Rio Grande Credit Union in Albuquerque, N.M., said Thursday that it has named Michael Athens as its new president and CEO.
Athens has been serving as interim president and CEO after the credit union’s previous leader, Chris Fitzgerald, left for another job in April, according to a spokesperson.
Prior to that, Athens had been Rio Grande CU’s vice president of operations since his arrival at the credit union in 2010. Before that, he held an executive position at the Credit Union Association of New Mexico and worked at Bank of America. He also has worked at Ranchers Banks and Bank of Belen, two community banks in New Mexico.
“Rio Grande Credit Union has upheld a steadfast commitment to exceptional member service for more than 65 years,” Athens said in a statement. “It is a privilege to serve and support our members as they build successful financial futures and a pleasure building community partnerships.”
In 1953, a group of City of Albuquerque employees chartered Rio Grande Credit Union. Today, it has six branches. The $326 million-asset institution has more than 32,000 members, according to data from the National Credit Union Administration.
In its most recent call report, Rio Grande Credit Union earned roughly $5.3 million last year, up about 48 percent from 2017. As of Dec. 31, it was well capitalized with a net worth ratio of 15.57 percent.
At the end of 2018, Rio Grande CU had about $254 million in loans.
