Today, Mark Ritter shares his insights on the state of credit unions and strategies for running a successful credit union. He discusses the challenges and benefits of working remotely and emphasizes building strong community relationships. Mark also offers his perspective on whether attending all available conferences is wise. His comprehensive analysis aims to guide credit union leaders toward sustainable success.

IN THIS EPISODE:

  • [0:24] Mark gives an update on his life and MBFS, and discusses working remotely for himself and how other businesses manage to work remotely
  • [5:02] Mark invites the listeners to reach out to mritter@mbfs.org  with topics and guest suggestions for future podcasts 
  • [9:04] How MBFS can help Credit unions who are struggling as a neutral third party, and Mark discusses working with Inclusive, a National Trade Association of Community Development Credit Unions
  • [11:06] Mark discusses the need for SBA loans, and he advises making lasting relationships to ensure success in the credit union space and seeking out the 95% who are not using a credit union
  • [17:15] Mark discusses being on the road going to conferences and his desire to see conferences educate the attendees and discuss topics to problem-solve issues
  • [21:36] Mark wants to provide value to credit unions, and he appreciates you, the listener

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Mark is interested in providing content through his podcast that listeners want to hear, so if a listener has a suggestion for a topic or a guest, contact Mark.
  • Credit unions will be successful if they work hard to build relationships. Don’t rely on a large commercial loan to sustain you; instead, focus on the community, build relationships, and reach 95% of those not using credit union services.
  • Conferences have become very expensive. It would be helpful to have more conferences that deal with the issues and problems a credit union faces rather than hear motivational speakers.

RESOURCE LINKS:

Mark Ritter Website
Mark Ritter – LinkedIn
Michigan Business Connection – Website
NACUSO – Website

BIO:

Mark Ritter is the CEO of MBFS and an expert in credit unions and business lending. His primary role at MBFS is overseeing the strategy of helping credit unions assist members with business needs and consulting with credit unions on planning the delivery of services to their membership.

Bill Beardsley is a financial services professional with more than 30 years of business and community organization leadership responsibilities. Led the start-up of the MBC “CUSO” in 2004 to energize and enable Michigan credit union success in commercial lending; now recognized as a leading CUSO in the USA with more than $1.5 Billion of commercial loan commitments under management. Board member for NACUSO, the national trade association for CUSOs, frequent industry event speaker related to CUSOs, collaboration, credit risk and commercial lending and personal advocate for the American Red Cross, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.