To Richard Romero, it’s all about personal prosperity. Over the several stops of his professional career–which started as a part-time teller while attending college–Richard came to realize that the best thing a financial institution could do is to help its customers achieve financial success.
Leadership and the ability to relate are essential to his work for Seattle Credit Union’s members. It was an old branch assistant manager who showed him a leader’s job is to teach and motivate. He believes his personal immigrant experience gave him the ability to connect with the people on the other side of the counter or desk at each of his banking stops since 1988.
In the end, Richard says the best part of his job is providing financial services to everyone, especially those who may have been underserved by financial institutions or abused by alternative financial service providers. He’s proud he’s built a staff that agrees. This is why Seattle Credit Union members can escape the bad experiences they’ve had with some financial institutions, check-cashing services, or high-interest used car loans, instead receiving the services they need to properly take their place in the American economy. From his perspective, leading Seattle Credit Union allows him to pay back his own success to the members and the community at large, as CEO and the boards of the United Way, King County, the YWCA of King and Snohomish Counties, Inclusiv – an industry organization focused on community development credit unions and CUES–Credit Union Executive Society.