PLANO, Texas-Kathy Garner is marking her fifth anniversary as CEO of Catalyst Corporate FCU.
“It’s gone by really fast,” said Garner in a statement. “Helping credit unions with payment services, back-office support and balance sheet management services for the last five years has been an incredibly rewarding experience.”
Garner said collaboration has been key to its business model and growth. “Building value takes collaboration,” she said. “Working together yields significant benefits for credit unions and their members.”
According to Catalyst Corporate, one of those collaborative efforts came to fruition over the last year when Catalyst Corporate and Alloya Corporate rolled out the TranzCapture products.
“TranzCapture, a next-generation suite of remote deposit services, not only provides streamlined functionality with a host of convenient new features, but also enables the two corporates to manage service costs and improvements,” said Garner. “And our partnership with Alloya only enhances this mission – no one else is doing this.”
Garner also pointed Catalyst Corporate’s loan participation program as another success. “We’ve been able to help redistribute nearly $1.5 billion in liquidity among credit unions in an economic climate where the ability to do so is vital.”
Garner said that during her time at Catalyst Corporate she has relied heavily on feedback from her senior management team, staff and members.
“When decisions need to be made, I want to look at things from all sides,” she said. “I want a lot of input, and I rely on my team for that input – they’re smarter than I am! Everybody needs to feel like they can tell me the good and the bad, because I value the expertise they bring to the table.”
Garner added, “Our members appreciate that we’re innovative with services, systems and processes. They feel comfortable giving me feedback on ways to improve our services, and they always deliver it in a constructive manner. I’m always willing to make changes to improve.”
Among the changes credit unions will see in the near future, according to Garner, are rules around regulations and cyber-security.
“Requirements for product delivery and infrastructure have changed the way we do business,” she said. Many of these regulations were put into place seven or eight years ago during and after the recession. Corporates need to work together with the NCUA to 'right-size' these requirements to better reflect today’s market, she said.
In the next few years, Garner said she expects Catalyst Corporate to continue providing value to credit unions, to stay innovative and to look for new partnership opportunities. “It’s not enough to just develop products,” she said. “I want to develop them with credit unions. I want to continue to seek feedback and collaborate with other corporates. Moving forward, efficiency is key.”