SECU is different!
SECU has always had one major weakness, which has now come front and center to endanger the future of the Credit Union. What is that liability? What is this dangerous, ominous risk?
It is simply that SECU is an unusual, different - and perhaps unique - organization. Nothing wrong with being different, except... most SECU members, many SECU employees, all of the current SECU Legacy Board members, and the public in general don't understand that difference, that uniqueness. The danger in that? Well, as Joni Mitchell so aptly said: "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. You pave paradise and put up a parking lot."[link]
Hopefully, taking some time to explain that SECU difference, that SECU uniqueness will help members and employees make an informed decision on what their Credit Union should be in the future. "Paradise or parking lot".
So, going to let you in on some facts and stories about SECU you may not have heard before. Going to call the series "Consider This" and hope you will engage in the discussion - pro and con - with your comments. What is "The SECU difference", what's all this fuss about, anyway?
For today a couple of easy questions for you to consider:
1) Is anything in life really unique? If so, name one!
2) Is SECU a bank? Y/N - Why so?
3) Is a "non-profit bank" an oxymoron?
... wasn't Silicon Valley Bank a non-profit?
1) Yes, a snowflake is unique in its crystalline structure, making each one distinct.
ReplyDelete2) No, SECU is not a bank; it's a credit union. Credit unions are member-owned financial cooperatives, distinct from banks.
3) A "non-profit bank" is somewhat of an oxymoron, as banks are typically for-profit institutions. However, there are non-profit financial institutions that offer banking services, often referred to as credit unions or community development financial institutions (CDFIs).
Looks like the kid in the class that always use to ruin the grading curve.
DeleteLOL ....... well we know He/She is not on the board of 8 ... or CEO ...
DeleteEvery single member at SECU is unique. That uniqueness was recognized for 85 years. Then came Chris Ayers' Board and Gym(The Hired Destroyer) Hayes. 85 years of excellent service to every member is going away. Members are now numbers in a credit score and are treated as such. Autonomy in decision making has been removed from the local branches, who provided that individual service to each member. Individual service is now reserved for Friends of the Board and Brady-Hayes. EVERYTHING is centralized. That allows all 2.7 million of us to clearly see that responsibility for all the bad numbers is with the Ayers' Board and Moon Board. Brady-Hayes incompetence, doing away with training, hiring 1000 bankers. Changing bylaws and election procedures, pushing HB410. It is a depressingly long list. Oh, let's not forget all the "good faith" misinformation fed to the press....
ReplyDeletethe predatory lending practices they've unloaded on the members...
DeleteThe contracts they've entered into with bad actors...
oversight organizations who look the other way...
maybe we need to look at forming a sovereign state CU...
There are no unique, transformative experiences or products that ever came to be from striving for industry standard. Think Apple or Disney or Microsoft or locally, the restaurant you keep going back to because they always treat you right or the food is the best you’ve ever tasted. Innovation is the key to unique, world changing events - always has been. The key job of a real leader is to disrupt the status quo, even keep employees off balance, challenge them, expect more, to reward performance and provide opportunity.
ReplyDeleteTrue visionaries (leaders) never even think about industry standard. They are blazing their own path, setting a higher standard and empowering the people around them to innovate and think outside the box - to disrupt, “hit ‘em where they ain’t”, keep the competition off balance.
Now in that context think about the leadership at the credit union over the last two and a half years. Do you see any of that? I'll wait...
Now consider the leadership BH (Before Hayes), recognize any of those qualities in the “legacy” leadership? I believe the answer is crystal clear.
When your heart is in serving others then the path becomes clear. What also is clear is that Hayes, the current legacy Board along with the current CEO are lost in the wilderness. Directionless Leadership is sinking the organization and hurting members. The real fear is that if change doesn’t come soon the organization will be permanently lost.
This 100%.
Delete1)Everything in life is truly unique! All 7.8 billion people, totally unique right down to the fingerprints. Every tree, every leaf-everything! Even those things produced by man in mass to look exactly alike are in fact unique when looking closely.
ReplyDelete2)No. SECU is not a bank. It is a credit union (cooperative) that offers banking services to its member/owners. SECU is unique among all banking institutions including banks other credit unions.
3)All Banks and Credit Unions strive to be solid well managed financial institutions but the reasons for existence differ. Banks wish to provide maximize profits to their stockholders by offering competitive services to customers. Credit Unions wish to offer competitive service to their member owners. Not having to pay the stockholders as banks do typically means that credit unions can return more to their member/owners in terms of higher returns on savings and lower loan rates. This of course is dependent on the skill and competency of the leadership in place.
Once you learn and realize what a credit union and a member owned cooperative is…RBL makes zero sense for this organization. Zero. Now a bank…it makes perfect sense…do I agree with it…no, but that’s what a bank is about. So can’t fault them, but you can fault a credit union when it tries to adapt bank like policies and practices. This isn’t a pseudo bank. It’s a freaking credit union. Let’s act like it
ReplyDeleteA credit union isn’t a bank, but should it be a charity?
DeleteRBL is predatory. We are just asking for members to get an equal interest rate. Money will still be made. We’ve done it successfully for years. Invest profits back into the membership and employees. Not on trips to Hawaii, tv ads, systems designed to replace human employees etc…increase employee pay and higher deposit rates for membership. Yes that is the goal. The goal should be a utopia workplace. Not utopia for executives and board. A utopia for the membership
DeleteSECU has never been a charitable organization and grew bigger and bigger every year until Selfie CEO Hayes came into the picture. After that money was just thrown out the windows like it grows on trees.
DeleteIn what way would the cu be a charity organization?
DeleteGiving members an equal rate is charity? God whoever wrote that comment does not understand AT ALL what a credit union is. Or needs a dose of humanity inserted into them.
DeleteAgree that Hayes spent far too much money. But I thought he was gone?
DeleteAnd the RBP argument is getting old. Can we be honest and just say there is a moral opposition to RBP instead of pretending that a one size fits all model makes more financial sense. Because it doesn’t. Your argument is a moral one not a mathematical one.
Mathematical too. The numbers were always solid. Grew to be 2nd largest cu in country offering innovative services that kept money in members pockets to spend in local communities. Of under the legacy board. Declines everywhere. Borrowing money to pump up the balance sheet??? Legacy board is not up to average business standards.
DeleteNope, not going to agree on that at all.The math worked for 85 years - most efficient and well run credit union in the country - go check the financials. Is there a moral or ethical element? You bet there is and that is as it should be. SECU proved you could do both. We were different!
Delete@7:11am Don’t be a bootlicker. You really think the executive team and board is looking out for you and your best interest? Don’t be naive.
Delete@3:21 and 7:11 - This attitude toward the credit union is the very reason employees are fighting like hell to save SECU. I'm proud to say this IS a moral issue - at least for me it is! I WANT to do the RIGHT thing by our membership. It's also predatory behavior that SECU had never been part of until Gym Haze showed up. He paved the way for Poor Leigh and the "Legacy" board to run with all these terrible changes. Clearly you haven't been around long enough to see what GREAT member service we USED to provide. We truly have servant hearts and GREED has NEVER been our agenda. Helping our membership IS our goal and RBL isn't how you do it! I'm no genius but I think we have done a damn fine job for 85 years without punishing people for low credit scores. RBL was NOT needed for growth. It's not needed at all. Period.
DeleteThis place is great. Why change it into something it’s not? Been here for 15 years and have never had a problem until the last couple of years. I just want to go to work again and feel at ease. Ain’t asking for much really.
ReplyDeleteAmen! Why fix something that ain't broke? All these people brought in by Haze need to go. Poor Leigh needs to follow. Then the 8 legacy board members can fall in line behind them.
DeleteCan you help me understand what the board is gaining from all of this? They're volunteers right? I can't wrap my head around why they are trying so hard to "destroy the CU". Thanks.
ReplyDelete1) This is a philosophical question that may have different answers depending on one’s perspective. Some people may say that nothing in life is truly unique, because everything is made of the same basic elements and follows the same natural laws. Others may say that everything in life is unique, because each individual, event, and experience has its own characteristics and context that make it different from anything else. A possible example of something that is unique in life is one’s fingerprint, which is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors and is not exactly the same for any two people.
ReplyDelete2) SECU can refer to different organizations, but the most likely one you are asking about is the State Employees’ Credit Union, which is an American state-chartered credit union headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. A credit union is a type of financial institution that is owned and operated by its members, who share a common bond such as employment, location, or affiliation. A credit union is not a bank, but it offers similar services such as checking and savings accounts, loans, and credit cards. The main difference between a credit union and a bank is that a credit union is a nonprofit organization that aims to serve its members’ interests, while a bank is a for-profit corporation that aims to maximize its profits for its shareholders.
3) A “non-profit bank” is not necessarily an oxymoron, but it is a rare and unconventional concept. Most banks are for-profit entities that generate revenue from interest, fees, and investments. However, there are some examples of non-profit banks that exist to support social or environmental causes, such as microfinance, community development, or green lending. These banks may operate on a low-cost or no-interest basis, and use their profits to fund their mission or reinvest in their customers. A non-profit bank may face challenges such as regulatory compliance, financial sustainability, and customer acquisition, but it may also offer benefits such as social impact, customer loyalty, and innovation.
- Copilot
OK, Aye, Aye! Or is that AI, AI?!
DeleteLOL - even ChatGPT recognizes the distinction between B&@% and CUs ;)
DeleteP.S. please don't block me as I'm a huge supporter
wow that wasn't hard to spot ... and this is just the beginning of the fake world we will have to endure before the new one ... stay strong!
DeleteJust another day before paradise!
"This is a philosophical question..."
Deletewhat was the question asked?
Tremendous thought leadership on this site which is obviously focused on SECU. How can we extend this message to the broader CU movement?
ReplyDelete