Robert Cashman On Leadership

“Unfortunately, we have a rocky road ahead of us. It is hard for people to survive — we see it on a day-to-day basis. We have to be sensitive to people that have had difficult times. Maybe their credit suffered, but that shouldn’t preclude them from going forward.”

As the largest state-chartered credit union in Massachusetts, Metro Credit Union ($3.4B, Chelsea, MA) is a big ship to steer, but at the helm sits industry veteran Robert Cashman.

Cashman started his career at Metro in 1983 after graduating from Boston University’s School of Management and assumed his current role in 1998. Under his leadership, the credit union has expanded from hundreds of millions in assets to more than $3 billion.

Having just celebrated another year with his organization, Cashman talked with CreditUnions.com about the challenges credit unions — and members — face today in the sphere of financial services as well as the wider economy.

On getting a start in the credit union movement …

Robert Cashman: I just celebrated my 41st year here at Metro, and that’s also my 41st year in the industry. Not many people can say that. My grandfather was originally a volunteer at this credit union, my father joined for a period of time, and then I did the same. And, we’ve had other family members involved in the credit union industry dating back to the 1960s.

That said, I think what got me involved was seeing the good work individuals are able to do for their members in the community, and I’m proud to say to this day I still meet with members on a regular basis. Some of them go back three generations. It’s a wonderful opportunity.

On leadership philosophies for employees …

RC: I’ve been fortunate to have some good mentors over the years. One of them was my father. He had a sign on the wall that he put up all around the office. It was the word “communicate.”

When COVID-19 hit, one of the first things we did was pivot to remote work. I started a weekly e-mail address to employees that we moved down to a monthly basis and now more of a quarterly basis. In the interim, we’ve created other mechanisms for communication. We’ve put up TVs in our offices and around the building so people can see what’s going on as far as programs and seminars and events. We have a weekly blog. We have regularly scheduled town halls and strategic communications sessions with all of our managers. And managers have meetings on a weekly basis with their employees.

Engagement and communication with our employees is important. We work hard to make sure the content and cadence don’t overwhelm people, but they feel like they are up to speed.

On how communication extends to members …

RC: Communication isn’t just important internally. We communicate with our members in a way that works best for them.

We still have members that receive snail mail. We have members that prefer e-mail. We’re doing some SMS text messaging. Obviously, we also have our online approach from our website. We have to make sure information is readily available when and how our members want it. Keeping them informed has gone a long way to building our brand and the trust factor.

Financial wellbeing is important. We have a lot of programs we run in the community and offer courses online for budgeting and basics. Many branches are multi-generational, but they’re also multicultural. They’re melting pots. So, we have to be cognizant of that to properly help them.

If you’re not serving your members’ or community’s needs, they will go elsewhere. That’s easier said than done because you need more than technological resources. You need human resources and financial resources, too, and that’s a tough balance. But if you lose sight of what the members’ needs are, and you’re not there when they have that need, and you can’t deliver the solution when and how they want it, it’s going to be hard for you to survive.

On addressing the impacts of economic uncertainty …

RC: Unfortunately, we have a rocky road ahead of us. It is hard for people to survive — we see it on a day-to-day basis. Our members are working as hard as they can, but they’re living hand to mouth. We have to be sensitive to people that have had difficult times. Maybe their credit suffered, but that shouldn’t preclude them from going forward.

I’ll use a recent example. Home prices are extremely high here in the Northeast and the Boston area. There’s very little inventory and interest rates are high. As an institution, we don’t have control over the price of housing or the rates, but we do have control over time. The only way we can bring a payment down with the amount of interest the person pays is by working on the time element. So, Metro Credit Union came out with a 40-year mortgage option for as little as 5% down.

This is not a product for someone that’s buying a multimillion-dollar home or a vacation home. This is something for those that want to get started. It’s not only for purchases, either. There are people who are retiring that want to stay in their homes, but they have a first mortgage and maybe a second mortgage and need to refinance. They’re trying to make ends meet. This allows them to spread out the payment so they can stay at home.

So, that’s an example of finding a solution that helps individuals, especially during difficult times. It’s about being creative, and it’s about stepping up to find solutions for our members.

On the challenges the credit union industry faces …

RC: Obviously the easy one right now is the economic environment we’re in currently. The interest rate swing has created some difficulty and squeezed margins.

Beyond that, increasing regulatory compliance and oversight is taking a toll. The amount of time, energy, and money being spent has impacted all organizations. Everybody understands risk, everyone understands the need, but there is a misunderstanding of the impact that it has from a resource or financial perspective. It takes away time, energy, and money that should be used to help the members and help those in the community.

And I don’t see it getting any better. As time goes on and as oversight increases, I think it’s going to be especially problematic for the smaller institutions to keep pace. It’s tough enough to do so from a technological point of view, but when you throw in regulatory compliance on top of it — it’s just a bad formula.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t say competition is fierce right now. We shouldn’t overlook what’s taking place in the fintech environment. Fintechs have a strong opportunity to propel faster than us. They’ll have legacy systems, and they’re not as regulated as we are. That gives them a little bit of an advantage.

In combination with all of that, the workforce is changing rapidly. How people look at their jobs and what it takes as an employer to get the job done is changing. That is weighing heavily on many institutions, and we’re trying to spend as much time as we can with the human capital piece of our strategic plan. We need to make sure we’re doing anything and everything we can to hire, train, and retain the workforce we need.

On collaborating with other financial institutions or organizations …

RC: In general, credit unions are more highly collaborative than any other aspect of the financial services industry. I’m proud to say we stay involved at the local and national level, whether it be through the league or the corporate association here in Massachusetts. It’s all important.

One of the first things I remember from back when I got into the industry was how many of the CEOs used to get together once a month for breakfast and commiserate about what’s going on in our shops. That still takes place today. Maybe it involves more business, like where we do participation loans. We buy and sell loans between each other; we help diversity each other’s balance sheets; and we help make sure our members are served properly. It’s really important for the credit industry to stick together, and any type of collaboration goes a long way.

CreditUnions.com’s “On Leadership” series spotlights notable leaders across the credit union landscape by discovering how they joined the movement, learning what makes them tick, uncovering career lessons and successes, and seeking advice for the future of the movement. Read the whole series today.