January 8, 2026 • 19 mins
Kyle Markland - CEO of Municipal Credit Union | CEO's You Should Know
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, everyone, this is Steve Dawson. Welcome to this week's
edition of CEOs. You should know I'm thrilled to be
joined by Kyle Marklin, the chief executive officer of MNIPSIL
Credit Union.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Thanks for being here today, Kyle, great, Thank you. I'm
so excited to be here and share more about not
only myself, but more importantly Municipal Credit Union and what
we're doing in our exciting future.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Well, we're excited to jump into it, so why don't
we kick things off and take it back to the beginning.
I know you start off your career as an account
in Florida Credit Union, and you worked your way up
all the way to CEO and various roles across the country.
How did those early experiences really shape the leadership approach
you have today?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Even though I started as probably you would think one
of the most boring jobs, an accountant, it's a very
reactive job. It really gave me a great foundation to
understand how not only businesses work, but how all the
pieces of the puzzle came together. And I should probably
tell you a little bit more about Municipal too. We
are the largest and oldest credit union in New York,
(01:02):
We're the twentieth largest in the country and there's four
thy four hundred credit unions, so we believe we're driving
force not only for our members, but also for the
credit union industry. But going back to when I was
an accountant, I started when I was seventeen, and I
had this great opportunity to learn a lot more about
(01:24):
credit unions in the industry and the credit union I
worked at they were open Monday nights, so my department wasn't,
so I took that opportunity to go work in every
single department so I could really learn and understand more
about how the business worked. And what it really allowed
me to do was when I went to college, I
(01:45):
thought I was going to be an attorney. I wanted
to make a meaningful impact on the world and change
the world. But I thought if I did that, I
could only maybe impact thousand people. If I was lucky,
ten thousand people in the credit union industry. It really
became a calling and a passion for me, and through
my career, I can honestly say I've probably positively impacted
(02:09):
millions of people.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
That's awesome. It must be a really great feeling.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
It is a great feeling.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
I know that throughout the year as you held leadership
roles and strategy, marketing, lending operations. How is that breath
of influence really influence the way that you lead the
complex institution of MCU.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, And I was talking about accounting being reactive. I
wanted to get on the other side. I wanted to
become more proactive, and so when I went into marketing,
it allowed me to understand growth and how to grow things.
And I was able to see from an idea to execution,
but most importantly to results. And so at MCU, I'm
(02:46):
able to take a very broad, holistic approach because I
literally have had just about every single job you could have,
or I've done every job you could do in a
credit union, and I think working from the bottom up
gave me a very unique perspective.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
That's awesome. It's great to have all those different experiences
within all the departments, because I'm sure in your leadership
role now you could appreciate the work that each of
those departments are doing exactly. I know that you were
initially drawn to MCU in twenty twenty, especially during a
turbulent time. What was that that really drew you in
at that moment.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
I've been in this industry for forty five years and
it's hard to say that out loud time, but my
whole career, whether it was around transformation or turnaround or
working in every area, for me, I was looking for
my next opportunity is I like to say to be
my biggest and best chapter of my career. And at MCU,
(03:44):
whether it was a fate or serendipity, everything came together
because they were looking for a new CEO to transform
and build the organization, and I had the experience and
once I got to really understand the organization during the
interview process, who doesn't want to serve those who serve
the greatest city in the world, And who doesn't want
(04:06):
to come to New York and take your skills in
the best city and you know the song. You know,
if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
It's not just Broadway, it's the financial capital of the world.
So all that just made it to where it was
a very easy decision. My wife and I have loved
New York and we love New York City, so we
(04:28):
got everything we ever wanted.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
That's awesome. Glad to hear. Congrats, Thank you and speaking
of that transformation under your leadership, MCUs seeing remarkable growth
as well as a cultural transformation in the organization. What
key steps did you take to build both that values
driven but also that high performance organization.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
It started with our vision and our mission that we
really want to help hardworking New Yorkers have a better
financial tomorrow. And so when you start with that and
then you underlay that with values that are intrin to
you and what you believe in, that started the whole transformation.
And then we said, let's be delibered about creating a
(05:08):
culture where employees want to work hard and they're passionate
about what you believe in. And when what you believe
in is helping hard working New Yorkers, it's not hard
to get passionate about that because they are the first responders.
They're the ones who keep the city alive and going.
(05:29):
So it was starting with the vision, mission, focus, and
priorities just on our members, and then it really became
around once we hired leaders. We were hiring passionate employees.
But then from there we expanded our charter, which charter
means that before we were exclusive to municipal employees, but
now anybody who lives, works, worships, or goes to school,
(05:52):
and the five boroughs are eligible. So we think we
can take the good work we're doing and take it
to all New Yorkers. How are we doing well? From
a cultural standpoint? We have won great places to work.
We now have won the best and brightest two years
in a row, and a number of our leaders all
up and down the organization have been recognized by industry publications,
(06:16):
industry trade associations, as well as being recognized locally. And
it's all coming together for the growth of the organization.
When I got here, we had just under four hundred employees.
We're almost at seven hundred on our way to eight hundred.
We had three point eight billion in assets. We're now
just under four point eight billion excuse me. And we're
(06:39):
adding forty thousand new members a year, so we're just
under six hundred and thirty thousand. So we're a growing,
vibrant organization that focuses on producing results.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
That's amazing. Well, congrats on all the growth and the
recognitions you talked about earlier, And speaking of recognitions, I
know you personally have been recognized for ethical leadership, including
the Minnesota Business Ethic Awards twice. How do you ensure
that that integrity piece always stays core as you're continuing
to innovate and as you're continuing to grow the organization.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
To me, I don't know anything else but integrity. It
started my grandparents, to my parents. To me, you always
led with your ethics and your integrity. So when I
got into business, I thought, why can't you be the
same person you are at home as you are at work.
And so my value system is so aligned to not
(07:33):
only MCU, but who I am as a person when
I come home. I don't need to be somebody different.
I'm the same person whether you see me at the
store or at home or at work. And so for me,
ethics is always about doing what's right. And as a leader,
everybody watches everything that you do, and your actions mean
(07:55):
more than your words. And so I want to make
sure that all of our leaders actions are around upholding
it and displaying the highest level of integrity. It's the
decisions we make to ensure that they're always in the
best interest of our members and to ensure that as leaders,
we're setting the organization up first for success by doing
(08:17):
what's right.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
That's great advice for any leader that's tuning in. Can
you talk a little bit about the We're here for
a campaign? How did that idea evolve and what role
does storytelling really play and connecting all those different dots
within the financial services space.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah, so excited about the We're here for a campaign
because it's more than a campaign. It really is who
we are. And it started with because we only have
about four percent market share, we don't want to continue
to be the best kept secret in New York City,
so we really wanted people to know us. And we
(08:52):
are a local financial institution. We're one hundred percent local.
We're one hundred percent in New York. And now consider
myself an New Yorker. I've been here, you know, almost
twelve years, but yes, I've made it. But to me,
it was about displaying who we are as an organization.
The images, the iconography, the voices, the sounds was all
(09:16):
New York. It was the Kavala's brothers who did the
art force. But it was really to show the grittiness
of New Yorkers. And there's an edgy funness to New
York too, and we know it's the it's the toughest
city to survive and whether it's about buying a home
or just making it payroll to payroll, And so we
(09:38):
wanted New Yorkers to know that there is an alternative
that is a New York institution that has really set
up to help them succeed. And so for us, storytelling
is telling our story, but bringing our members and our
employees stories to life as well. About the difference we're
able to make.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
That's awesome. And speaking of expanding the membership and expanding
the field of membership, I know that was a bold move.
What's your long term vision for that and within the institution,
especially for New Yorkers, which you just talked about.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Actually, I'm so excited and inspired by our future. I
believe that what we want to do is create stronger
and deeper relationships with our members. And when you have
a mission about helping hard workers have a better financial
financial tomorrow, to me, that's going to drive everything that
(10:32):
we do. And we're meeting our heroes where they are.
If you think about our members, a lot of them
are first responders. They don't work normal hours, they don't
have the luxury of saying, well, while I'm at work,
I'm going to make a phone call or I'm going
to get online. So we have to come up with
solutions that can help them and meet them where they are.
(10:53):
Whether it's new technology, we want to use AI in
an ethical way to help understand our members better. And
then we're also adding physical outlets. We're adding three new
branches this year Chelsea for our Rockaway and we recently
opened one in Yonkers as well.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Awesome, and speaking of doing good for your members and beyond,
I know you launched the MCU Foundation in twenty twenty
three with a real strong focus on generational wealth. What
inspire that initiative and how do you plan to continue
to measure the impact of it.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
We're really excited about our foundation because when we started
it to where we are today, the need is greater
today than it has ever been. And what inspired it was.
As the Credit Union, we were able to really focus
on helping our members and our employees, but the foundation
has allowed us to help that third major stakeholder, and
(11:49):
that's our communities. So it allows us to partner more
with community organizations other nonprofits to bring the values that
we have into their communities, and we're doing it through
basic necessities. It is really hard to sometimes just to
afford grow treats. One of the fun initiatives we did
(12:13):
was during COVID and during the high inflation times. If
you use an MCU debit card, we would refund cost
of milk back to your account. We are now helping
take away the barriers for a lot of municipal employees
and that is taking the civil Servants exam. If you're
an MCU member, will reimburse you the cost of taking
(12:35):
the Civil Servant exam so that you can better your career.
And we're really helping with home ownership because that is
where you create generational wealth. We have story after story
of multi generational New Yorkers who have never had the
opportunity to own their own home. And when you hear
of somebody in their fifties their families buying their first
(12:58):
ever home, just insent you and motivate you that you
got to do more.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
That's awesome. And speaking of doing more, I know that
you and envision credit unions playing a larger role in
solving some of challenges like affordable housing and financial literacy.
How do you really feel that they're going to play
that part.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
As a community based financial cooperative. It's in our DNA,
that's really what we should be doing. And for MCU,
we're very member centric and I think we need to
help and know our members' needs. Their generate the gaps
that they have, and we can fill it with financial
products and services at great rate. But more importantly, we
(13:39):
can do it through financial education and wellness. I also
sit on the board of the National Credit Union Foundation
and we're trying to address it globally of how can
credit unions play a part and uplifting communities by helping
each person in the community understand more about finances and
(14:02):
so that they can make good choices over a long
period of time.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
That's great to hear. We touched on this a little
bit earlier. I know you took over the role in
twenty twenty when there was an immense amount of uncertainty.
I'm sure it was a year of challenges. What were
some of those toughest challenges and decisions you made and
what were you able to learn from them?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yeah, it was no doubt those were probably the most
trying times, especially in New York, absolutely New York City,
where our first responders were all considered essential, so all
of our members were considered essential. And our employees were too,
So really the tough decision was around it wasn't can
we serve our members? It was really around how are
(14:44):
we going to serve them? As I said earlier, they
don't have traditional schedules, so we had to figure out
the best way that we could balance providing them and
need their services along with safety, safety for them, safety
for our employees. We also came out with a program
during that time to help anybody who had been laid
(15:05):
off to bridge the gap until they could get back
to work and start paying their bills.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
That's great. I know that financial institution right now are
facing from consumers very high expectations, especially when it comes
to trust and transparency, which is of course on top
of every consumer's mind. What advice would you give to
any emerging leaders out there that really want to build
trust within their environment.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
You have to always start with trust and all your
actions have to be around building trust. And for a
financial institution, to me, it's paramount because we are dealing
with in our case, a member, but with a consumer's
most personal prize asset. They're financials there, whether it's hard
earned savings they're trying to buy a house or a car.
(15:53):
So all of our actions have got to be around
what are we doing to help them get ahead? And
it's sometimes it's not easy to do what's right. Yeah,
you know, as Martin Luther King said, you know the time,
and it's the time is always right to do what's right.
And so if you're doing what's right, you're always going
(16:14):
to be building trust and building integrity. And as I said,
for somebody and with financial institution, you don't get a
second chance.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
You've given us a lot of great advice throughout this
interview today. But if you were to look back and
give yourself advice all those years ago when you were
first starting off in the industry, what would it be.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
That's a great question, and I had so many, so
I put it together in just be curious in everything,
and everything's an opportunity and don't stop learning. Much like
our first responders who run towards something most people would stop,
they would run to it. Anytime in my career that
(16:58):
I saw an opportunity when others did know what to do,
I ran to it. I may not have known how
to do it, I may not know anything about it,
but I knew that I could figure it out. And
so my advice to them is everything's an opportunity, even
when you don't think it is somewhere, it will be
an opportunity.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
For great device. MCU has been having a lot of growth,
a lot of expansions, So what's next. Is there any
new exciting developments or expansions in the horizon you could
share today.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
We're very excited about our future, and as I said earlier,
we're expanding our branches. We're adding new technology, new digital
services for our members. For also, what I want to
do the culture in the organization we're building is we
want to be the most loved financial institution. Which love
is not something you throw out there, and it's a
(17:47):
high aspiration. So our charter expansion was around taking that
opportunity for people to know us and to love us more.
So you're going to see us growing, You're going to
see us expanding. I had mentioned about the number of employees.
You know, we're going to add well over another one
hundred employees this year because I believe that growth is
(18:10):
going to be what sets us up apart. And the
you know we're here for a campaign is, as I said,
more than a campaign, We're here for it We're committed.
I know our boards committed and all of our employees are.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
That's awesome. I'm excited to see you guys continue to
grow and continue to expand too. We covered a lot
about MCU, But if there's one thing you want our
listeners to take away about the mission of the company,
what would that be?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
That that there is a financial institution out there, beacon
of hope that cares about the success of you, your community,
and your family. And MCU is that that financial institution.
And we are more than committed in words, but our
actions are showing that if you're looking for a mission
based financial institution, we're the one that's great.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Well, if anyone is too tuning in that wants to
learn more about MCU, what should they do.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Well, If you want a financial institution that's going to
care about you, go to NYMCU dot org and join.
If you want to work in an organization where your
talent is utilized and it aligns with your values, go
to the same website and apply for a job. We're
at all the social and go look force we're there. Awesome.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Well, Kyle, thank you so much for being here today.
Thank you for sharing information on your impressive background, all
the advice you gave, and most importantly, telling all of
our listeners more about MCU and the important mission that
you're doing right now.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Thank you. This has really been fun and exciting and
I'm honored to be here on behalf of our employees.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Thank you very much. Thanks again, Kyle, and thank you
all for tuning into this week's edition of FCU. As
you should know, tune in next week
Hi, everyone, this is Steve Dawson. Welcome to this week's
edition of CEOs. You should know I'm thrilled to be
joined by Kyle Marklin, the chief executive officer of MNIPSIL
Credit Union.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Thanks for being here today, Kyle, great, Thank you. I'm
so excited to be here and share more about not
only myself, but more importantly Municipal Credit Union and what
we're doing in our exciting future.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Well, we're excited to jump into it, so why don't
we kick things off and take it back to the beginning.
I know you start off your career as an account
in Florida Credit Union, and you worked your way up
all the way to CEO and various roles across the country.
How did those early experiences really shape the leadership approach
you have today?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Even though I started as probably you would think one
of the most boring jobs, an accountant, it's a very
reactive job. It really gave me a great foundation to
understand how not only businesses work, but how all the
pieces of the puzzle came together. And I should probably
tell you a little bit more about Municipal too. We
are the largest and oldest credit union in New York,
(01:02):
We're the twentieth largest in the country and there's four
thy four hundred credit unions, so we believe we're driving
force not only for our members, but also for the
credit union industry. But going back to when I was
an accountant, I started when I was seventeen, and I
had this great opportunity to learn a lot more about
(01:24):
credit unions in the industry and the credit union I
worked at they were open Monday nights, so my department wasn't,
so I took that opportunity to go work in every
single department so I could really learn and understand more
about how the business worked. And what it really allowed
me to do was when I went to college, I
(01:45):
thought I was going to be an attorney. I wanted
to make a meaningful impact on the world and change
the world. But I thought if I did that, I
could only maybe impact thousand people. If I was lucky,
ten thousand people in the credit union industry. It really
became a calling and a passion for me, and through
my career, I can honestly say I've probably positively impacted
(02:09):
millions of people.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
That's awesome. It must be a really great feeling.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
It is a great feeling.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
I know that throughout the year as you held leadership
roles and strategy, marketing, lending operations. How is that breath
of influence really influence the way that you lead the
complex institution of MCU.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, And I was talking about accounting being reactive. I
wanted to get on the other side. I wanted to
become more proactive, and so when I went into marketing,
it allowed me to understand growth and how to grow things.
And I was able to see from an idea to execution,
but most importantly to results. And so at MCU, I'm
(02:46):
able to take a very broad, holistic approach because I
literally have had just about every single job you could have,
or I've done every job you could do in a
credit union, and I think working from the bottom up
gave me a very unique perspective.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
That's awesome. It's great to have all those different experiences
within all the departments, because I'm sure in your leadership
role now you could appreciate the work that each of
those departments are doing exactly. I know that you were
initially drawn to MCU in twenty twenty, especially during a
turbulent time. What was that that really drew you in
at that moment.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
I've been in this industry for forty five years and
it's hard to say that out loud time, but my
whole career, whether it was around transformation or turnaround or
working in every area, for me, I was looking for
my next opportunity is I like to say to be
my biggest and best chapter of my career. And at MCU,
(03:44):
whether it was a fate or serendipity, everything came together
because they were looking for a new CEO to transform
and build the organization, and I had the experience and
once I got to really understand the organization during the
interview process, who doesn't want to serve those who serve
the greatest city in the world, And who doesn't want
(04:06):
to come to New York and take your skills in
the best city and you know the song. You know,
if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
It's not just Broadway, it's the financial capital of the world.
So all that just made it to where it was
a very easy decision. My wife and I have loved
New York and we love New York City, so we
(04:28):
got everything we ever wanted.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
That's awesome. Glad to hear. Congrats, Thank you and speaking
of that transformation under your leadership, MCUs seeing remarkable growth
as well as a cultural transformation in the organization. What
key steps did you take to build both that values
driven but also that high performance organization.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
It started with our vision and our mission that we
really want to help hardworking New Yorkers have a better
financial tomorrow. And so when you start with that and
then you underlay that with values that are intrin to
you and what you believe in, that started the whole transformation.
And then we said, let's be delibered about creating a
(05:08):
culture where employees want to work hard and they're passionate
about what you believe in. And when what you believe
in is helping hard working New Yorkers, it's not hard
to get passionate about that because they are the first responders.
They're the ones who keep the city alive and going.
(05:29):
So it was starting with the vision, mission, focus, and
priorities just on our members, and then it really became
around once we hired leaders. We were hiring passionate employees.
But then from there we expanded our charter, which charter
means that before we were exclusive to municipal employees, but
now anybody who lives, works, worships, or goes to school,
(05:52):
and the five boroughs are eligible. So we think we
can take the good work we're doing and take it
to all New Yorkers. How are we doing well? From
a cultural standpoint? We have won great places to work.
We now have won the best and brightest two years
in a row, and a number of our leaders all
up and down the organization have been recognized by industry publications,
(06:16):
industry trade associations, as well as being recognized locally. And
it's all coming together for the growth of the organization.
When I got here, we had just under four hundred employees.
We're almost at seven hundred on our way to eight hundred.
We had three point eight billion in assets. We're now
just under four point eight billion excuse me. And we're
(06:39):
adding forty thousand new members a year, so we're just
under six hundred and thirty thousand. So we're a growing,
vibrant organization that focuses on producing results.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
That's amazing. Well, congrats on all the growth and the
recognitions you talked about earlier, And speaking of recognitions, I
know you personally have been recognized for ethical leadership, including
the Minnesota Business Ethic Awards twice. How do you ensure
that that integrity piece always stays core as you're continuing
to innovate and as you're continuing to grow the organization.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
To me, I don't know anything else but integrity. It
started my grandparents, to my parents. To me, you always
led with your ethics and your integrity. So when I
got into business, I thought, why can't you be the
same person you are at home as you are at work.
And so my value system is so aligned to not
(07:33):
only MCU, but who I am as a person when
I come home. I don't need to be somebody different.
I'm the same person whether you see me at the
store or at home or at work. And so for me,
ethics is always about doing what's right. And as a leader,
everybody watches everything that you do, and your actions mean
(07:55):
more than your words. And so I want to make
sure that all of our leaders actions are around upholding
it and displaying the highest level of integrity. It's the
decisions we make to ensure that they're always in the
best interest of our members and to ensure that as leaders,
we're setting the organization up first for success by doing
(08:17):
what's right.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
That's great advice for any leader that's tuning in. Can
you talk a little bit about the We're here for
a campaign? How did that idea evolve and what role
does storytelling really play and connecting all those different dots
within the financial services space.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah, so excited about the We're here for a campaign
because it's more than a campaign. It really is who
we are. And it started with because we only have
about four percent market share, we don't want to continue
to be the best kept secret in New York City,
so we really wanted people to know us. And we
(08:52):
are a local financial institution. We're one hundred percent local.
We're one hundred percent in New York. And now consider
myself an New Yorker. I've been here, you know, almost
twelve years, but yes, I've made it. But to me,
it was about displaying who we are as an organization.
The images, the iconography, the voices, the sounds was all
(09:16):
New York. It was the Kavala's brothers who did the
art force. But it was really to show the grittiness
of New Yorkers. And there's an edgy funness to New
York too, and we know it's the it's the toughest
city to survive and whether it's about buying a home
or just making it payroll to payroll, And so we
(09:38):
wanted New Yorkers to know that there is an alternative
that is a New York institution that has really set
up to help them succeed. And so for us, storytelling
is telling our story, but bringing our members and our
employees stories to life as well. About the difference we're
able to make.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
That's awesome. And speaking of expanding the membership and expanding
the field of membership, I know that was a bold move.
What's your long term vision for that and within the institution,
especially for New Yorkers, which you just talked about.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Actually, I'm so excited and inspired by our future. I
believe that what we want to do is create stronger
and deeper relationships with our members. And when you have
a mission about helping hard workers have a better financial
financial tomorrow, to me, that's going to drive everything that
(10:32):
we do. And we're meeting our heroes where they are.
If you think about our members, a lot of them
are first responders. They don't work normal hours, they don't
have the luxury of saying, well, while I'm at work,
I'm going to make a phone call or I'm going
to get online. So we have to come up with
solutions that can help them and meet them where they are.
(10:53):
Whether it's new technology, we want to use AI in
an ethical way to help understand our members better. And
then we're also adding physical outlets. We're adding three new
branches this year Chelsea for our Rockaway and we recently
opened one in Yonkers as well.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Awesome, and speaking of doing good for your members and beyond,
I know you launched the MCU Foundation in twenty twenty
three with a real strong focus on generational wealth. What
inspire that initiative and how do you plan to continue
to measure the impact of it.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
We're really excited about our foundation because when we started
it to where we are today, the need is greater
today than it has ever been. And what inspired it was.
As the Credit Union, we were able to really focus
on helping our members and our employees, but the foundation
has allowed us to help that third major stakeholder, and
(11:49):
that's our communities. So it allows us to partner more
with community organizations other nonprofits to bring the values that
we have into their communities, and we're doing it through
basic necessities. It is really hard to sometimes just to
afford grow treats. One of the fun initiatives we did
(12:13):
was during COVID and during the high inflation times. If
you use an MCU debit card, we would refund cost
of milk back to your account. We are now helping
take away the barriers for a lot of municipal employees
and that is taking the civil Servants exam. If you're
an MCU member, will reimburse you the cost of taking
(12:35):
the Civil Servant exam so that you can better your career.
And we're really helping with home ownership because that is
where you create generational wealth. We have story after story
of multi generational New Yorkers who have never had the
opportunity to own their own home. And when you hear
of somebody in their fifties their families buying their first
(12:58):
ever home, just insent you and motivate you that you
got to do more.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
That's awesome. And speaking of doing more, I know that
you and envision credit unions playing a larger role in
solving some of challenges like affordable housing and financial literacy.
How do you really feel that they're going to play
that part.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
As a community based financial cooperative. It's in our DNA,
that's really what we should be doing. And for MCU,
we're very member centric and I think we need to
help and know our members' needs. Their generate the gaps
that they have, and we can fill it with financial
products and services at great rate. But more importantly, we
(13:39):
can do it through financial education and wellness. I also
sit on the board of the National Credit Union Foundation
and we're trying to address it globally of how can
credit unions play a part and uplifting communities by helping
each person in the community understand more about finances and
(14:02):
so that they can make good choices over a long
period of time.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
That's great to hear. We touched on this a little
bit earlier. I know you took over the role in
twenty twenty when there was an immense amount of uncertainty.
I'm sure it was a year of challenges. What were
some of those toughest challenges and decisions you made and
what were you able to learn from them?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yeah, it was no doubt those were probably the most
trying times, especially in New York, absolutely New York City,
where our first responders were all considered essential, so all
of our members were considered essential. And our employees were too,
So really the tough decision was around it wasn't can
we serve our members? It was really around how are
(14:44):
we going to serve them? As I said earlier, they
don't have traditional schedules, so we had to figure out
the best way that we could balance providing them and
need their services along with safety, safety for them, safety
for our employees. We also came out with a program
during that time to help anybody who had been laid
(15:05):
off to bridge the gap until they could get back
to work and start paying their bills.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
That's great. I know that financial institution right now are
facing from consumers very high expectations, especially when it comes
to trust and transparency, which is of course on top
of every consumer's mind. What advice would you give to
any emerging leaders out there that really want to build
trust within their environment.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
You have to always start with trust and all your
actions have to be around building trust. And for a
financial institution, to me, it's paramount because we are dealing
with in our case, a member, but with a consumer's
most personal prize asset. They're financials there, whether it's hard
earned savings they're trying to buy a house or a car.
(15:53):
So all of our actions have got to be around
what are we doing to help them get ahead? And
it's sometimes it's not easy to do what's right. Yeah,
you know, as Martin Luther King said, you know the time,
and it's the time is always right to do what's right.
And so if you're doing what's right, you're always going
(16:14):
to be building trust and building integrity. And as I said,
for somebody and with financial institution, you don't get a
second chance.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
You've given us a lot of great advice throughout this
interview today. But if you were to look back and
give yourself advice all those years ago when you were
first starting off in the industry, what would it be.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
That's a great question, and I had so many, so
I put it together in just be curious in everything,
and everything's an opportunity and don't stop learning. Much like
our first responders who run towards something most people would stop,
they would run to it. Anytime in my career that
(16:58):
I saw an opportunity when others did know what to do,
I ran to it. I may not have known how
to do it, I may not know anything about it,
but I knew that I could figure it out. And
so my advice to them is everything's an opportunity, even
when you don't think it is somewhere, it will be
an opportunity.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
For great device. MCU has been having a lot of growth,
a lot of expansions, So what's next. Is there any
new exciting developments or expansions in the horizon you could
share today.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
We're very excited about our future, and as I said earlier,
we're expanding our branches. We're adding new technology, new digital
services for our members. For also, what I want to
do the culture in the organization we're building is we
want to be the most loved financial institution. Which love
is not something you throw out there, and it's a
(17:47):
high aspiration. So our charter expansion was around taking that
opportunity for people to know us and to love us more.
So you're going to see us growing, You're going to
see us expanding. I had mentioned about the number of employees.
You know, we're going to add well over another one
hundred employees this year because I believe that growth is
(18:10):
going to be what sets us up apart. And the
you know we're here for a campaign is, as I said,
more than a campaign, We're here for it We're committed.
I know our boards committed and all of our employees are.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
That's awesome. I'm excited to see you guys continue to
grow and continue to expand too. We covered a lot
about MCU, But if there's one thing you want our
listeners to take away about the mission of the company,
what would that be?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
That that there is a financial institution out there, beacon
of hope that cares about the success of you, your community,
and your family. And MCU is that that financial institution.
And we are more than committed in words, but our
actions are showing that if you're looking for a mission
based financial institution, we're the one that's great.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Well, if anyone is too tuning in that wants to
learn more about MCU, what should they do.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Well, If you want a financial institution that's going to
care about you, go to NYMCU dot org and join.
If you want to work in an organization where your
talent is utilized and it aligns with your values, go
to the same website and apply for a job. We're
at all the social and go look force we're there. Awesome.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Well, Kyle, thank you so much for being here today.
Thank you for sharing information on your impressive background, all
the advice you gave, and most importantly, telling all of
our listeners more about MCU and the important mission that
you're doing right now.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Thank you. This has really been fun and exciting and
I'm honored to be here on behalf of our employees.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Thank you very much. Thanks again, Kyle, and thank you
all for tuning into this week's edition of FCU. As
you should know, tune in next week
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