by Jeff Owen | Jun 2, 2026 | Boards, Enterprise Risk Management, Governance, Lending, Operational Risk Assessment, Risk Appetite Assessment, Risk Management, Strategy, Uncategorized
We have covered a lot of ground in this series. In Part 1 (Not Dying Is Not an Effective Strategy), we looked at why ‘not dying’ is not an effective strategy in today’s world, and how decades of safety-first messaging can quietly tip into safety-only behavior. In Part...
by Jeff Owen | May 27, 2026 | Boards, Enterprise Risk Management, Governance, Operational Risk Assessment, Risk Appetite Assessment, Risk Management, Strategy
(Part 2 of 3 in a Series on Risk Appetite: Risk Appetite Is Not a Binder on a Shelf) In Part 1 of this series, Not Dying Is Not an Effective Strategy, we made the case that credit unions cannot ‘safety’ their way to relevance. The forces pressing on the...
by Jeff Owen | May 21, 2026 | Boards, Enterprise Risk Management, Risk Appetite Assessment, Risk Management, Strategy
(Part 1 of 3 in a Series on Risk Appetite: Not Dying Is Not an Effective Strategy) Back in 2014, we asked credit union boards and executives a question borrowed from an animated cave family: Are you living, or just not dying? It was a challenge to organizations doing...
by Jeff Owen | Apr 29, 2026 | Boards, Enterprise Risk Management, Governance, Risk Appetite Assessment, Risk Management, Strategy
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is often perceived as a dense, technical discipline best left to specialists. But for a credit union board, ERM should be something very different: a clear, practical framework that helps (1) preserve the value the organization has...
by Jeff Owen | Mar 26, 2026 | Boards, Enterprise Risk Management, Governance, Operational Risk Assessment, Regulatory, Risk Appetite Assessment, Risk Management
For many organizations, risk management still feels like a collection of well‑intended but disconnected activities. Compliance conducts assessments. Operations manages incidents. Vendors are reviewed. Audits are performed. ERM produces a report. Each function is doing...
by Tony Ferris | Jan 28, 2026 | Boards, Enterprise Risk Management, Risk Management, Strategy, Uncategorized
Through my work on strategy and enterprise risk management across the industry in all sizes of financial institutions, I have noticed an alarming issue that has and will have broad and deep implications for our credit unions. Across the economy, companies have...
