By Frank J. Diekmann
A presidential prohibition on the press. A national brand message for CUs. Why insubordination is critical to grow. All that and more was to be found in the Washington Convention Center and hotel lobbies.
CUNA said it attracted its largest-crowd ever with 5,200 people in attendance at its Governmental Affairs Conference this year, and the one vital sign above all others when it comes to credit union health–-the exhibit hall—seemed to bear that out.
If you couldn’t make it, or even if you did, here’s a little of what you might have missed:
The W is for Wordless
CU conferences increasingly look to nab big-name keynoters to draw crowds–although it will be a sad day when this is what it takes to get folks to turn out to lobby on behalf of their credit unions–and this year was no exception, with former president George W. Bush the featured act at GAC.
(If you would like to attend a conference that isn’t about keynoters but instead about content, I urge you to visit cutomorrow.info.)
Bush, who was well received afterward by GAC-goers for remarks that were self-deprecating and humorous, also seemed to be pulling some sort of presidential privilege with the most ridiculous requirements by a speaker that I’ve heard in some time. Not that I was there to hear it.
In addition to banning cameras, photos and audio—because who in an audience of 3,000-plus would have any kind of device that would allow that sort of thing?–Bush also banned note taking, as well as all members of the media.
I should note these were Bush’s rules, not CUNA’s. Media members who attended the event were supposed to sit in a front row that had been “reserved” (in this case VIP was Vamoose Independent Press) for them for a prior speaker, and then were to be ushered out of the audience before Bush began speaking, like something straight out of an old Saddam Hussein playbook.
I took a pass on that spectacle, and CUToday.info had coverage of Bush’s remarks here.
Bush, whose website says his speaking fee is in the $175,000 range (Harland Clarke sponsored the session), sat on stage in a white chair opposite CUNA President Jim Nussle, who was director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget under Bush and who lobbed mostly softball questions for the former president to take swings at. There were no uncomfortable questions about the Iraq war or the deep recession and housing crash of a decade ago, even though it resulted in corporate CU assessments, the creation of the CFPB and a capitol dome’s worth of regulations that have led to the elimination of thousands of credit unions that used to attend GAC.
All in all, it was an odd juxtaposition that the man formerly charged with being the chief defender of the U.S. Constitution would be speaking to the country’s democratically run financial institutions under one condition–no transparency.
A 'Yuge' Difference
Speaking of residents of the White House, on the 20th anniversary of a GAC at which a Supreme Court decision against credit unions was announced, things went much better this year. After lots of work over a long period by both CUNA and NAFCU, a delegation of credit union representatives visited with President Trump in the White House to discuss the regulatory burden. You can read more here on what those at the meeting had to say about how it went
Do the ‘Eyes’ Have It?
Although it hasn’t yet gotten the play it deserves, the big news out of GAC was that after two years of work and research, CUNA unveiled its long-awaited national brand campaign theme, “Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union.”
Prior to its unveiling, Teresa Freeborn, who has since its inception chaired the Awareness Advisory Group that has spearheaded the theme, girded the audience with words of caution urging them to be open-minded and to understand the gist of the message isn’t aimed at them. So, I’ll admit I was getting ready for the Advisory Group to pull back the curtain on something like, “If you use a bank, then you must also support ISIS!”
Obviously, CUNA and the agencies with which it worked went in a different direction—and it seemed pretty popular, or at least not unpopular, as I only spoke to one person who didn’t like it.
You can open your eyes and read much more about it here.
It’s Going Great and, Hey, Are You Going to Finish That Sandwich?
During one lunch in the exhibit hall, I sat at a roundtable as a vendor next to me attempted to pitch his company’s services to mostly board members (so, good luck) and mentioned several times how well the company is doing. Then he happened to mention in the very next sentence how four people from the same company were sharing one hotel room (so, maybe not so good…)
Also, No One Named Herb Was Allowed In
At the National Credit Union Foundation’s Herb Wegner Memorial Dinner, there was a reception and cash bar at which several of the cash registers had signs reading “Cash Only.” The big sponsor of the reception and the dinner? Visa.
Incidentally, you can read more on what the four Wegner Award winners had to say here.
Last Seen Floating Down the Potomac…
Offering the kind of statement in Washington that can have you dragged from the stage by the Capitol Police and thrown in the river, NCUA Chairman J. Mark McWatters urged credit unions to “reason together” to accomplish common goals.
“When people trust you with authority, particularly the authority to govern or regulate, you need to listen, to answer questions, to think through consequences, and to work cooperatively,” McWatters said. “I have incorporated this approach into my professional life, adopting the mantra of ‘Come now, and let us reason together.’ Let the parties come and state their cases; let them negotiate and deliberate in good faith; and let them reach an amicable accord.”
‘Till the Field Carefully and Sustainably’
NCUA Board Member Rick Metsger in his remarks before GAC noted that with his term expired, these were likely his last remarks before GAC (although with the progress being made on filling federal appointments, maybe not). Fittingly, Metsger took the long view, telling credit unions, “We’re on cusp of the longest economic expansion in history. So, we’re near the peak, and we know the valley lies ahead. No one knows when the next economic downturn will occur.
But we do know when that time comes you will have the wherewithal to help your members until growth resumes once again…You folks are the guardians of the gate. So, till the field carefully and sustainably.”
Cheer While You Can, As It Will Fade
Members of The Cooperative Trust, the young credit union employees better known as the Crashers, were out in force at GAC cheering each time they were referenced. Their exuberance and enthusiasm were noticeable. But as Scott Stratten, keynoter and author of the book “Unmarketing,” observed, “Millennials have something us older people don’t have: hope. It will go away; you just have to let it naturally erode on its own.”
How to Treat Members, and Why to Be Insubordinate
Speaking of Stratten, he offered this piece of interesting advice: “Treat your current members like non-members when you are trying to attract them.”
He also shared this observation, which I tweeted out during the show and it received considerable retweets: “The only way innovation happens is through insubordination. Innovation by its very nature is being insubordinate to an existing structure. Innovation happens outside your industry because you won’t let it happen inside.”
Was Someone in a Crash?
And speaking of the Crashers, during a Town Hall Q&A hosted by CUNA CEO Jim Nussle, one older audience member asked, “Who are the Crashers and where did you come from?”
In a GAC First, Actual Applause
Speaking of enthusiasm, in a GAC first, the director of the CFPB was cheered when he took the stage. In this case, it was acting director Mick Mulvaney, who has been rolling back regulations and rules at the agency and whose remarks could not have been better received had CUNA scripted them. It was a noticeable departure from the cool reception given former director Richard Cordray, who was embraced like a straw salesman at a convention of camels.
Mulvaney, a member of Founders FCU and a former congressman from South Carolina, made it clear he had been told many times that there are more credit union members than voters in the Palmetto State.
He also joked that he is “acting director of CFPB, something that is keeping (Massachusetts senator) Elizabeth Warren up at night. Which doesn’t bother me at night. I sent her a letter that said if you don’t like what I’m doing, complain to the person who wrote the statue. And that’s her.”
As for the CFPB and its rulemaking, Mulvaney said, “When you interact with us under the current leadership, there are a couple of general principles in place. We recognize the fact you all did not cause the financial crisis and that you should not be regulated like the folks who might have done these things. We also recognize that one size does not fit all when it comes to regulation. And number three, and this is unique to you: You are owned by your members, and every single time we put a new cost on you it comes out of their pockets.”
I’m Henry the Eighth, I Am
In the spirit of “I’m just going to stand up and say it and I don’t care what you think,” when GAC speaker Kristen Soltis Anderson asked an audience member what was the first eight-track tape he had bought, he responded, “Herman’s Hermits.” For the Crashers reading this, might I suggest Googling them.
CUNA’s New Chairman is ‘Bonkers’
During GAC, CUNA swore in a new chairman, Maurice Smith, the CEO of Local Government Employees CU in North Carolina.
And since there has been a lot of confessing taking place in DC lately, Smith admitted, “I need to come clean. So, I might as well just do it—rip it off like a Band-Aid. I am a credit union nerd…I am absolutely bonkers over credit unions, for what you do, for what you do for your members and your community.”
I’ll Lead. No, I’ll Lead, NO...
Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) told attendees at CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Congress that with Congress working to pass a bipartisan regulatory relief bill, distractions are not a good thing now and it’s time to stop “bickering” with banks. “So, we need all of you to dance together on the regulatory relief side.”
Swiping Left on Assumptions
In keeping with the strict rules as laid out in the Federal Credit Union Act, Millennials were often referenced during GAC, even if it’s not the first term to come to mind when looking at the average attendee.
Credit unions were told that many of the assumptions they are making about Millennials are wrong. Kristen Soltis Anderson, author of The Selfie Vote, which analyzed the political habits and leanings of the Millennial generation, told CUNA’s GAC there are five drivers of Millennial thinking to which credit union decision-makers should be paying attention.
She also defined the current political divide in the country as one in which there is a “coalition of restoration and a coalition of transformation.” Increasingly, Millennials are in the generation of transformation, she said.
So, what are you doing strategically to address caring and fairness. Millennials want to go work at a place where there is caring and fairness.”
For more info on those five drivers, go here.
Honoring Chip Filson
On the top floor of the historic Hays Adams Hotel in Washington, Callahan & Associates hosted a reception honoring the long career of co-founder Chip Filson, who is now chairman of the company.
On an evening that offered a magnificent view of the White House, as you can see at right, many who have retired from credit unions returned to honor Filson, including Bucky Sebastian, who along with Filson and the now-deceased Ed Callahan, led NCUA during a tumultuous period in the early 1980s when it appeared the share insurance fund would soon be coffin shopping. Also on hand was D. Michael Riley, the long-time head of Examination and Insurance at NCUA.
Filson, who has become as outspoken as ever on a number of issues, including the merger of the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund and the NCUSIF, carries with him more institutional memory than a room full of people when it comes to NCUA and credit unions.
The Cooperative Trust would be smart to have him come share some of that with the Crashers sometime so that they can carry those memories forward.
Greatest Product Placement Ever
The top floor meeting room at the Hays Adams Hotel got a workout from credit unions this year. On the morning after the Filson reception, Mitchell Stankovic & Associates hosted its Underground Collision meeting in the same space.
If you’ve never attended an Underground Collision event, you should make a point of colliding with it at least once. I had the pleasure of being part of a panel discussion on fake news (unless, of course, I’m making this up) in which Mitchell Stankovic set a new standard for product placement, as the White House was the backdrop to the panelists. Good luck ever topping that.
The meeting included several excellent discussion, including Worst Practices: 3 Views on Where CUs Could Do Better, and What Ticks You Off When it Comes to Diversity? Here’s How 4 People Answered.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief at CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info or followed at @FrankCUToday.