Credit unions need to loosen their purse strings in terms of land, risk and financial talent – CUInsight

What are the hottest positions that public finance institutions need to fill in 2024?

Legal, risk and financial are definitely at the top of the list, according to BJ Berrettini, managing director of the search firm in Kingston, Pennsylvania.

As evidence, Berrettini said the firm has filled numerous CFO, treasury, accounting, BSA/AML and risk positions this year at both small to mid-sized, publicly traded and conservative banks.

In addition, they are actively working in the position of chief risk officer for a commercial bank with a large fintech arm.

“And we’re about to start a very difficult CFO process for a multi-banking company in the process of acquiring property in New England,” he said.

Due to the ongoing funding shortage, Berrettini said the hot spots include high-profile jobs held by talent with a mission that can make or save FI money and touch the bottom line when they they are thinking outside the box.

“Necessity is the mother of innovation, and as interest rates and interest rates fall, banks need to innovate,” he said.

So how do banks and credit unions need to have top talent available?

When attracting and retaining risk, finance or compliance talent, the challenge for small to mid-sized financial organizations is to shift their thinking about compensation and value proposition from a cost center to a revenue and to save money, Berrettini said.

“Money saved is a penny earned, and if the right CRO can help a bank stay aggressive while avoiding regulatory trouble, an aggressive compensation package is often justified,” he said.

The same philosophy can be applied to the CFO who can position the bank for acquisitions, reduce operating costs or develop innovative investment strategies that will all save or make money.

Aggressive compensation packages offered to entrepreneurs from 2020-2023 need to shift to finance, risk and compliance by 2024 or public FIs may not be able to hire the talent they need during the cycle This one is difficult, said Berrettini.

Todd Engemoen, president and CEO of the $1 billion-asset R Bank in Round Rock, Texas, told Tyfone that there aren’t a lot of financial professionals in banks, but there are a lot of investors.

Engemoen, the former CFO at VeraBank, said that financial experts who understand the language of accounting strongly, but look at business from a real financial perspective, are not found in banks, mainly because there is no room for reproduction in bank development. programs such as loans and accounts.

“A bank’s balance sheet is full of assets and liabilities that are all some kind of financial contract with customers,” Engemoen said. “How you manage that conversation is the biggest driver of revenue for the business. Finding those financial leads is very difficult even though I used an experienced search firm for a financial professional in my last job .”

But Bruce Kershner, president of Kershner & Co., a large research firm that focuses on financial institutions, told Tyfone that he sees more activity on the IT side than in finance—especially around cybersecurity and standards. data.

“I have also seen the growth of troubled institutions,” he said. , and some organizations decide to sell.”

Over the summer there was a lull in the search business, Kershner said, but in the past few weeks he’s been getting calls from dozens of organizations looking for chief digital officers and chief data officers. .

Some banks are just starting to implement or have already implemented their own digital roadmap, Kershner said.

Scott Wilson, president and CEO of the $798 million-asset SeaComm Federal Credit Union in Massena, New York told Tyfone that there are pockets of areas where it is difficult to hire qualified, front-line workers, such as in the union market. of Vermont.

“Our open positions are down in half from last year, which is a good trend,” he said. “Our compliance, risk and financial positions are stable and not very profitable.”

Berrettini said that while financial, risk and compliance roles are the top priorities in 2024, additional talent needs include IT and cybersecurity managers, fintech collaboration managers, managers of wealth management relations and data & business analysts.

“However, in order to attract and retain talent in these additional lines, community banks and credit unions must have a clear and determined strategy for continued growth,” said Berrettini.

Community banks and credit union CEOs often show interest in hiring talent in those areas because they find the idea of ​​hiring and the value they represent an attractive need or need, but often shelve the idea because the agency doesn’t it has not been fixed. .

This is undoubtedly due in part to suppressed profits, but also because many public banks and credit unions are still stuck in the old way of doing business, he said.

In the last decade, New England has lost more than 60 community banks to mergers and acquisitions and these mergers have been profitable and beneficial for many.

“However, the benefits of corporate growth through consolidation will come at some point, and community banks and credit unions need to be flexible and start thinking outside the box in terms of strategies. progress on digital transformation, fintech collaboration and data analysis now, not later,” Berrettini. said.

Portland, Oregon-based Tyfone is a leading provider of consumer and business digital banking services for public financial institutions. What sets Tyfone apart is its unwavering commitment to collaboration and exceptional communication. When it comes to workplace culture, Tyfone’s motto is passion – to make work fun! The company is always looking for like-minded people who want to be part of something bigger.