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 Year’s Resolution: Getting Your Estate in Order

        Helping families and their businesses plan for the future     Your Most Important New Year’s Resolution: Getting Your Estate in Order   Happy New Year to all. Every January, millions of Americans resolve to lose weight, exercise more, or learn a new skill. These are admirable goals. But there’s one resolution that matters more than all of them combined—one that most people avoid because it forces them to confront their own mortality. Get your estate in order. Not next year. Not when you retire. Now. The Problem With Tomorrow Here’s what I see constantly...

Leasing Set To Surge In 2026?—Credit Unions May Miss Out If They Don’t Move

  CINCINNATI—As credit unions look to revive auto lending in 2026 after a sluggish year, one lending tool may become indispensable: vehicle leasing. With new-car prices still historically high, negative equity rising, and manufacturers fighting for market share, leasing is poised for a major rebound this year—and credit unions that remain on the sidelines risk losing out on strong, recurring loan volume. That’s the message from Scot Hall, executive vice president at  Swapalease.com , who says the economic and market dynamics heading into 2026 are aligning in ways that make leasing not only attractive, but essential. “Prices are up and they’re not coming down anytime soon,” Hall said, noting that inflation, tariffs, supply volatility, and chip-related uncertainty continue to push vehicle pricing higher. “Leasing is a great way to combat that. It’s also a great way to get somebody out of negative equity in a relatively short period of time.” Market Conditions Are Setting the Sta...

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

A 10% Cap, A Busy Congress, And Big Stakes For Credit Unions This Week

WASHINGTON—Credit union trade groups entered the week in Washington closely monitoring developments after President Trump’s proposal for a nationwide 10% cap on credit card interest rates, even as Congress returns to work on funding, financial services reform, and digital asset legislation. Both the Defense Credit Union Council and America’s Credit Unions say the rate-cap proposal poses an immediate threat to consumers credit unions disproportionately serve, while a fast-moving legislative agenda could shape the industry’s operating landscape for years. DCUC President and CEO Anthony Hernandez said the defense-focused trade group mobilized within hours of the President’s announcement, warning the cap could sharply limit access to credit for junior enlisted servicemembers, young officers with student loan debt, and federal workers already strained by a potential shutdown. Anthony Hernandez Hernandez said DCUC began responding within hours, providing comments to the press Friday night an...

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...

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...

NCUA Board to Deal With Interest Rate Risk, Loan Workouts, Derivatives

First meeting of 2012 set for next week, includes issues of considerable importance to credit unions. The agency said in its proposed rule that federally insured credit unions with assets of more than $50 million and smaller ones with potentially risky loan portfolios are required to have policies to evaluate the institution’s interest rate risk exposure, set risk limits and test for interest rate shocks. Federally insured credit unions with assets of $10 million to $50 million would have to comply if they hold first mortgages and investments with maturities greater than five years that are equal to or greater than 100% of their net worth.   Read More; NCUA Board to Deal With Interest Rate Risk, Loan Workouts, Derivatives :

Beware of CD Alternatives Being Pushed By Banks

One of my readers told me in an email that an investment guy at his bank was trying to sell him on bonds while he was redeeming a matured CD. In the last month I also have seen this. While I was at PNC and Chase, the bankers referred me to one of their investment advisors. It should be noted that you may also see this at credit unions. Some examples at large credit unions include Golden 1 Investment Services and BECU Investment Services . So I thought it was worth repeating the following advice from Clark Howard :  ***** Read More; Beware of CD Alternatives Being Pushed By Banks : Deposit Accounts

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...