CU2.0 Podcast Episode 12 Bill Bynum CEO of Hope Credit Union

Talking About the Real Credit Union Mission with Bill Bynum, CEO of Hope CU

By Robert McGarvey


Hope. That one word powerfully sums up the mission of Hope Credit Union, a Mississippi delta based community development credit union with more than $280 million in assets.  And Hope is bringing financial hope to people across the deep south who may not have had a lot of that.


How does Hope do this and stay solvent? Listen up to what Bill Bynum, Hope’s CEO, has to say on that, as well as his provocative views about the real mission of credit unions in today’s America, the CFPB, and a lot more.

Note: there is a bit of ambient noise in this recording. But it does not hinder listening or comprehension. A small annoyance at worst.

The CU2.0 podcast. About credit unions for tomorrow.

This is a conversation that will rock you.

Listen to the podcast here

CU2.0 Podcast Episode 11 Jay Murray Vizo Financial

Think corporate credit unions died? Think again. Jay Murray, CEO of Vizo,a large corporate that's the product of a merger between Mid Atlantic and First Carolina, is bullish on the future of corporate credit unions and he thinks they just may be essential to the survival of many thousands of small credit unions.

He's probably right.

But Jay has more to say.  He talks about Vizo's push into offering cooperative backoffice technology solutions, at affordable rates, to hundreds of small credit unions.  He's attacking the hegemony of for profit vendors and that just may be a very cool thing.

Murray also has profound thoughts about the importance of cooperatives cooperating with other cooperatives, for mutual benefit. That means looking for ways to work with, say, rural electric cooperatives, food cooperatives, and just about every other kind of cooperative. What cooperatives are you working with?

This is a good podcast with plenty of insights into what tomorrow might look like for small credit unions and it may be more cheerful than you think.  Are small credit unions dead men walking? Murray says no way and he tells why he is optimistic.


The CU2.0 podcast. About credit unions for tomorrow.

Listen to the podcast here.

CU2.0 Podcast Episode 10 Amy McGraw, Tropical Financial on the Student Loan Crisis

Here's a terrifying number: Total outstanding student loan debt is $1.5 trillion. With a t. Trillion. The average student leaves college owing north of $28,000. Talk about dream crushing. Talking about downscaling. Enter ChangEd. It’s an app that says it can help graduates pay off debts faster by harnessing their pocket change. Automatically. Pretty much painlessly. Tropical Financial, the Florida credit union, is in a pilot program to show the power of pocket change. That’s what Tropical Financial vice president Amy McGraw tells us about in this podcast. Student loans already are impacting the ability of many credit unions to make loans to debt burdened would be borrowers. That can put home purchases on hold. Ditto cars. So finding a way out is critical. ChangEd just may be the path. At Tropical Financial, the hope is that by helping student loan holders pay off their debts faster, and with little pain, the credit union will gain visibility with Millennials in particular. But, mainly, it's also just about walking the credit union talk which means helping members live better financial lives.


The CU2.0 podcast. About credit unions for tomorrow. Listen in to this uplifting podcast here.

CU2.0 Podcast Episode 9 Tanan Miles Ent Credit Union

Do you dream of being in control of your credit union's digital presence?

Stop dreaming, start doing.  Find out how in this podcast as Ent vice president Tanan Miles explains how the Colorado institution has full control of the UI of its digital presence.

How cool is that when the most important branch for most credit unions is online and mobile access?

Ent, by the way, has compelling numbers to show the emerging dominance of mobile.  34% of its members are mobile exclusive - that is their only way to access the institution. And 75% of the online sessions now are mobile.

Which means you want to start controlling your institution's digital presence.

Like right now.

Find out how in this podcast, in the CU2.0 Podcast series.

Listen here.