Thank you for joining us for another episode of the CU Lab. I’m Madeline Kronfeld with America’s Credit Unions, and today I am sitting down with Parijat Sinha, Head of Ecosystem Products at FIS, to talk about Meeting & Exceeding Member Expectations with Open Banking.  

Join FIS expert Parijat Sinha for an informative session to explore: what is driving Open Banking in the credit union market, what the open banking world looks like, how permissioned data and open banking can create opportunity, concerns about the reliability of APIs and the security risks of sharing data with third-party applications, how credit unions can successfully embrace open banking while retaining a focus on their data security requirements, best practices for open banking ecosystem governance, how the regulatory environment needs to change to ensure open banking is successfully adopted throughout the credit union market, how the industry and government can collaborate to deliver an open ecosystem where consumers have greater control over their financial planning, and how FIS is seeing credit unions incorporate open banking in their strategy. 

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the CU Lab. I’m Madeline Kronfeld with America’s Credit Unions, and today, I am sitting down with Zach Douglass, Director of Bond & Risk Management at Allied Solutions, to review fraudulent activities in 2024.  

Join Allied Solutions expert Zach Douglass for an informative session to explore: the types of fraud activity they have been seeing most, how to make detecting account takeover attacks easier, if counterfeit US passport cards are a new type of fraud to watch out for, how fraudsters are using corporate and paper checks, what financial institutions should be on the lookout for when it comes to phishing schemes and how they should be educating their members, recent litigation trends for financial institutions to be aware of, and the types of fraud activities credit unions need to pay the most attention to in the back half of 2024. 

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the CU Lab. I’m Madeline Kronfeld with America’s Credit Unions, and today I am sitting down with William Wetherill, Chief Information Security Officer at DefenseStorm, to talk about The Evolving Role of the CISO: From Technical Expert to Strategic Leader.  William, it’s great speaking with you, and thanks so much for joining us today.

Join DefenseStorm expert William Wetherill for an informative session to explore: how the role of CISO changed from being a technical role to a more strategic one, the key responsibilities of a CISO in managing an organization’s cyber and technology risk posture, the importance of having a CISO at the decision-making table, how the SolarWinds case highlights the need for transparency in cybersecurity practices, potential legal and financial consequences of failing to prioritize cybersecurity, how CISOs can effectively protect their organization by expanding their strategic roles, the importance of training and awareness in maintaining cybersecurity, the role of the CISO in incident response planning, how the CISO can stay updated on the latest cybersecurity trends, threats, and mitigation strategies, the role of a CISO in ensuring regulatory compliance, and more. 

In This Episode:

[00:31] Today I am sitting down with William Wetherill, Chief Information Security Officer at DefenseStorm, to talk about The Evolving Role of the CISO: From Technical Expert to Strategic Leader.

[01:30] Being able to properly implement risk management decisions, especially in the cyber age we live in, is incredibly important so CISOs have a lot of challenges here.

[02:27] Having a leader who can really communicate cyber risks and understand how ready that institution is to deal with cyber events is incredibly important. It really comes down to culture, communication, and being able to help drive that leadership and strategy in a way that ensures the protection of the organization. 

[02:58] Having the CISO with their knowledge of the potential impacts really helps drive a strategy that is understanding of those risks. 

[05:36] We need to be talking about risk openly. We need to be documenting and really understanding what remediating risk looks like and how you do that strategically.  

[08:09] The ramifications and outcomes can be huge in a lot of different ways.  

[11:19] Because of this awareness training and just training in general about cybersecurity becomes even more important. 

[12:14] Treating people with the respect they deserve for being such an integral part of how a business runs and operates is incredibly important and every CISO should be out learning and understanding their challenges.  

[14:28] It is critical that any CISO actually goes and meets the people where they are.  

[16:38] Governance, risk, compliance, and adherence to regulatory controls are all being looked at much more closely. You are also seeing other technology that is coming into the fold directly responsible for helping CISOs navigate those waters. 

[18:28] The reaction from the governing bodies is directly related to the needs of the position. They’re trying to help make sure that we are positioned in a way that gets us the most possibility of success, maturing our postures and protecting the institutions. 

[19:08] Communicate first and relate. Understand the organization. 

Links and Resources:

NAFCU

DefenseStorm

William on LinkedIn

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the CU Lab. I’m Madeline Kronfeld, with America’s Credit Unions and I’ll be your moderator. Today I am sitting down with Liz Santos, Chief of Staff at Gallagher, and we are going to talk about the annual Gallagher Executive Compensation and Benefits Survey. 

It’s one of the credit union industry’s premier resources for compensation data. The report provides hundreds of data points for salary, scorecards, retention plans, and more, enabling credit unions to make better decisions for their rewards strategy. We talk about who participated in the survey, the positions included in the survey, key trends that stood out in this year’s survey that are noteworthy, and how credit unions can access the report and use the data. 

In This Episode:

[00:32] Today, I am sitting down with Liz Santos, Chief of Staff at Gallagher, and we are going to talk about the annual Gallagher Executive Compensation and Benefits Survey.

[01:11] They sent invitations to all credit unions across the country to participate in the survey, so that included federal charters, state charters, and those credit unions that are privately insured.  More than 700 credit unions participated and provided information for about 2500 of their executives. 

[02:03] Traditionally, the report has included the CEO as well as the next four executives in terms of salary. This year, they also added CFO-specific information. 

[04:01] Over ten years, the annual raise percentage has more than doubled. In 2015, the average increase was 3%, and today it is 7%. When executive's salaries are strong and increasing that is a good reflection on the industry as a whole. 

[05:53] Another trend that I think credit unions should consider is annual incentives. 70% of CEOs have some sort of annual bonus or incentive. 

[06:52] Previously, the type of plan was split, but now we are starting to see more plans lean toward the formal type. This year 38% of those plans were formal as opposed to 32% informal. That is a reflection of boards wanting to pay for performance by setting strategic goals and by pushing and incentivizing their CEOs and the rest of the C-suite to achieve those. 

[07:41] Another trend is the use of nonqualified benefit plans. Nonqualified benefit plans or executive benefit plans are used to retain and reward your executives, top leaders, and other top performers. With credit unions that are 100 million in assets and greater, 75% of all executives have some sort of plan.  

[09:22] 23% of other leaders or managers were also receiving some sort of nonqualified benefit plan. It is showing that there is a greater need and desire to retain these up and comers and build their leadership pipeline. 

[11:05] Close to a third of CEOs are aged 60 years and older. About half of all CEOs are aged 55 and older. You have a great number of CEOs who are considering retirement if not already there. It pushes that time for succession planning. 

[13:27] About 40% of CEOs have been in their role for five years or less.  

[14:15] The primary objective of resources like this is to educate the decision-makers on the state of executive compensation so they have up-to-date information on what is happening in the market. 

[16:52] Work with a compensation consultant to make the data more actionable. The data behind the data is where you can find the actionable tasks and make sure they are aligned with your strategic goals and where you want to be. 

Links and Resources:

NAFCU

Gallagher

Liz on LinkedIn

Succession Planning

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the CU Lab. I’m Madeline Kronfeld with America’s Credit Unions, and I’ll be your moderator. Today, I am sitting down with Aoife May, Market Manager of Compliance Program Management for Wolters Kluwer, who is a trusted leader in compliance management. Today we’re going to talk about Democratizing AI: Powerful Regulatory Compliance for Every Financial Institution.

Join Wolters Kluwer expert Aoife May for an informative session to explore: the aspects of today’s regulatory environment that are driving digital and AI adoption, expectations from regulators, and the increasing burdens put on compliance departments, what a credit union wants to understand when it comes to AI and regulatory compliance, expert augmented intelligence model, and if these offerings are feasible for any size credit union. 

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the CU Lab. I’m Madeline Kronfeld with America’s Credit Unions, and I’ll be your moderator. Today I am sitting down with Karan Kashyap, Chief Executive Officer of Posh AI, and Sam Das, Managing Director of TruStage Ventures, and today we are going to talk about Artificial Intelligence vs Emotional Intelligence. 

Join TruStage Ventures experts Karan Kashyap and Sam Das for an informative session to explore: why both emotional intelligence and artificial intelligence are important for credit unions, some innovative ways credit unions are currently using AI to enhance member services, how credit unions can approach educating their board members and staff about the benefits and challenges of AI, how credit unions can build trust with their members when introducing new AI-driven tools and services, how AI can be designed to support empathetic interactions without replacing people, the potential risks associated with AI in the credit union industry and how to mitigate these risks, and the balance between leveraging AI for efficiency and maintaining the human touch that is so essential in the credit union industry. 

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the CU Lab. I’m Madeline Kronfeld with America’s Credit Unions, and I’ll be your moderator. Today I am sitting down with Keith Stayer, Executive Vice President at Triad Financial Services – a specialty finance company serving the manufactured housing industry since 1959. Today, we are going to talk about Affordable Housing and Manufactured Homes.

Join Triad Financial Services expert Keith Stayer for an informative session to explore: the history of Manufactured Homes, why buyers should consider Manufactured Homes versus traditional site-built homes, why Manufactured Housing is a solution for affordable housing, some of the builders of Manufactured Homes, who are the typical owners of Manufactured Homes and where are they located, loan characteristics and rates of Manufactured Homes, how credit unions can support Manufactured Housing, and how credit unions can learn more about Manufactured Housing. 

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the CU Lab. I’m Madeline Kronfeld with America’s Credit Unions, and I’ll be your moderator. Today, I am sitting down with Barry Roach and Drew Megrey, Senior Account Managers at Upstart, and we’re going to discuss How Credit Unions Can Win in 2024. 

Barry Roach and Drew Megrey, Senior Account Managers at Upstart, join the CU Lab to share 'How Credit Unions Can Win in 2024.' They delve into the challenges facing credit unions today, from liquidity constraints to regulatory hurdles. Through their firsthand experience with Upstart, they explore how AI can revolutionize credit unions by maximizing liquidity, gaining and retaining membership, and ensuring fair lending practices. Discover success stories from current partners and gain insights into effective collaboration in the ever-evolving financial landscape. Plus, learn about Upstart's new AI certification programs, empowering industry professionals to lead the AI conversation at their credit unions.

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the CU Lab. I’m Madeline Kronfeld with America’s Credit Unions, and I’ll be your moderator. Today, I am sitting down with Christopher Leonard, Chief Executive Officer at Velocity Solutions, and we are going to talk about putting fairness first in your overdraft strategy. 

Join Velocity Solutions expert Christopher Leonard for an informative session to explore: CFPB’s overdraft rule, what most credit unions will do in response, using alternative data to assess creditworthiness in providing overdraft limits and small-dollar, short-term loan amounts, components of a fair overdraft program, what other products and services credit unions should be offering as part of a complete consumer liquidity program, and if overdraft will ever go away. 

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the CU Lab. I’m John Ross with America’s Credit Unions, and today I am sitting down with Scott Myers, 2nd VP of Operations at Allied Solutions, and Mike Batchelor, 2nd VP of Risk Management Product at Allied, to talk about Covering your assets, specifically tracking and collateral protection.  

Join Allied Solutions experts Scott Myers and Mike Batchelor for an informative session to explore: market trends, which trends Allied tracks causing the greatest implications to auto loan portfolios for credit unions, what credit unions are doing to protect their portfolios when it comes to repossession and recovery, how credit unions can adapt their collateral protection strategies to mitigate risks and keep members in their vehicles, how credit unions can strike a balance between ensuring compliance and delivering exceptional member experiences, and what credit unions should be on the lookout for when leveraging digital tools and technology to optimize their insurance tracking and collateral protection programs. 

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the CU Lab. I’m Madeline Kronfeld, with America’s Credit Unions and I’ll be your moderator. Today I am sitting down with Deedee Myers, CEO of DDJ Myers, and Peter Myers, Senior Vice President at DDJ Myers, and we are going to talk about Blind Spots in the Boardroom.  

Join DDJ Myers experts Deedee Myers and Peter Myers for an informative session to explore: meaty topics happening in the boardroom today, why a board might not put some conversations in the foreground, blind spots for CEO succession and other areas, risk management, approaches of how boards are addressing succession planning and risk today versus historically, and other blinds spots boards and executives should be aware of over the next couple of years.