VIENNA, Va. – In light of the tumultuous state of the economy and the challenges to the credit union movement, Credit Union Times recently spoke to Navy Federal Credit Union President/CEO Cutler Dawson in his office. Navy Federal, with assets of $34 billion, is the largest based on asset size and members (3.1 million). Dawson has held the position since 2004 and
before that spent 35 years in the Navy, retiring as vice admiral.

Credit Union Times: How would you assess the state of the credit union movement?

Cutler Dawson: It's pretty good. The reason I say that is because we have some significant opportunities with the fallout from the financial crisis. I think credit unions are seeing a flight to trust. We [at Navy Federal] have had $3.3 billion in new deposits this year alone. We have opportunities to reassure our membership and gain new members. We are also seeing gains in direct deposits, CDs, credit cards and mortgages. On mortgages, members are bombarded with ads and teaser ads and they didn't trust them. And now, they are calling us first. Our goal is to make $6 billion in mortgage loans this year, which would be the highest since 2003.