Bill Cheney, who has spent almost his entire career in creditunions, most recently as president/CEO of the California and NevadaCredit Union Leagues, became president/CEO of CUNA on July 5. Hespoke about his plans and the challenges he expects to face duringan interview with Credit Union Times before he tookoffice.

Credit Union Times: What are yourgoals for your first few months at CUNA?

Bill Cheney: Making the transition as smooth aspossible and making sure we don't miss a beat. We've had a lotgoing on and there are a lot of other issues that we have to befollowing, such as member business lending and capital reform.Those two, plus interchange that we just completed, are prioritiesone, two and three.

CU Times: What do you see as CUNA'sgreatest strengths?

Cheney: We are very well respected on CapitolHill, notwithstanding our challenges on interchange. Politically weare in a position of strength, but we need to do a better job ofcommunicating what credit unions have done for their members.Credit unions have done a great job helping members through thefinancial crisis even though they didn't cause it.

Also, our educational programs are successful. They help ourmembers do a better job and they are a key source of revenue forus.

CU Times: What about CUNA'sweaknesses?

Cheney: There are a couple of areas forimproving an already strong organization. In advocacy, the grassroots are one area where we can do better. We had 1,000 people cometo Washington on two weeks' notice to lobby on interchange, and wehad 640,000 contacts with Congress. But we have to do betterbecause we want people on Capitol Hill to have a better idea aboutwhat our position is. Of the 640,000 contacts, 125,000 came fromCalifornia and Nevada, and we have to be sure that there are largeshowings across the board.

CU Times: You've had a lot ofexperience at credit unions and at the state level, but not at thefederal level. Do you think you will have a big learning curve?

Cheney: I've spent a lot of time boning up onissues, talking to Dan Mica and the CUNA team in Washington andMadison so I can hit the ground running. I won't have the politicalbackground that Dan Mica had, but I have had a baptism by fire inthe past four and a half years with the leagues. I have been activein lobbying the congressional delegation and state legislators. Theleague background will be helpful, and Dan Mica is still going tobe with us and available for advice in this area. It's not like heis riding off into the sunset.

CU Times: How would you describe yourmanagement style?

Cheney: It's participatory, especially with thegreat team that Dan has built. It is important to involve teams inthe decision making, but that doesn't mean that every decision ismade by consensus.

CU Times: Do you anticipate using thatdecision making approach when making immediate changes at CUNA?

Cheney: I don't come in with preconceivednotions of things that need to change, but that's not to say Iwon't make changes. The organization has made lots of changes inthe past few years and hopefully we won't have to make any moredrastic changes.

I know quite well how to manage change at an organization. WhenI came to the leagues in 2006, the budget was $13 million and therewere 83 employees. Now the budget is $9.1 million and there are 60employees.

CU Times: One of the big issues facingthe movement is the corporate credit union crisis. What are yourpreferences for what the NCUA should do?

Cheney: I suspect the final rule will looksomewhat like the initial proposal. We unfortunately won't knowwhat the costs will be until they announce the legacy assets plan.Hopefully the plan will allow the corporates to hold the securitiesto maturity.

CU Times: What about the litigation,including the suit in which you have been named?

Cheney: Obviously I would prefer if it weren'thappening, but I am not concerned about the outcome.

CU Times: How would you assess the wayCUNA has conducted its advocacy on Capitol Hill and at theNCUA?

Cheney: It is really unfortunate that theinterchange amendment was included in the financial overhaul bill.The good news is that credit unions weren't seen as the cause ofthe crisis but some of the provisions were aimed at the big banksand we were swept in. It has been a while since credit unions had alarge offensive victory, but we've had some smaller wins. We'veminimized the damage from the changes on overdraft protection; wehelped defeat cramdown and minimized the impact of some of the CARDAct provisions.

CU Times: How about at the NCUA?

Cheney: We've had a lot of dealings with theagency because of problems facing some credit unions. Both creditunions and the NCUA have been under a great deal of stress.

But in general the relationship has been respectful andprofessional, and we look forward to working with them to helpcredit unions prosper.

CU Times: Coming from the leaguesystem, you bring an important perspective to the job. What haveyour fellow league presidents said they want CUNA to dodifferently? Were there things about CUNA that frustrated you as aleague president that you now have the chance to change?

Cheney: The leagues are central to the work ofcredit unions and CUNA. The key is to figure out how to have CUNAbetter communicate with credit unions. But we need to improve thequality and timeliness of that communication. It is hard tocommunicate with 7,000 credit unions directly so leagues are vitalas a means to do that, but we need to work with the leagues tobetter energize those at the grass roots level.

–[email protected]