The California/Nevada Credit Unions League, embarking on what looks to be an innovative approach to member cooperation, is getting serious about sharply cutting internal costs in such areas as legal, payroll, benefits and vendor expenses.
"Yes, we decided that if we expect to survive, we have to stop talking about collaboration among credit unions and really start doing something concrete right away," declared Diana Dykstra, former chairman of the league and president/CEO of San Francisco Fire CU.
The move to create joint, cost-saving ventures among participating CUs will be the task of a newly-formed, nine-member "Collaboration Committee" set to "flush out some business plans" in key operation areas by Sept. 15, said Dykstra.
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Dykstra, who along with Gary Perez, president/CEO of USC CU of Los Angeles, are heading up the collaboration panel made up of both large and small CUs, spoke on the urgency of CU cooperation Wednesday at the National Directors Convention in Las Vegas.
The league panel, which held its first meeting last month, expects to draft proposals on a variety of concepts ranging from creation of a bank of "professional employees " available for hire to a co-op legal team that could save on CU expense. Also to be looked at are units on shared compliance and employee benefits.
"Here we are closing branches, reducing staff and struggling trying to figure what we can do but just think what we can accomplish if really start cooperating," concluded Dykstra.
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