CBJ's Largest Privately Held Companies 2018

UICCU
5
JEFF DISTERHOFT
PRESIDENT & CEO
University of Iowa Community Credit Union continued
its climb up the Corridor Business Journal’s Largest Privately
Held Companies list this year, breaking the top five
and setting a new bar for the state’s banking industry.
The North Liberty-based credit union ranked No. 5
on this year’s list, with $216.3 million in revenue and
435 employees in 2017. That’s a revenue increase of 46 percent
over 2015’s numbers, when it ranked No. 7, and 95 percent
over 2013, when it ranked No. 9.
For President and CEO Jeff
Disterhoft, the organization’s
growth has been both a constant
and a challenge over the
past few decades.
“We’ve been averaging
about 20 percent a year for
20 years, so in that regard our
growth has been comparable
the last couple years to what
we enjoyed 10 years ago, or
maybe even 20 years ago,”
Mr. Disterhoft said. “But I’m
not naïve enough to not realize
that 20 percent growth today
is a little different than 20
percent growth 20 years ago.”
UICCU has faced its share
of growing pains, Mr. Disterhoft
offered, and is working hard to “get folks in the right
seats on the bus,” but it has also grown into a lending and
retail banking giant. It reported $4.67 billion in assets and
$3.53 billion in deposits at the end of last year, making it the
largest financial institution chartered in Iowa. It is also the
largest purchase mortgage lender, and often the largest auto
lender in the state.
The credit union has found an organic formula for success
in competitive rates and a methodical branch expansion plan
that has added one or two new branches each year. That has
taken UICCU’s black-and-gold brand into Black Hawk County,
the Quad Cities and the central Iowa region – a move that “has
gone really well for us,” Mr. Disterhoft said.
Its newest branch opened in Waukee this April and an office
in nearby Ankeny is planned for the fall.
Another piece of the formula is UICCU’s focus on “capturing
its own business” through its five-year old UICCU
Insurance division. Policy sales are up 40 percent year over
year, Mr. Disterhoft said, and offer a promising avenue for
future growth.
“We have really gone back to basics, and trying to capture
the insurance on our home loans, our own car loans,” he said.
“Once we get that part figured out, maybe we can go out marketing
to the rest of the world, but right now we’re just trying
to make sure we’re taking care of our own business, and we’re
doing a better job of that finally.”
UICCU’s success hasn’t come without a price, however. The
credit union is the frequent target of attacks by the state’s banking
industry, which charges that its nonprofit status allows it
to undercut the competition and grow more aggressively. A
$1.2 billion tax cut reform bill passed by the Iowa Senate in
late February included
a measure that would
impose new taxes on
credit unions and lower
them on banks, although
a separate bill
backed by Gov. Kim
Reynolds and the Iowa
House does not include
the provision.
Mr. Disterhoft expressed
confidence
in the legislative process,
noting that the
House and the Governor’s
Office have
been “very supportive
of credit unions,” and
reiterated his industry’s
position that its
tax status saves Iowans
money.
A final agreement
on a tax reform bill
had not yet been
reached as of this
deadline.
Culturally, UIC-
CU continues to lead
in the Corridor, with
the company recently
transitioning to an
unlimited PTO model,
where employees
are allowed to take
THE TEAM
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Jeff Disterhoft, President & CEO
Todd Fanning, SVP & CFO
Jim Kelly, SVP Marketing
Sue Freeman, SVP HR
Dick Noble, SVP Operations
Steve Quigley, SVP Retail Services
Amy Henderson, SVP Mortgage
Scott Wilson, SVP Commercial
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Karin Franklin, Chair
Sarah Fisher Gardial, Vice Chair
Dean Borg
Laurel Day
Fred Mims
Mark Rolinger
Lynsey Engels
Tom Lepic
Marc Moen
Dave Wright
Andre Perry
SUPPORT TEAM
Raddon Financial Group
RSM US LLP
TMG Financial Services
Wilary Winn LLC
as much time off as they need. Mr. Disterhoft acknowledged
some anxiety about the policy change before it was instituted
at the start of this year, but said it has ultimately been a positive
step for the institution.
“It’s going great. I think there was some trepidation by folks
at the tail end of last year that nobody was going to show up
for work on Jan. 1, but we’re coming up on the end of the first
quarter, and lo and behold, our world works just fine.”
- Adam Moore
14 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES 2018