Episode 105: Michigan Credit Union League

With Patti Corkery

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Light Up the D, focus on what's happening
in our community for the people who make it happen.
Here's your host. iHeartMedia Detroit Market President Colleen Grant.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Good morning and welcome to another episode of Light Up
the D. I'm your host, Colleen Grant. Today's Light Up
the D is a CEO. She should know edition and
in CEOs you should know. We spotlight the most innovative
leaders in our community who are paving the way in
their industry. Today, I'm joined by Patti Corkory, President and
CEO of the Michigan Credit Union League and CUSG. As

(00:38):
President and CEO of the Michigan Credit Union League, also
known as MCUL and CUSG. Patty Corkory champions advocacy, education
and innovation for Michigan credit Unions. She oversees solutions in marketing, technology,
HR and financial empowerment for hundreds of credit union partners
across the country, and as an active board member, an

(01:01):
advocate for collaboration, service and lifelong learning. The websites are
MCUL dot org and CUSG dot com. Please join me
in welcoming Patti Corkery. Welcome Patty, Well.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
Thanks Collen. It's great to be here.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Let's start with the organizations that you league, tell us
the role they play in the community. Why don't we
start with mcul sure.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
So, the Michigan Credit Union League is a trade association
for credit unions in Michigan. So we provide a lot
of different services, but the most important thing we do
on behalf of our one hundred and seventy four credit
unions in Michigan is advocacy. So I have the privilege
of working with our state and federal lawmakers around the
state to make sure that they understand what credit unions do,

(01:46):
what they're doing for their communities and the members that
they serve. You know, over six million Michiganers are members
of credit unions, so it's a really big population that
we serve, and that's the primary role put on education events.
We have a lot of communication resources.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
Pretty much anything you.

Speaker 4 (02:06):
Think that a credit union might need support wise to
better serve their members and communities is really what we
focus on at the League.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
So you mentioned members, Why don't we talk a little
bit about the difference between traditional banks and credit unions
because obviously banks don't have members, so help us understand
the differences.

Speaker 4 (02:26):
Right, So credit unions are member owned cooperatives, so they're
not for profit financial cooperatives. So when you join a
credit union, you actually become.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
A member owner.

Speaker 4 (02:37):
So there are no customers in the credit union space.
It's all their members. So they get to a vote
for the board, they get to attend.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
Their annual meetings their member owners.

Speaker 5 (02:47):
Okay and great.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
And then you had said, obviously you're also president and
CEO of CUSG, and.

Speaker 5 (02:55):
Tell us about that organization too.

Speaker 4 (02:57):
Yeah, So CUSG is really Credit Union Solutions Group is
the acronym, and it's a nationwide company. We actually work
with folks outside of the US as well, but the
Michigan Credit Union League owns sixty four percent of that
entity and then the other owners are made up of
other credit unions and other associations around the country. And
really that organization started out to provide technology services for

(03:21):
credit unions mainly, so think about web design and hosting
HR tools. It's really a technology company providing software for
the most part, and it's evolved over time. We work
with non credit unions as well, but it's really a
really great revenue generator for our Michigan credit unions here

(03:42):
in our state and so with that ownership, we have
a lot of employees that live in both spaces, so
that's why it kind of makes sense for.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
Me to run both of those entities.

Speaker 4 (03:52):
But that is a for profit model, that is really
a technology company, and.

Speaker 5 (03:58):
That must be a great resource for all the credit unions.

Speaker 3 (04:01):
I think so, yeah, I think so doo.

Speaker 4 (04:03):
Yeah, they are able to because we've known the industry
for so long and we're tapped into every issue basically
that impacts credit unions. We're able to model our software
solutions with that in mind. So I do think that
that's a helpful kind of value add to them compared
to just your other random web design and hosting company.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
For sure.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
What first inspired you to get involved in the credit
union movement.

Speaker 4 (04:27):
Well, my dad worked in credit unions, so he retired
from the industry, and my brother is actually a credit.

Speaker 3 (04:33):
Union CEO, so it's kind of been my family. Yeah,
And I went.

Speaker 4 (04:38):
To law school at the Great Wayne State University and
started practicing law representing.

Speaker 3 (04:43):
Exclusively credit unions.

Speaker 4 (04:44):
So I just kind of fell into that space because
I've heard from my family what a great industry it is,
and that is certainly true. I've spent my whole career
in the credit union space, so clearly I'm a fan.
And then after about twenty years of practicing law here
in Michigan, an opportunity came up at the association and

(05:05):
ultimately I started to run that and CUSG. So it's
really been, you know, quite a path, but it's you know,
in my entire career working in the space. It's such
a rewarding place to be given what credit unions do
for the community and the impact that they have, Well.

Speaker 5 (05:21):
Why don't we talk about that?

Speaker 2 (05:22):
What are some of the ways the organizations impact.

Speaker 5 (05:26):
The community in particular?

Speaker 3 (05:28):
Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 4 (05:29):
So credit unions are community focused, so they have we
have well over one thousand branches in Michigan, and with
a member in mind and their community in mind, they
create their products and services with who they serve. You know,
So if you're in the in a Detroit situation, for example,

(05:50):
and your field of membership our people that you know,
wherever you're at in Michigan, if you're in a pocket
of a community that has lower income, then you're creating
products to serve that community. So whether it be a
first time auto lending program with folks that don't have
you know, maybe the biggest down payment when you think

(06:11):
about an auto, which is really where a credit union
shine all through the state, is in the auto lending.
You know, the average price of a car now Michigan
is in the country is forty eight thousand dollars, So
to get a.

Speaker 3 (06:22):
New car, or to even get a.

Speaker 4 (06:24):
Used car, it's a huge financial lift. So credit unions
really started to thrive when banks after the depression were
declining lower income people. So lower income people after the
depression had nowhere to go because banks are always looking
for the shiny credit score, and so credit unions really

(06:44):
came up at a time where people had nothing else,
nowhere else to go for their money. So you have
a school, you have a hospital, you had a factory.
Those people banded together through all their money literally in
a drawer and started to create a cooperative so they
could support one another when they needed loans. And that
had to happen because they had nowhere else to go.

(07:05):
And so that's how credit unions started, and they really
continue to beat that.

Speaker 3 (07:08):
Drum even today.

Speaker 4 (07:10):
They are there to help folks when other lending sources
are saying no. So they really craft their whole model
to support for folks like that.

Speaker 3 (07:19):
In the community and you know have always been there.

Speaker 4 (07:23):
So it's really, as you can see it just about
what I described. It's a really rewarding place to thrive
and to have your career when that is their mission
to support people in their communities. So it's really you know,
over sixty percent of our population, our members. I don't
know why it's not one hundred percent, Colleen, but that's
what we're going for because they're a great place to bank.

Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah, it sounds like they develop products specific for the
community that are going to help the community and the
situations that community is in.

Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yeah, not only that.

Speaker 4 (07:54):
But they show up, like if you go to an
art fair or a parade or something actually happening in
the community, you're going to see you know, credit union
booths there to support local efforts that are going on.
They have a lot of credit unions now have their
own foundations, so they're giving scholarships out to members of
their community. They're doing you know, all sorts of different

(08:17):
programs like that to be creative. You know, we have
so many payday lenders in our state. You know, sometimes
we see them and you know all over.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
You can imagine what it costs to.

Speaker 4 (08:29):
Get a payday you know, have your payday lending transaction happen.
So credit unions come up with alternatives to that, Right,
what can we do where people need immediate access to
money without giving them something that is a crazy interest rate.
So they see what's happening in other financial spaces and
they try and double down and provide those resources at

(08:49):
a much lower cost for the community.

Speaker 5 (08:52):
Wow, incredible.

Speaker 2 (08:54):
So, speaking of payday lending and the challenges that sent
to a consumer, since you as you mentioned it, what
are their challenges are Missigan families facing today and what
else are credit unions doing to help?

Speaker 3 (09:07):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (09:07):
You know, I mean, well we all read the news
and we see how much groceries cost.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
You know, interest rates came down just a tick. But
you know I mentioned the auto.

Speaker 4 (09:17):
Think about the average price of a car or sorry
of a home is two hundred and seventy five thousand dollars.
So we all have heard of younger people just starting out,
just graduating college trying to buy that first home. It's
basically impossible, and not only with inventory, but also with
securing a.

Speaker 3 (09:34):
Mortgage when you just get your first job.

Speaker 4 (09:37):
And so credit unions have a lot of programs that
keep in mind the first time buyer. They have down
payment assistance programs and things like that, working with various
partners out there in that space, so really providing that
less costly access to funds, access to lending. They typically

(09:57):
have much lower interest rates when it comes to loans
just in general, whether it be a mortgage or an
auto loan or a personal loan, if you just need
a loan to get by. So that's really how they
show up in terms of just the cost of funds,
really making it a lot more accessible for people. And

(10:17):
as I mentioned at the start, they're more supportive of
people of lower income. You know, we have pockets of
credit unions where they have a low income designation for example,
so they get certain dollars to support lending programs for
people that have low income. And so they're developing their
products to really help support those people that really have

(10:39):
nowhere else to go but a payday lender.

Speaker 5 (10:42):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (10:43):
Moving on to CUSG, So that's you mentioned a technology company.
It also serves a wide range of businesses. Tell us
a little bit about how you keep what you do relevant,
you know, to all the organizations you support when technology
is changing.

Speaker 5 (11:01):
So fast in today.

Speaker 3 (11:04):
Absolutely.

Speaker 4 (11:05):
I think one of the areas where CUSG has shined
is in our support of human resources folks around the country,
whether they work at a credit union or some other entity.
You know, it's been a tough road, especially since the
pandemic for people that work in the HR space.

Speaker 3 (11:22):
You have a remote work environment.

Speaker 4 (11:25):
Now for a lot of places, there's a lot of competition.
You know, people aren't staying in their jobs as long
as they used to, so you need to make sure
that you're compensating them in the right way. You need
to make sure that you're acknowledging performance and recognizing team members,
which isn't as easy to do when you're not in
an office. So a lot of our technology in the

(11:46):
HR space is geared with that in mind. So we
have a product called compies, for example, and that it
pulls into data from around the country to make sure
that you're compensating your employees in the right amount. What
is the average you know, an average branch manager or
an average entry level manager in another industry making what

(12:07):
is the average compensation? So we have a tool that
helps employers figure that out. We just launched a recognition
app where you know you can recognize team members throughout.

Speaker 3 (12:18):
The day, you know, in a virtual way.

Speaker 4 (12:21):
Because we have to accommodate with technology this remote workforce
that we're dealing with.

Speaker 3 (12:25):
So that's that's one specific product.

Speaker 4 (12:28):
But you know, we are incorporating artificial intelligence of course
into a lot of our products, you know, especially in
the HR space. We're developing a chatbot so HR professionals
can go in and get access to things really easily.
And in all areas of our business, if you're a
technology company, you really have to double down on advancements

(12:48):
that are happening. So that's something that we're spending a
lot of time in and really listening to our clients
and seeing what they need and what what is lacking
in their current tools so we can or support them.
So it's interesting think about how important websites still are.
I mean, people when you're googling and want to find
out about a business, you go to their website, and

(13:09):
so that's another critical space where people want to make
sure that it's easy to find stuff, that it looks dynamic,
that it has the advanced tools that are needed to
stay competitive. So we're really thrilled with what we can
provide businesses for their websites and their hosting environment, which
security is super important, especially for credit unions in the

(13:32):
financial space, we have to keep an eye out for
making sure we have secure platforms, so we spend a
lot of time and resources there.

Speaker 3 (13:39):
So it's really fun. I feel like, you know, I
have both sides.

Speaker 4 (13:43):
I work with credit unions in the advocacy role in
supporting them, but also providing products that help them be
better employers, be better engagement with their potential members and
their current members.

Speaker 3 (13:58):
So it's a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (14:00):
That's great. I love you know so much of what
you said. And it's interesting because the security so many
people are applying for loans, or at least the loan
process starts online, so that's obviously crucial in your industry
in particular.

Speaker 4 (14:15):
Right absolutely a lot of credit unions now you can
even join online. It's interesting to see what's happening in
the banking.

Speaker 3 (14:22):
Space in general.

Speaker 4 (14:24):
There's been a really big push for a lot of
banks to close branches, so they leave because they're based
on a for profit model. They leave pockets of the
community where they're not seeing a lot of traction or
they're not making money at a particular branch. Credit unions
have the opposite thing happening. They're opening more branches, especially

(14:44):
in those communities that are becoming banking.

Speaker 3 (14:47):
Deserts, we call them so because.

Speaker 4 (14:50):
They're not a for profit model, you know, they can
put a small branch in a location where maybe the
only financial institution and I'm doing air quotes is a
payday lender. So they're going into those communities to connect
with people there and make sure that they have a
place to go. So, even though we're talking about all
this technology and the ease of doing things online, how

(15:12):
do people like to walk into an actual branch. They
like to know, even younger people like if they're getting
a car loan for the first time or they're getting
a mortgage for the first time. Credit unions provide a
lot of financial education resources and sometimes it's kind of
nice to sit across the desk from somebody to do
that and to get that, you know, help them with
their budget, help them with their retirement planning, and things

(15:34):
like that. So having those branches in the communities is
important because I've often asked credit undis, you know, with
all things happening online, why are you opening more branches?
And they talk about how important it is that sometimes,
even though the vast majority of transactions are online, people
like that human touch sometimes, especially if your DAT has

(15:54):
been compromised by a third party, or you know, you're
helping your aging parents, it's just easier sometimes to do
things in person. So they're really proud that they are
really doubling down on branching and making sure that folks
can get in.

Speaker 3 (16:09):
And access their services in an easier way.

Speaker 2 (16:12):
Yeah, that's so interesting that that opposite is happening. And yeah,
it seems to fit because what you'd previously talked about
was how very very community focused and oriented the credit
union organization is, So it seems it makes sense. But
you do see the opposite happening in general. So their
presence is important to the organization, their physical presence in

(16:34):
the community.

Speaker 3 (16:35):
Yeah, absolutely. I don't know, if you know.

Speaker 4 (16:37):
My parents would definitely prefer to do things in person,
and a lot of our population are still elderly people
that like to do things face to face and they're
not up to up to speed with you know, everything
in the tech space. Some are better than others, but
it's good to have a location where you can actually walk.

Speaker 2 (16:53):
In if you're just joining us. Our guest today is
Patty Corkery. She's president and CEO of the Michigan Co
Union League and president and CEO of CUSG. So you
had mentioned, Patty about financial literacy and that that's important
component to the credit union experience. Why is supporting young
professionals you know, you think about young people and their

(17:15):
financial literacy. Why is supporting young professionals in particular so
important and what is being done to nurture that movement?

Speaker 4 (17:23):
Yeah, we are so thrilled to have a very active
young professional movement in our state. And that's really the
community that I'm referring to. There people that work at
credit unions that are forty and under. So we have
a group of folks they call themselves fuel. They're kind
of uplifting this next generation of credit union leaders and
credit union employees. So it's important to nurture them because,

(17:47):
as I mentioned, the rate at which young people switch
jobs is pretty intense, and so it's our role as
a trade association to help those young people realize that
when you work for a credit union, it's not just
a job.

Speaker 3 (18:02):
You're really part of a movement, which is.

Speaker 4 (18:04):
How we refer to our industry around in the country.
It's a movement a credit union in space, so we
really spend a lot of time there helping them understand
how important it is to advocate on behalf of our
industry and share information and collaborate and all of those
great things. So that's kind of the young professional space,
and then just young people in general. You know, credit

(18:27):
unions are looking for ways to you know, there's a
lot of competition out there where you know, to get
those younger members to join. A credit union is a
place where they spend a lot of time. So you're
going to see several credit unions around the state have
student branches inside of high school or inside a school.
They put on financial reality fairs for younger people to

(18:47):
help them learn about budgeting. Sometimes, you know, a lot
of adults you talk to, they never learned how to
do any of.

Speaker 3 (18:52):
That in school.

Speaker 4 (18:53):
So credit unions are really trying to get in there
and play that role of financial education even with grade schools.
We have a book that goes out to the libraries.
I think there were over fourteen thousand books that went
out to Michigan libraries this past year to help educate
really young people about saving and how many works and

(19:14):
all of those things. So it's the young professional movement
for our young people that work in the industry now
or trying to get new people to work with us.
But also the financial education for young people to show
them the value of joining our credit union.

Speaker 2 (19:29):
So important, so important to avoid the pitfalls that can
happen with your money. And I always love it when
you see a credit union and a high school, because
really financial literacy should be a class. Yeah, how to borrow,
how to maintain your credit score, how to get your
first car, all the things that there should be so

(19:51):
much more learning.

Speaker 4 (19:52):
On that, so much and sadly and kind of scary, Colleen,
the way people young people are learning about their money
is through TikTok and YouTube.

Speaker 3 (20:01):
It's very common to go there and.

Speaker 4 (20:04):
Maybe it's a credit union on TikTok because they are
getting into that space or YouTube, but any just random
person in those spaces can be pretty dangerous as far
as your financial education. So they're really trying to push
that they are a place to go to for that,
and maybe TikTok isn't the first place you should go.

Speaker 2 (20:25):
Look, you're you're leading to two really important organizations. What
do you see as the most important responsibilities of a
leader today, Patty, I think.

Speaker 4 (20:40):
One of the most important responsibilities is listening, you know,
not just with my team and the people that work
on our team to hear what they need and my
organizations to be happy and fulfilled in their careers, but
also to our clients, to our credit unions. A lot
of times, I'm kind of the one talking and talking
about all the things that we do when I meet

(21:01):
with my credit unions. But I love to do listening
tours because as.

Speaker 3 (21:06):
An association, and especially as.

Speaker 4 (21:08):
On our for profit side, you know, we want to
provide tools that people need and support that people need,
and the only way I'm going to know what they
need is by listening. And so I find that as
a leader internally and externally, listening and asking the right
questions to pull that information out is probably the thing

(21:28):
that I need.

Speaker 3 (21:29):
To be best at.

Speaker 2 (21:30):
I love that concept of a listening tour. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
We're going to engage on that.

Speaker 4 (21:36):
I do it with our credit unions throughout the year,
and I just talk about our touch points with them,
but then I just ask each person in each area,
what are your pain points? What is happening in your space,
what's working, what's not, and you learn so much, especially
we didn't even tap into Colleen all of the fraud
that happens in the financial space, you know, people getting scammed,

(21:57):
people giving out their passwords. I mean, it's a whole
whole other interview and conversation, but really trying to understand
from our credit unions what the hackers or these third
parties are doing so we can help educate consumers not
sharing passwords, right, don't click.

Speaker 3 (22:14):
On those links.

Speaker 4 (22:16):
It's a huge problem and it's only getting worse. You know,
people are copying people's voices now and it's really scary.
So that's an area where you know, every day there's
something new happening, where another scam that people need to
be aware of. So if I'm not asking those questions
and really understanding what is happening in the space, then

(22:39):
I'm doing a disservice to our members and to our clients.

Speaker 3 (22:42):
But it's yeah, so listening is definitely job number one.

Speaker 2 (22:46):
Yeah, and the whole part of fraud that belongs in
financial literacy as well, to project yourself.

Speaker 4 (22:53):
Yeah, especially for our older population, you know, I mean,
think about our parents getting these calls and you know,
being confused and they're so convincing.

Speaker 3 (23:02):
You know, I even fell for a scam.

Speaker 4 (23:04):
Somebody duplicated my daughter's Venmo and it looked like she
was sending me a Vemo.

Speaker 3 (23:08):
Request and it had her picture and everything, and.

Speaker 4 (23:11):
So I said, luckily it was only one hundred and
fifty bucks, but it wasn't hurt.

Speaker 2 (23:14):
And so it's just really crazy. Yeah, it's scary, it is.
So we all need to be more aware and more
on the texts that you get with the links and yeah,
looking like.

Speaker 5 (23:27):
They're your bank, and always call. That's right.

Speaker 2 (23:30):
Looking ahead, what decids you most about the future both
for the credit union industry and for the businesses you
support through cus GEN.

Speaker 4 (23:39):
Well, I think what excites me is the credit unions
continue to get bigger, right, they continue to really double
down on what they're good at, as well as expand
into different communities and to partner and collaborate with other
credit unions. One thing that we hear about our credit
union industry that's different from other financial services or the

(24:01):
banking industry is how.

Speaker 3 (24:02):
Collaborative we are. So really just continuing to.

Speaker 4 (24:05):
Double down on that as we tackle together some of
the problems and pitfalls that we've talked about is what
I'm excited about. I'm also excited about the new technology,
the way things that you know, a lot of these
tools are going to make people's jobs a lot easier.
So some of the mundane, you know, minutia tasks can
be done with AI. But remembering that people are important too,

(24:29):
and so we're giving, you know, giving away some of
the basic, you know, crunching tasks, but then freeing people
up to really engage, you know, one on one with
our members or come up with ways that we can
be even more innovative down the road.

Speaker 3 (24:43):
So I think the advancing technology has me.

Speaker 4 (24:45):
Excited, as well as the continued collaboration and in community
that that credit unions really represent, not just in Michigan
but around the country, because there's a lot of amazing
credit unions out there.

Speaker 5 (24:59):
Well, I I love it.

Speaker 2 (25:00):
I mean, it's it's in your genes, your dad, your brother. Yeah,
you can't even help yourself, but love them just right,
that's right.

Speaker 5 (25:09):
But tell us what do you love most about what
you do? Patty?

Speaker 3 (25:13):
The people? The people is what I love most.

Speaker 4 (25:15):
And when you know, I meet people that are retiring,
you know from our industry, you know, by the time
they're ready to retire, they're like, yeah, I'm good to
pass the torch.

Speaker 3 (25:24):
On the actual job and the actual work.

Speaker 4 (25:26):
But it's the people that I'll miss, and I feel like.

Speaker 3 (25:29):
You know, I've got another good.

Speaker 4 (25:31):
Runway of about ten years left and in my space
here in the industry, and it's definitely the people. So
just continuing to you know, cherish really, I know that
might sound cheesy, but I do cherish my time with
them and to connect and really help support them for
the rest of my career is exciting to me. But

(25:52):
it's definitely the people because their credit union people are
just different and they care about what they do.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
Our guest today has been Patty Corkory, President and CEO
of the Michigan Credit Union League and President and CEO
of CUSG. Thank you again for joining us today. Patty
really appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (26:12):
Thanks Collen, thanks so much for having me.

Speaker 1 (26:15):
This has been light Up the D, a community affairs
program from iHeartMedia Detroit. If your organization would like to
get on the program, email Colleen Grant at iHeartMedia dot com.
Here are all episodes on this station's podcast page.