Skip to main content

CU*South shares vision of members as co-creators with National Coalition of Firefighters Credit Unions


FAIRHOPE, AL (October 9, 2015) — “Members as Co-Creators: Connecting with our Owners” is the theme of CU*South’s address at the National Coalition of Firefighters Credit Unions Annual Meeting in Nashville this week.
Focused on the needs of credit unions serving firefighters and their families, the Coalition brings together firefighter volunteers and CEOs for four days of networking and education. “Great things happen when firefighters come together. Our face-to-face interaction is the platform where collaboration begins, relationships are forged, and ideas are generated,” says Michael R Tobler, NCOFCU Chairman and CEO of Albany Firemen’s FCU.
“Every time our members come to work, they’re putting their lives on the line,” says Gene Benick, Coalition Treasurer and CEO of Newark Firemen FCU. “We try to bend over backwards for our members… give them the products and services they need, and technology to access these services from anywhere, anytime.”
“We’re taking a look into the future, collaborating with the leading innovators of financial services and technology,” says CU*South CEO Leo Vaulin. “Our goal is to be ready when a member decides they’re ready to finance a new car or home, or make a purchase using Apple Pay or Android Pay—we need to stay top-of-mind and top-of-wallet. The best way to get there is to involve the member in creating their experience to fit what they want, instead of what some bank decides they should get.”
CU*South will be presenting its shared vision to Coalition members on Saturday, October 10. “CU*South is part of a collaborative network of over 500 credit unions who share the vision that credit unions should control the technology and services that drive their success in serving member needs and sustaining economic growth,” says Mr. Vaulin. “We believe in the strength of individual credit union charters, and use financial technology to share the work while growing the bonds between CUs and their members.”


About CU*South
CU*South is a credit union-owned cooperative focused on building a network of successful credit unions. CU*South offers a wide variety of services including the Tier-1 CU*BASE® processing system offered in both online (ASP) and in-house processing environments, as well as a fully-integrated online and mobile banking solution. CU*South also provides a variety of managed services through its CUSO@Work division, as well as through collaborative partnerships with other CUSOs in the rapidly-growing cuasterisk.com network. Managed services allow credit unions to outsource tasks at a fraction of the cost of a full-time specialist—accounting, collections, compliance, lending, marketing, call center, web design. As a partner of the cuasterisk.com network, CU*South provides the most comprehensive offering of information technology tools and services through a collaborative, shared ownership model, with the same great value credit unions offer members. For more information, visit www.cusouth.com.
About the National Coalition of Firefighters CUs
The National Coalition of Firefighters Credit Unions, Inc. (NCOFCU) is a non-profit professional association of credit unions serving firefighters and their families. Firefighter credit unions have been meeting annually since 2001. NCOFCU presently includes over 100 firefighter credit unions, representing over $9.9 billion in assets and 521,000 members throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Contacts
Leo Vaulin
President/CEO
251-650-2640

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New York Stock Exchange building venue for 24/7 tokenized stock and ETF exchange

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), via its owner   Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) , is building a new digital trading venue for 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs, using blockchain and stablecoin-based funding for instant settlement, aiming to modernize markets by running parallel to the traditional exchange. This platform will support native digital securities and traditional shares as tokens, allowing for continuous liquidity and integrating digital assets into mainstream finance, with plans to launch later in 2026 after regulatory approval.   Key Features of the New NYSE Platform: 24/7 Trading:  Operates continuously, unlike the traditional exchange's weekday hours. Instant Settlement:  Transactions settle immediately, moving away from the current T+1 (trade date plus one day) model. Stablecoin-Based Funding :  Uses stablecoins (digital tokens pegged to fiat currency like the USD) for funding and collateral, streamlining processes outside banking hou...

Breaking: NCUA Moves to Remove a Major Barrier to Board Service

NCUA just proposed a rule that would allow federal credit unions to reimburse or directly pay reasonable dependent care costs for volunteer officials when those costs are incurred while attending board meetings or performing official duties. Childcare and eldercare costs are real barriers to serving on a board — especially for working professionals, single parents, and caregivers. At the same time, expectations for board engagement, training, and oversight continue to rise. A few important guardrails remain: ✔️ Applies only to federal credit unions ✔️ Covers dependent care only — not lost wages or compensation ✔️ Requires written board policy and reasonable controls ✔️ IRS tax treatment still applies (talk to your CPA) Bottom line: this won't fix board recruitment challenges by itself, but it removes a real friction point for people who want to serve and simply can't absorb the added costs. NCUA is also asking for comments — including whether training and conferences...

Sunday Reading - How pensions work

  The Pension Promise   How pensions work Colloquially speaking, pensions are retirement plans that result in employees receiving a fixed amount of money from their former employers during retirement, often for life (although the technical legal definition of pensions is significantly more nuanced ). Unlike “defined contribution plans” like 401(k) plans, “defined benefit plans” like pensions make it so the employer , rather than the employee, determines how much money is set aside for the plan and how it’s invested (often in stocks, bonds, and other assets). In retirement, monthly payouts include both the principal and investment earnings. Employers often use fact...

NCUA Issues 2026 Supervisory Priorities Letter to Credit Unions

Alexandria, VA (January 14, 2026)  ― The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) today announced its 2026 Supervisory Priorities, which continue the agency’s policy of “No Regulation by Enforcement,” while prioritizing safety and soundness. This policy underscores NCUA’s commitment to providing clarity and transparency in its oversight. The letter outlines NCUA’s priorities for the year and provides information to help credit unions prepare for examinations. This year, the agency will continue to focus on risk-based supervision, tailoring the examination scope to the credit union’s unique risk profile. Key Highlights of the 2026 Supervisory Priorities: Risk-Focused Examinations:  Examiners will concentrate on areas posing the greatest risk to credit union members, the credit union system, and the Share Insurance Fund. Balance Sheet Management and Lending:  With loan performance at its weakest point in over a decade, examiners will review credit risk management practic...

Syracuse Fire Department Credit Union

 Congrats, Tonia, on your promotion! ================================================= Remember, you're not alone with  NCOFCU.org Join/Upgrade Check out some of NCOFCU's additional features: First Responder Credit Union Academy Financial Literacy Podcasts YouTube Mini's Blog Job Board

Retirement Notice: Clint Hartmann CEO of Houston Texas Fire Fighters FCU is Retiring!

The Board of Directors of Houston Texas Fire Fighters FCU has announced that Clint Hartmann is retiring in March 2016 as President/CEO after 12 years of distinguished service. After graduating with his MBA and working several years in finance and accounting, Hartmann began his credit union career at Tropical Telco FCU (now Tropical Financial CU) in 1983 as Assistant Controller. Over the next 25 years, Hartmann served as President and CEO of credit unions with the Martin Marietta and the University of South Florida, where he learned to respect and appreciate the membership aspect of the credit union philosophy. He was named President and CEO of HTFFFCU in 2004. Hartmann cites that his biggest challenge as CEO was navigating through the recent recession and collapse of the corporate credit union network, a challenge that hurt many credit unions throughout the country. “I am proud that we managed to work through these challenges while maintaining positive earnings and capital growth. We a...

What Could Tokenized Deposits Mean for CUs?

WASHINGTON—Noting that the FDIC has expressed support for tokenized deposits as insured bank liabilities, not experimental digital assets, a new analysis offers some insights into what that could mean for financial institutions, credit unions and the market in 2026 and beyond.  As PYMNTS Intelligence pointed out in its report, regulatory clarity reduces risk for banks moving from pilots to live deployments, and large banks and infrastructure providers are already testing real-world tokenized deposit use cases.  “At its simplest, tokenization converts an existing claim into a digital representation on a distributed ledger,” the report explained. “The underlying asset does not change, but the infrastructure that tracks ownership and settlement does. In banking, that distinction is critical. Tokenized deposits do not create new money. They represent traditional bank deposits, issued and redeemed by regulated institutions but designed to operate on modern, programma...

Credit Unions Dominate Apple Pay List

Firefighter credit unions on the list! check them out at: Quora, a user-sourced question and answer website.   On the launch day of Apple Pay, NCUA Vice Chairman Rick Metsger said the majority of financial institutions involved with the technology are credit unions. “An initial list of financial institutions signed-up for Apple Pay on its launch day reveals that more than two-thirds are credit unions,” Metsger said in a keynote address to the American Institute of CPAs’ annual conference on credit unions in Denver Monday. “This demonstrates that America’s credit unions are ready, willing and able to meet the needs of American consumers for secure mobile payment systems,” he added. To date, Apple has not publicly released the names of participating financial institutions. However, a list recently surfaced on Quora, a user-sourced question and answer website. The unsourced list showed that the majority of the more than 500 financial institutions listed are credit unions. Cre...

Products and Services That Work

We are only a few weeks away form San Diego Don’t miss these sessions with real takeaway ideas! 6 of our credit union CEO’s will discuss products and services that worked for them!

How Does Compensation Compare for Women Credit Union Executives?

BFB a NCOFCU Supporter! Guest post written by Chris Burns-Fazzi, Principal, Burns-Fazzi, Brock For many industries, gender equity has been a topic of discussion. Have you ever wondered how men and women compare as credit union executives and the compensation they receive? We did too. The NAFCU Annual Conference coming up at the end of July in Nashvillewill feature a Women’s Leadership Summit , with a number of timely topics, including an initial look at how men and women credit union executives compare in regards to compensation and their presence in top executive positions. A bit of background – for five years now, Burns-Fazzi, Brock (the NAFCU Services Preferred Partner for Executive Compensation and Benefits) has underwritten the annual NAFCU-BFB Survey of Federal Credit Union Executive Benefits & Compensation. Conducted by an independent firm, Clark and Chase Research, there is no cost to participate, and the results are shared with participants as well as each yea...