cPort Credit Union CEO Gene Ardito talks about building membership, attracting talent
Photo / Jim Neuger
Gene Ardito, president and CEO of cPort Credit Union, with the sculpture 'Bronco Buster' by Frederic Remington, a reminder of strong leadership in challenging times.
Gene Ardito, 58, is president and CEO of cPort Credit Union, which has more than $200 million in assets and over 21,000 members. It has two branches in Portland, where it is based, one each in Augusta and Scarborough, and is building another in Portland, at 35 Middle St.
Ardito sat down with Mainebiz at cPort's main office on Riverside Industrial Parkway to talk about the credit union's expansion and community focus.
Mainebiz: Why another branch now?
Gene Ardito: We have two branches in Portland, we're Portland-based, and we want to expand our footprint to provide more access to our services. There are certainly several financial institutions in that area, but there are very few credit unions, and we think that we have products and services that meet consumer and small business needs. We felt that was an excellent area for us to build our branch and continue to grow our membership.
MB: Any further branch openings on the horizon?
GA: We are careful in terms of the locations. The last time we opened a new branch was in 2012, our Forest Avenue branch. As we continue to grow, we'll look for the right particular location.
MB: In what areas are you seeing the most growth?
GA: It's across the board, from mortgages to different types of unsecured loans, personal loans. We like to think that we're very supportive of our members and their needs, very flexible. But we also do small business lending as well, which is a growth area for us. Our management structure is such that any loan decision that is more challenging can come to me and I'll get involved. We'll look for ways to actually write the loan as opposed to saying no.
MB: What's your strategy for attracting new members?
GA: We like to be very proactive. For instance, we looked at the population growth of Maine, and it is basically flat. So how do you grow when the customer base is basically flat? You look for areas where there is a growth of people, and several years ago, we started getting involved with the immigrant community, and I personally got involved with different nonprofits. We got to know the community and developed hands-on knowledge by listening to them as to what their needs were, and we've created products to meet those needs. We were the first to come out with a citizenship loan. We also offer credit-builder loans to help them develop credit if they're new to the country. It's not just the immigrant community, it's all communities, but that's an area of strength. We've also hired people from the immigrant community so we have employees that speak multiple languages. Our employee base is very diverse.
MB: How do you find new talent?
GA: Talent is the key to our success. We've had really strong success hiring talented young people who want to be here — they're excited about our vision and our values, which are very important. We give our employees a pathway to career success, so we hire smart, talented people who want to grow with us. When an opportunity presents itself, we promote them.
MB: Would you ever consider a move to other geographic areas?
GA: Growth is important to our employees, and it's important to our members. They want to feel like we're evolving and not stuck doing the same thing. There is a lot of competition and choice for consumers, and it's going to get challenging. Interest rates are starting to rise and the yield curve is flattening, which is not necessarily conducive to bank earnings, so I think you have to be efficient, and that's what we try to do. If there's an opportunity or a problem that presents itself, we come together as a team and try to solve that problem for our members to the extent that we can, and we try to spot new markets where we can penetrate them. We've had some really good success doing that.
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