Michael Peters has been in the credit union business for more than 20 years. When he looks back at the multiple branches and locations, it is his current position as the Executive Vice President of REGIONAL federal credit union which he claims has been the most rewarding.
Peters works at the Hammond branch of the credit union, working with “the best CEO he has ever worked with,” Jill Banning, and alongside a great team.
“I have never worked with a better CEO,” he said. “The organization as a whole is dedicated and always trying to help its members.”
The REGIONAL team strives to help members every day, including one another.
“That is the credit union philosophy,” Peters said. “There is a ton of opportunity. We are financially strong, which allows us to go out and help communities all over Northwest Indiana and that is what makes us different and that is what makes coming into work exciting every day.”
Peters is originally from Wisconsin but moved to Beecher, Illinois after attending college in southern Illinois. He focused on finance in college, hoping to go into business management, but his passion for numbers, money, and the banking world influenced the next 20-plus years of his credit union work.
He and his family are currently in the process of relocating to Crown Point, where Peters will be closer to work and his youngest son will attend the sixth grade.
He started in the credit union business in 1996, working in a Chicago suburb before taking a position at a Michigan credit union. At REGIONAL, he started in the lending department of REGIONAL and in 2012 was promoted to Executive Vice President (EVP).
As EVP, he works with the lending, branch operations, and human resource departments of the credit union. Every day, he works on the operational side of the credit union, dealing with the membership and loans. These loans include personal, auto, business and mortgages. He also helps to oversee the credit union’s budgets, goals and strategic plans.
Peters and his family are very close, with him currently helping his college-aged kids get ready to begin the next phase of their life in the real world. “I am helping them get to where they are going to be when they graduate and begin their own chapters in life,” he said.
Over the years he has also spent much of his free time coaching his kids’ sports’ teams, and even plays on an adult baseball team in Crown Point.
“It is the over-the-hill, adult league,” he said, chuckling. “I really like doing that to stay active. I really enjoy playing golf too.”
At REGIONAL, he has been given the opportunity to fully reach his potential and is excited to officially join into the Crown Point community and the Northwest Indiana region. The Peters family are excited to have their son within a great school system, they are happy to still be close to the city, and are looking forward to the strong sense of community in the area.
“There are so many opportunities here and that is why we are moving here and plan on staying here till I retire,” he said. “Then I am going to Florida!”
For more information on REGIONAL Federal Credit Union, click here.