Solutions > October 2011 > From the CEO

Thanks to your overwhelming support, Corporate One is one of the strongest corporate credit unions in the country. In October, our industry hit the first milestone of the National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) revised Rules and Regulations, Part 704 that governs corporate credit unions. As you know, a key component to the updated regulation required corporates to secure stronger forms of capital, which Corporate One was able to meet well in advance of the October 21, 2011, deadline. We are not only compliant with the new regulation, but poised for continued success and growth, which will ensure the continued protection our members’ ownership.

Growing one member at a time is a long-held tenet at Corporate One, and we have a strong history of organic growth that has not waned over the last year, only intensified. Corporate One senior management and staff have participated in numerous national and regional events as well as hosted more than 30 Town Hall meetings across the country in an effort to share our good story with credit unions considering their corporate options. Combined with your support, Corporate One has caught the attention of credit unions across the nation, welcoming 54 new members since the beginning of 2011 (through 10/27/11).

And, as we stressed in our Town Hall meetings capital creates opportunities and Corporate One also has the opportunity before us to grow through merger and/or acquisition. Of course, the key to such growth is in finding the right partner; one that isn’t dilutive, but foundational to future success. We believe we’ve found that partner in Southeast Corporate. As announced in September, Southeast Corporate signed a non-binding letter of intent to merge with Corporate One. As I’ve communicated to you previously, this merger is a natural fit. Our partnership provides for a financially stronger corporate, and will add value to our membership through operational efficiencies and the growth potential that combining our two entities will bring us. With this merger, Corporate One would gain an additional 400 members, who we are currently engaging through a series of Town Hall meetings. We are excited about the opportunity before us with Southeast and continue to conduct our due diligence to meet the approval of the NCUA. We will continue to communicate to you each step of the way and welcome you to visit www.corporateone.coop/duediligence to see the latest communications and updates on the merger.

However, with all this talk about growth, I would hate for it to seem that we are not also focused on continuing to provide superior service and relational support to our current members. Several of our staff recently returned from another exciting convention in Indiana, where we were able to present our annual contribution to the Indiana Credit Union Foundation. Further, members of our senior management staff and I just concluded participation in the Ohio Credit Union League’s (OCUL) annual regional town hall series, where we were able to meet with more than 200 credit union leaders from 119 credit unions to discuss emerging issues in our industry. And, on the other side of the business, we’ve been busy adding state foundation partners to our alliance with the National Credit Union Foundation to offer expanded investment options for the Community Investment Fund (CIF). Further, we are in the final stages of implementing OneWire, an enhanced wire system for users that will go live in December.

Thanks to our member support, there is no doubt Corporate One has a lot of positive momentum behind us to continue growing successfully well into the future. On behalf of all of us at Corporate One, I look forward to providing excellent products, services and value to our existing members as well as all the new members who are looking to join our family.

Best,
Lee C. Butke

Lee Butke can be reached at 866/MyCorp1, ext. 9300 or at lbutke@corporateone.coop.