Credit Union Exam Solutions Presents With Flying Colors

www.marktreichel.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/

Mark Treichel is joined by Mike Macchiarola, Partner and CEO of Olden Lane, for a structured deep-dive into the most recent NCUA Annual Report. Mike organizes his analysis into seven interlocking themes — what he calls the Magnificent Seven — and the conversation walks through each one with quantitative detail and practical implications for credit union leadership.

In this episode:

•        The system is strong but the tone of the report is cautious — and why that is the right posture

•        Consolidation math: credit union count down roughly 3.7% year over year, with losses concentrated on the small end of the barbell

•        Average age of a credit union member (53) versus the average U.S. resident (38.5), and what the widening gap implies

•        Member acquisition cost approaching $900, roughly double the level of two to three years ago

•        The median credit union has posted negative member growth for six consecutive quarters

•        Why return on assets and net worth are stronger than they look — and the one-time factors propping them up

•        Regulatory philosophy pendulum: elimination of reputational risk, rejection of regulation by enforcement, extended exam cycles, and ten-plus deregulation announcements

•        Innovation is now central to the agenda: stablecoin rulemaking, NCUA's historical pattern of being ahead on derivatives and non-member shares

•        FinTech competitive picture: SoFi, Robinhood, Wealthfront, and Coinbase deposits and growth rates against the credit union industry

•        The bigness question: 73% of credit unions hold 13% of assets; the top 21 credit unions hold 25%

•        How NCUA itself is changing — roughly 25% of staff exited through the departure plan, single-member board, and what that means for industry timing

•        The announcement that Olden Lane is joining Stifel Nicolaus

Mike's analysis at Olden Lane is built on quarterly tier-by-tier data on the credit union industry. This conversation is a concentrated version of the themes his team tracks and the practical conclusions they draw from them.