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Timothy Smyth
Chairman of the Board, City of Boston Credit Union
Age: 50
Industry experience: 6 years
After expanding its membership to Middlesex County and completing two mergers, the City of Boston Credit Union now has more than $500 million in assets and 31,000 members. Board Chairman Timothy Smyth sees these milestones not as the endgame but as steps to more opportunities for credit union members, including technology enhancements, a new branch near Northeastern University and perhaps the credit union’s first Middlesex County branch.
Formed in 1915 by then-Mayor James Michael Curley, the City of Boston Credit Union served only employees until 2006, when membership expanded to Suffolk and Norfolk counties. The institution is designated as a low-income credit union, giving it flexibility when serving members. The board is made up of members, Smyth said, none of them professional bankers. Smyth works for the city’s retirement system and previously worked as a lawyer in private practice and in the Worcester County’s district attorney’s office.
Q: Why did the credit union expand into Middlesex County?
A: We thought that would be a good fit for us because it’s adjacent to Suffolk County, which is essentially our home base. Middlesex County has a huge population in Massachusetts. In fact, it’s the largest county in the state. And geographically it’s quite big as well, so we thought that would be a good next step for us.
Q: Does expanding into Middlesex County get away from the original bond behind the City of Boston Credit Union?
A: I don’t think so. I think our city DNA is there and will always be there. My day job is with the city of Boston Retirement System. The [credit union’s] corporate headquarters is across the street from City Hall. Whenever I come over here, I have to walk by two statues of Mayor Curley, so there’s a constant reminder of who we are and where we’ve come from and why we’re in business.
Q: What has been the impact of acquiring Northeastern University Federal Credit Union and Chadwick Federal Credit Union in 2019?
A: It’s helped us to increase our membership and asset size. We feel a kindred spirit with Northeastern being a city university. We’re about to open a branch right behind the Boston Symphony Orchestra which will service not only Northeastern folks but the BSO and any of the surrounding areas. Chadwick served FM Global Insurance. It was an employee–only credit union. They’re a worldwide insurance carrier, so that gave us a lot of exposure, even outside of Massachusetts.
Q: How did the pandemic affect the credit union?
A: I think it gave [president and CEO] Dan Waltz some more gray hair. It’s a challenge. We’re in the people business. How do you service people face-to-face? That’s the real challenge. We want to keep not only our membership safe but our staff. We’ve got a little under 100 staffers and getting them home safely at night is our priority, and the same for our membership. Like for everybody else, that comes with a whole host of challenges.
Q: Any plans to change or shrink the branch network?
A: We’re not in the shrinking business. We’re in the growth business. We think that’s the best way to serve our members. We’re upward and onward. Even with COVID – that’s just a bump in the road for us.
The new branch is at 2 Westland Ave. It’s really in the heart of the city. It’s really a unique branch when you go in there. There are two interactive teller machines. We were hoping to get a lot of the student body, and their needs are a lot different than the needs of the more experienced credit union member. They like the WiFi, the free coffee and all that good stuff. We set it up to make it an environment that will be friendly to students.
Q: Are there any other initiatives geared toward students or Generation Z?
A: We keep up with technology. A lot of the younger folks, I think they’d be more than happy not going into a brick–and–mortar building. They like having it all in the palm of their hands and being able to bank online. That’s essential, and I think that’s the future. Any credit union that wants to stay relevant is going to have to be on top of technology.
We have reduced our membership minimum to $5 in hopes to get a lot of the young – even grade school kids – started. We do a lot of financial literacy in the schools. We think that’s a good way of teaching them young and getting them into saving.
Q: What’s next for the credit union?
A: The fact that we’ve eclipsed $500 million we think is great, but like Bill Belichick, we’re taking one victory lap, and then it’s upward and onward for the membership. We know there’s a lot of work to go. We’re not satisfied with that amount. We want to keep getting bigger and better and more efficient for our membership.
The reasons we think we were able to hit this goal is we have a lot of flexibility when it comes to meeting our members financial needs. Since the onset of the pandemic, we provided nearly $11 million in mortgage and home equity and payment deferrals. We’ve approved skip-a-pay for more than 300 loans, so we just continue to work with members on all their issues. And as far as relationships go, there’s none tighter than between the City of Boston Credit Union and their members. Not only do we have long-term members, but we have generational members. We’ve got grandparents, parents and grandchildren who are members of the credit union. I think that speaks volumes of the staff. The board knows that all the good things that happen at the credit union start at the teller level, and it works its way up. Quite frankly, the board is the last to receive any of the credit. We know who does the work, and the membership knows as well. Status quo is not an option for us. We see that we have to keep growing.
Smyth’s Five Favorite Boston Sports Championship Teams
- 2004 Boston Red Sox
- 2011 Boston Bruins
- 1984 Boston College Eagles(Cotton Bowl)
- 2001 New England Patriots
- 2008 Boston Celtics
