Trade Association Representing Credit Unions
By Joyce Moed, Reporter

Maury Pilver first had the idea to create a trade association representing credit unions that serve the healthcare industry about 15 to 20 years ago. But the busy CEO of the HealthAmerica Credit Union in Jacksonville, Fla. had trouble finding the time to make it happen.

"Between running the credit union and everything else I was doing, I just never had the time," he said.

But then earlier this year, Pilver was having breakfast with John Saatela, CEO of Tenet Credit Union in Los Alamitos, Calif., and told him about his idea for the association. Saatela agreed it was something that benefit healthcare credit unions. Together, they decided to make it happen.
And earlier this month Pilver's longtime dream became a reality, when the new Association of Healthcare Credit Unions kicked off its inaugural meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

The three-day meeting gave representatives from healthcare credit unions the opportunity to exchange ideas and share solutions to common issues, Pilver said, something that was new for the attendees, he said as "this is the first association of this type to be established."

"[The conference] went extremely well," Pilver said. "It was very well-received." Attendees were from 18 states and Canada. "It was a very good turnout for a first meeting. And we've had another 30 or 40 join since the conference. We're really expecting this to do well."

The association is being marketed through word-of-mouth and mailings.

Pilver said that there has been a strong need for an association such as this one.

"The healthcare credit union industry is not as big as some others," he said. "They need a specialized organization to work with their type of membership." The healthcare CU industry has about $85 billion in assets, he said, with most individual healthcare credit unions having about $15 million to $20 million in assets.

"They need someone to understand the issues they have," Pilver said. "I thought there was a need there that wasn't being filled."

Pilver said that healthcare credit unions are dealing with issues including declining membership, and how to deal with competing with other credit unions.

"So many healthcare credit unions are struggling with these types of issues," he said. "We see this all around the country–smaller credit unions trying to compete with larger credit unions."

He said that's why an association of this type is so important–so that ideas and solutions can be exchanged.

"Smaller credit unions should band together to exchange information on how they do it," he said.
At www.ahcu.us, the association's website, members can also go online and share information, Pilver said. But they must be members to receive a user name and password to access the site.
So far, the association seems like it will be welcomed, Pilver said.

"The feedback was wonderful," he said. "The initial response has been overwhelming. We're doing pretty well for a brand-new organization. We expect to have between 100 and 200 members by the end of year. The more members, of course, the more we can offer everyone."

Pilver is hoping for a second meeting this fall, possibly in Chicago, to allow for those who couldn't attend the Florida meeting.

In the future, Pilver hopes to obtain members from throughout Canada and from all of the Americas. But for now, they are focusing on the United States.

"We have identified 427 healthcare credit unions here," he said. "And we think there are even more."