Making Compliance Understandable

HONOR CREDIT UNION’S member promise is “providing financial solutions for success,” and Amanda Craig is dedicated to combining that promise with regulatory compliance.

That means Craig, the vice president of enterprise risk management for the $630 million asset credit union in St. Joseph, Mich., takes compliance regulations and translates them into language that both employees and members understand.

“I develop easy-to-understand regulatory materials for the frontline team so they can provide ‘wow’ member experiences,” says Craig, who’s responsible for compliance and audit functions, quality control for secondary market real estate loans and the collections department. Craig analyzes regulations to determine how they will protect consumers and then presents them in plain language.

“It’s important, and it’s fun when it clicks for everyone,” she adds “When it makes sense and they understand why we do it, it creates a win-win for the Honor team and the member.”

Craig writes for CU*Answers’ AuditLink Management Services Network Compliance Tracker newsletter and is a core member of its compliance group. She attended Integrity Coaching College to help lead her team.

“I want to help my team reach their potential and push themselves to the next level,” she says. “Staying continuously focused on developing my team creates an atmosphere that encourages exploration and self-discovery.”

Before Craig joined Honor, compliance and audit duties were split among several staff members. She established the department and has emerged as a credit union leader.

Craig also created a culture of teamwork between compliance and all other departments. She was instrumental in developing the credit union’s paperless online security center, eSolutions Initiative.

“I enjoy looking for efficiencies,” she says. “When I do internal audits, I’m not just looking at compliance, but also for ways to improve processes, and save resources and team members’ time. The more efficient our team is, the more it can focus on providing solutions for financial success for the member.”

Her team holds periodic training sessions for branch staff and other departments on compliance procedures, and Craig does volunteer compliance consultations with other credit unions.

If she could have one wish come true, Craig would have a comprehensive software program.

“It would house everything I work on, and I could compile information and request it any way I wanted,” she says. “I’d have everything at my fingertips.”