ACUMA ONpoint

Mortgage lending success requires different skills, abilities, and levels of awareness. Central to those is being readily available to members, Realtors, and anyone else involved in the mortgage lending process. That means being there when they call if only to let them know you’re involved and working toward a resolution. Such immediacy works wonders, says Jen Poniatowski, Vice President of Members Sales at Credit Union 1, along with the right mix of lending products, technology, and the ability to speak to them in a language in which they’d like to be addressed. Jen shares this and other success secrets with ACUMA President Peter Benjamin, CMB, in this enlightening podcast. Sponsored by Member First Mortgage.

The financial market is always changing, but emerging generations have difficulty distinguishing between credit unions, banks, and other lenders. When it comes to home mortgages, most don’t understand and are fearful of the process, knowing little about credit unions’ natural advantages to help first-time homebuyers achieve their personal financial goals. Education, outreach, and sensitivity to personal needs are just a few of the secrets to successfully serving Millennials, Gen Z, and the next cohort to come along. Join ACUMA President Peter Benjamin, CMB, and podcast guest Kristin Messerli, cofounder and executive director of FirstHome IQ , in a deep dive that explores how to successfully reach and better serve up-and-coming homebuyers. Sponsored by National MI.

Succeeding in any enterprise turns on your ability to understand the minds of your constituents. In credit union mortgage lending, your constituency starts with borrowers but stretches to include the Realtors you work with and the institutions you compete with to serve your members best. That quickly becomes a busy field of play, and ACUMA President Peter Benjamin, CMB, puts his head together with Mike Ferraro, President of Mortgage Markets CUSO, to compare notes and strategies to maximize credit union advantages while minimizing competitive threats. Sponsored by FirstClose.

Everyone talks about leadership, but little is said about being a good teammate. Good leaders know that they, of course, can’t do it alone. Great leaders know that good teammates able to work together, support each other’s efforts, fill in the gaps, and score in whatever discipline they perform are both vital to success and themselves great leaders in the making. ACUMA president Peter Benjamin, CMB, joins friend and former colleague Jermaine Medley, VP of Mortgage Originations for Lafayette Federal Credit Union, former starting point guard for Villanova University, and Delaware Basketball Hall of Fame inductee to share inside thoughts on what makes a great teammate and what leaders can do to stimulate that performance. 

Work brings value to time, or so the saying goes. High-level credit union professionals know how to manage time productively in ways that maximize their own days and those of their staff members. But it takes a certain level of emotional intelligence to look beyond mere efficiencies and find a rationale for time management, especially as it relates to serving members. 

That’s the wisdom Amber Speer, VP of Mortgage for Texell Credit Union, brings every day to better manage her operations, the employees she oversees, and the members she serves. She shares those thoughts and strategies with ACUMA President Peter Benjamin, CMB, and co-host Brandonn Dukes, EVP of Real Estate for Consumer Lending for Curinos, in this enlightening podcast that travels beyond its initial topics to an entirely different level. This one is worth a listen. Sponsored by Curinos.

Few things demand more time and energy than our professions. One of the exceptions seems to be hot sauce, especially when shared among friends. Join ACUMA staff members Krista Korfmacher, Justin Hawkins, and Camryn Hinton as they put ACUMA President, Peter Benjamin, CMB, on the hot seat about what the association has accomplished in the first 18 months of his tenure, and what lies ahead for the future. The discussion is framed within the context of a hot sauce tasting in which the samples run from 2- to 9-out-of-10 on the Scoville heat units scale. The discussion is as lively as the group’s taste buds become as they plan for the future. Tune in for thoughts on professional development as well as culinary insights into one of the world’s most challenging foods. (Hint: Keep your eyes open for both Piko Riko and The Seventh Reaper hot sauces but proceed with caution.)

Mortgage lending is all about helping members build net worth through home ownership. But the most difficult lessons come from creating your net worth, not only financially, but from both a personal and professional perspective. The work is more challenging than you may think.

Dale Syta, Managing Director of Bellco Home Loans, has found the key to that success with The Loan Officer Playbook, an ongoing series of online opportunities through which even the best loan officers can improve their game. Syta spells out the tenets of success in an engaging crossfire of questions and answers designed to help you improve your profession and life. Sponsored by Optimal Blue.

As a credit union mortgage lender, you strive to be a more effective leader for your team and the institution it serves. What makes you get out of bed in the morning to tackle the challenging problems and vault the growing hurdles to mortgage lending success? What enables you to inspire your team to follow into the fray while better serving your members? Join ACUMA President Peter Benjamin and our guest SECU of Maryland Managing Director, Mark Deitz as the two dissect what makes a successful leader during this enlightening podcast.

The ACUMA team is onsite at our FOCALpoint Workshop in Louisville, KY. Peter Benjamin, President of ACUMA was joined by Carolyn Morganbesser, Assistant Vice President Mortgage Originations at Affinity Federal Credit Union, and Bernie Chavira, AVP of Mortgage Lending Originations at Define Mortgage Solutions for this special edition episode of the ACUMA OnPoint Podcast. Coming together and connecting with other professionals in the credit union mortgage industry are just some of the keys to their success. They both were able to share with us their favorite parts of the workshop and how being vulnerable allows them to be not just better professionals, but also, better leaders to their teams. 

No one accidentally succeeds. No matter how big the challenge is, believing in yourself, your capabilities, and the value of your efforts is critical to achieving success. At the heart of all this lies a single word – optimism. Ali Nassirian, Vice President of Home Loans at Golden 1 Credit Union, understands the value of optimism. In this podcast, he and ACUMA President Peter Benjamin, CMB, share some insightful thoughts about optimism’s importance.