Even with ongoing fallout, the shock of the corporate crisis–now nearly two years old–may at last be wearing off, shedding a more positive light on some of the surviving corporates, according to Charles Emmer, the president/CEO of Ent Federal Credit Union, Colorado’s largest.

In an interview Tuesday, the head of the $3 billion Colorado Springs CU said “I never thought it possible when the NCUA first acted that we would consider recapitalizing our corporate but now when you look at the alternatives and some of that pricing, they look pretty good.”

Emmer, speaking out in connection with his role as a newly appointed CU member of a regional Federal Reserve panel, said also that CUs may need to start thinking differently about the Fed as a newfound regulator considering its powers under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Indeed, rulemaking on interchange pricing appears “to put the Fed in our future,” forecast Emmer, which is why the Colorado executive readily agreed to serve on a new advisory panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, made up largely of community bank CEOs and slated to hold its first meeting March 24-25.

“We’ve already figured the interchange loss will cost us about $10 million in revenue and that’s not a small matter,” said Emmer.

Discussing corporates and recapitalization plans, Emmer said Ent expects to actively participate in town hall meetings of the $2 billion SunCorp of Denver slated through May in its “four core states” of Colorado, Nebraska, Utah and Wyoming.

SunCorp, with 300 members, said Tuesday that it has held “numerous meetings” since November in liaison with leagues and their chapters, with early sessions focusing on “timelines and the NCUA rules for corporate credit unions and the impact on capital needs.”

Its current recap plan will be “finalized and submitted to the NCUA well in advance” of a March 31 deadline, said SunCorp’s president/CEO, Tom Graham.

Meanwhile, Emmer said that based on service and liquidity pricing of some alternative providers like “the big money center banks which charge much higher,” the SunCorp menu appears more favorable in comparison. Though, he said, Ent is still mulling provider decisions.

Nonetheless, the negative image and attitudes about corporates “has gotten much better,” he said, adding that CUs seem “to be getting over their anger and upset.”

Regarding the Kansas City Fed appointment to the new Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council, Emmer said he will be looking for common ground with some of the banks on the panel, but at first glance “I was curious to see one of their big concerns was ag lending” and on that a CU may find it hard to relate.

Instant Insights /

Some Surviving Corporates &lsquo;Look Good&rsquo; on Pricing, Says Emmer

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Some Surviving Corporates ‘Look Good’ on Pricing, Says Emmer