(Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of Newsmaker interviews with business-community leaders focusing on the state budget and the economy.)
Gary E. Furtado, president and chief executive officer of Navigant Credit Union, says economic woes that plague much of the nation might have both positive and negative effects on Rhode Island. He sees only positives, however, with Navigant, chartered in 1915 and now the state’s largest credit union, with $1 billion in assets.
PBN: In your view, what is the state of the U.S. economy right now?
FURTADO: I do feel that we’re moving towards a recession. I would say that the economy is in turmoil due to many factors: the national deficit; the devaluation of the dollar; and, as everyone knows, the credit markets are in turmoil, and consumer confidence is down. Unemployment is rising, definitely consumer and capital spending is decreasing, food and fuel prices are increasing … I think in the near term, I would say that the outlook for the economy is bleak.
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PBN: How do you see these national trends affecting Rhode Island?
FURTADO: I would say that Rhode Island is following the trend. Rhode Island never had the same highs or the same lows as the national economy. That would be good and bad news. The housing crisis that we’re seeing nationally, we’re definitely seeing also in Rhode Island. Our value of housing is declining, we have a declining population, which means our growth potential will be limited. From the positive side, I would say that Rhode Island has a very strong tourism industry and, I believe the dollar being devalued, tourism probably will increase from that.
PBN: Is Rhode Island heading into a recession as well?
FURTADO: I believe we’re following the national trends … I think consumer confidence is also down due to some unemployment rising slightly in Rhode Island. We’ve always been a little higher than the national average when it comes to unemployment.
PBN: How is Navigant Credit Union faring during these tough economic times?
FURTADO: We’re actually faring very well, but I would say that business is a challenge. We as a retail operation are faced with a declining population in Rhode Island, which impacts our growth opportunities. A slower economy means we’re going to have less business being transacted, fewer houses being sold, less capital spending, both business and personal. But over all, Navigant Credit Union is weathering the storm fairly well, as well as can be expected. … We are expanding our business. We’re building a new branch in East Providence, which we hope will open by June. … We’re going to build a branch in Greenville. So we’re still bullish on our business.
PBN: How has Navigant been affected by the foreclosure crisis we’re seeing?
FURTADO: Not directly. I think we’re all, as institutions and as individuals, we’re affected by the declining value of our properties. But again we were not a subprime lender, so we haven’t been affected by that. We have not seen any spike in foreclosures. We’ve been fortunate, but again we’ve been a conservative lender for our 90 years in business.
PBN: How do you think Rhode Island’s work force will do in light of the economy’s problems?
FURTADO: As we see the economy slowing, as we see no real growth or no new businesses coming into Rhode Island, we do see that our students are leaving the state. Students will follow where the business is. I think that’s a challenge for Rhode Islanders. We do have a great educational system in this state, [with] many colleges and universities, which are turning out very high-quality students. But we’re seeing them leave the state.
PBN: How do you make Navigant Credit Union stand out from the other banks in Rhode Island?
FURTADO: I think a few things. I would say we are … very member-focused. We are a local institution, owned and operated right here in Rhode Island. We take great pride in what we do in our community, what we are involved in, from Little League teams to soccer teams and so forth.
PBN: Navigant changed its name last year from Credit Union Central Falls. How has that affected your business?
FURTADO: Very, very well. We did a marketing survey prior to our name change, to see how we stand in the market, to see how our name recognition, our brand recognition, is. And we did another survey in the fall, after our major advertising campaign, and we were almost at the same number of customers as we had before the name change. We took 90 years of Credit Union Central Falls and converted that to Navigant Credit Union in a matter of six months. We’re very happy. Our advertising people were ecstatic. We didn’t lose any customers and our name recognition is very strong in this state.
PBN: Most of your branches are in northern Rhode Island, but an East Providence branch would seem to be moving out of that area. Are you looking to expand into other parts of the state?
FURTADO: We’re statewide, but we do have an expansion plan. We would like to grow contiguously. I don’t think you’ll see us open a branch in Newport or Westerly. We want to grow two ways: where some of our members are so we can be convenient to those members, and also to attract new members. •
interview: Gary E. Furtado
POSITION: President and chief executive officer of Navigant Credit Union.
BACKGROUND: Gary E. Furtado has been employed at Navigant Credit Union (previously Credit Union Central Falls) since 1978, when he began working there as an accountant. He was named president in 1987.
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1978 and a master’s degree in management in 1985, both from Bryant University.
RESIDENCE: Warren
AGE: 51
