Since the Bail Out Bill* was introduced, I’ve been in Vancouver BC, Roanoke, Virginia, Salt Lake City, Utah, Osh Kosh, Wisconsin, Port Jefferson, New York, Issaquah, Washington and now I’m in San Diego, California.
No, I’m not running for office, this is the peak speaking/planning session season.
Anyway – rather than just launching in with the hired topic, it was decided that we not ignore the economic crisis, but rather, weave it into the presentation/facilitation.
There was some hesitancy to ask questions at first. No one wants to feel like they’re wrong or ignorant. A show on FOX recently interviewed a few PhDs and they admitted that it’s hard for THEM to make sense of it all.
I think we need to talk. It may not be politically correct but here goes.
Questions I could not answer:
Why are credit unions included in this bill? What should we tell our members?
Could we have still benefited from the increase to our share insurance fund without being on the bill?
Why are CUNA and NAFCU talking merger right now? Isn’t that a distraction?
Who advised Dan Mica? Should there have been a credit union vote?
Will we be united or divided on this issue?
Blogs are meant to be conversations. Please comment.
I don’t have the answers….but I know there are tons of questions.
These are troubling times.
* aka
Troubled Asset Relief Plan (TARP)
HR 3997
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
The 2020 Vision of Marketing 
5 comments
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October 9, 2008 at 9:19 am
Roger Conant
Hi Denise,
Is it true that Sheila Bair, FDIC Chair, strongly suggested to various leagues that they “cool it” with respect to aggressively marketing during this time of “bank fallout”? Interesting…
October 9, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Gene Blishen
Yes Denise mergers are better because then when the giant fails all the little people suffer, not necessarily the giant. Today’s Globe and Mail quoted our previous prime minister as saying his government’s policy of NOT allowing the Canadian banks to merge has proven a strength when viewing the current crises. Never thought I would agree with him but he is right.
Mergers create empires and not much of anything else.
Your other questions are disturbing. You should have come to Newfoundland, there is a place where real people live.
October 9, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Jaded Eyes
Denise —
Really great post on your blog. Thank you for raising these issues.
As someone who has a few friends at CUNA that I speak with regularly, I wanted to throw some ideas out there about thought processes about TARP (at least from what I’m hearing from my friends).
First of all, my understanding is that credit unions were included in the bill because of the threat to credit unions in markets where housing is really struggling (and because of some of the paper on some of the corporates). I have heard that frankly, no one is really sure where the economy may be headed and what the collateral impacts in the future might be for some credit unions (so would you rather choose to get parity in a bill you probably won’t need now, or have to approach Congress in a year for a specific CU solution if the economy spirals?)
Let me quickly add that no one I’ve talked to expects that credit unions will have to be bailed out.
Having CUs be a part of TARP also does not stop CUs and CU organizations from banding together to solve specific problems that may arise at individual CUs or corporates – the industry merely has been given a backstop in case things get really, really bad.
The trick of course is for troubled CUs to reach out, and for the industry to respond. We like to brag about “no bailouts,” but will we really come together as an industry to deliver a solution with that talking point on the line?
I realize that being a part of TARP does raise some interesting questions/dilemmas at credit unions (and perhaps sparks a little fear about what may be going on), so I will be watching the conversation unfold on your blog about all this.
For my own part, I think this issue is like anything else – you have to be open and direct with people who may ask (or may be fearful), and you have to remind them that their credit union was not involved in subprime lending (that doesn’t apply to all of ‘em, but doesn’t it apply to say more than 98%?), the member’s money is insured just like at banks, and that the credit union is healthy and more than happy to help out the members as the economy struggles.
The keys: listen, be upfront – and always remember the member is worried about *their* security most of all. Speak to them where they are in these uncertain times.
Just my .02, jaded eyes and all.
October 10, 2008 at 4:52 am
Denise Wymore
@Roger – That is interesting. Just yesterday (in San Diego) there was talk about it being inevitable that FDIC will merge with NCUA (to get at our NCUSIF funds). That feels like we’re getting our privileges yanked because our older brother wrecked the car!
@Gene – God I miss hanging out with you. Isn’t Newfoundland close to NY?
@Jaded Eyes – thank you sooo much for your post. Really helps to get this conversation going. And that’s what we need to do – keep talking, reassuring, being transparent.
October 10, 2008 at 5:52 am
GeorgeH
Ms. Wymore,
Check out young Ben’s post at http://filene.org/blog/post/september-madness outlining our slate of PhDs thoughts on the current economic situation and what it means for credit unions.
That’s all I got,
G