in speculative deals in other parts of the country."
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Meanwhile, the $156 million Kansas Super Chief CU said it would be moving up a radio and print ad campaign this week mentioning safety/soundness and deposit insurance while also suggesting the public should be looking at KSCU as an alternative financial institution.
"This is really an opportunity for credit unions to tell our story," said Jessica Stormann, vice president of KSCCU which two weeks ago had posted a safety/soundness message on its Web site prior to the collapse of Columbian Bank & Trust, which was taken over by Citizens Bank & Trust Co. of Chillicothe, Mo. in an FDIC-arranged transaction.
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