I am Proud of My Consumer Advocacy

In Welcome to My Nightmare, I said the word that I identified with was "iconoclast." An iconoclast is one who breaks icons or idols, which is something that I am proud for having done throughout my career in consumer finance. 

The bankruptcy laws had just changed when I began my career in consumer finance in 1978. As the kid in the business, I learned from the old timers. Some of what I learned was extremely valuable, such as the results of the losses that were being suffered by creditors. Some of what I learned was what happens if you try to stick to old ways in new days.

Boeing Credit Union did some creative studies that determined that the credit union had some chances to deal with potential bankruptcy losses. The profundity was that many members who bankrupted the credit union had been denied a loan within the previous year.

Visa produced statistics that showed that the number one client who caused losses was someone who had an overwhelming amount of unsecured loans. That was coupled with the beginning of the housing market bubble, in that appraisers were often told what the property needed to appraise for in order to make the loan. 

The combination meant that lesser creditors were causing our best members problems, and credit unions either needed to take advantage of their popularity by being responsible, or they deserved to be treated like the check cashing companies and department stores with credit cards. 

I began setting up the meetings for the Pierce County Chapter of credit unions, which was a monthly dinner meeting highlighted by the annual credit union banquet held in October.

Over the years that I did that job, I set up panels of bankruptcy experts from the various sides. Some of those meetings drew credit unions from Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, with one panel meeting drawing an attendance of more than two-hundred people. 

That was followed by deals made with bankruptcy attorneys, many of which were initiated by the attorneys who grew accustomed to preserving their clients' membership in exchange for voluntary repayment. We were able to work out secured loans by financing redemptions and helping repay non-dischargeable loans. 

What was good for the member was good for the credit union. Collections should never be about vengeance or spite. It should always be about recovering all money, when possible, and losing the least amount when recovering all money is not possible.

As I peruse my old seminars, the one theme that is constant is to do right by the members, and the rewards would be bestowed upon you. 

I think that is also a good idea for how to live one's life!