MADISON, Wis.–MEMBERS Development said it welcomed four new owners as attendees at its Winter Owner Meeting, during which the company also elected a new board member. The R&D CUSO said its ownership pools resources to develop solutions to challenges facing the credit union industry.
MDC said its newest owners St. Petersburg, Fla.-based PSCU, which serves more than 1,500 credit unions; Affinity Plus FCU in St. Paul, Minn., Alloya Corporate FCU in Naperville, Ill., and Veridian CU in Waterloo, Iowa.
Jeff Kline, MDC’s President and CEO, says further expansion by the collaborative network, if any, will be measured and deliberate, with the strongest consideration given to credit unions with established reputations for innovation.
“With these additional owners, MDC’s leadership believes that the CUSO is right-sized to achieve its vision to be the collaborative force for credit union success while still giving each individual owner a strong voice in guiding its work,” he said.
Through its NextUP program, MDC said it has earned a reputation for fostering creative thinking, which was appealing to Affinity Plus.
“We were looking for an innovative organization to help our credit union move forward with technology,” said Teri Laufers, CIO at Affinity Plus. “We have a desire to partner with other credit unions and fintechs to bring solutions that provide a better experience for our members.”
MDC said Alloya Corporate is interested in the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded industry professionals. “We look forward to working with other innovative credit unions to develop solutions to problems facing the industry,” said Jim Schneck, chief strategy and innovation ffficer at Alloya Corporate.
According to the company, being a part of a group working together to move the industry forward was appealing to PSCU. “MDC is very influential in the credit union community, and we wanted a seat at the table,” said Glynn Frechette, SVP, Advisors Plus, PSCU.
Nick Evens, president of The Veridian Group, Inc., a CUSO owned by Veridian Credit Union, said MDC’s drive to collaborate with fintechs was the deciding force to join. “Anything we can do to increase efficiency or offer new and better products is a benefit to our members,” he said. “We believe MDC can help us accomplish our mission even more effectively in an ever-changing environment.”
At the Winter Owner Meeting, MDC also hosted its official annual meeting, during which the CUSO held its board elections under the guidance of Board Chair Thomas Moore, EVP, Baxter Credit Union. Both Moore and Laura Campbell, president, Farmers Insurance Group FCU, were elected to their third and final term. April Clobes, president and CEO, Michigan State University FCU, was elected to her first term.