This morning at the CEO/Executive Series, Brett Christensen spoke on the topic of “Serving Members of Modest Means.” Trey will have more on this, but I wanted to briefly share my thoughts. While Brett was discussing the need for credit unions to take more risk with those with low credit scores, I was reminded of a conversation I had with David Waskom, one of Trabian’s board members and the president of the board of Sunrise FCU. David shared his experiences as the manager of a CU branch, particularly the times when people would come in with low or bad credit but needed some help to pay their bills. Instead of turning them down, he would give them just enough to pay their bills for that month with the understanding that he would give them another loan the next month if they paid that one back on time. Those people who he helped ended up being the best members of that credit union, often building up large savings accounts after paying off their debts and then opening accounts for their children years after first walking into the lobby.

My conversation with David was a big reason why I’m passionate about the credit union industry, and Brett reminded the audience that they have a huge opportunity to do what they were created to do—serve the under-served, also known as “those with bad credit.” And it’s not just an act of charity. The payday lenders have certainly demonstrated that.

We’re trying to convince Brett to start a blog, so hopefully he’ll find the time in his travels to participate in the conversation online.