The Business of Banking

A CEO's perspective

Beyond having a great business model, products, goods, and services, all businesses require stable financial and asset management. With approximately 92 percent of global trade conducted electronically, there is a growing need for innovative solutions to banking needs.
We briefly discuss the business of banking and related topics with Lee Morgan,
CEO/President of PenAir Credit Union, taking his perspective on how to best serve business owners in his community.

Innovative Banking

“Like any business,” Morgan says, “we need to be efficient.”

Traditional banks are dressed up like vaults, covering 4,000 square feet—pillared buildings with a dozen people waiting to service their communities, each specializing in a specific area. With the rise of digital assets, this model is dated. Additionally, the U.S. has a fractional banking system, which requires financial institutions to only hold up to 10 percent of deposits in reserve. With a reduced dependency on physical currency, large vault-like structures are not necessary at every banking location.

PenAir has two new prototype facilities, one is only 1,200 square feet and the other 2,500 square feet, staffed with only three to four employees, utilizing technology to better serve members with Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs).

“It’s like an ATM on steroids,” Morgan says. “It has a big screen. You go in there, you touch the screen, and a teller member service rep pops up.”

These tellers are cross-trained to assist with any banking need. Though on-site assistance is available, mostly employees act as trainers for the ITMs, teaching credit union members how to utilize the interactive system.

Morgan emphasizes that PenAir offers the traditional banking feel with more efficient, modernized practices to better serve business owners and union members.

→ On cryptocurrencies

According to Morgan, a central bank digital currency is likely. “You know, the Fed’s been working on it,” Morgan says, while also acknowledging that cryptocurrencies are not an asset traditional banks can utilize, “until it’s backed up by the full faith of the federal government.”

Morgan believes that Stablecoin will get through the legislature. Unlike virtual currencies, Stablecoins are fiat-backed coins, available to trade like other cryptocurrencies but considered less volatile due to the 1:1 value provided by its ties to government-issued currency, like the U.S. dollar. The U.S. Congress is currently framing a bill, The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act of 2025, to establish a comprehensive framework for Stablecoins as use for trade and payments.

When GENIUS 2025 passes, Morgan is confident in the ability of banks, particularly PenAir Credit Union, to incorporate these assets into their business models. Morgan says, “A lot of the small businesses we are dealing with want the safety and security of a federally insured institution, but they also are looking for the capital needs they have.”

→ Community advocates

Though many businesses utilize online banks with integrated point-of-sale technology, such as Square, Morgan believes PenAir has an advantage over these competitors because of their impact on the community.

To Morgan, serving is more than about being a bank, but being a force for good in the communities they serve. “We want to make sure we give back as much as we can to our communities and employees but also our members.”

PenAir provides paid time off to employees to go into their communities and offer volunteer work. In 2024, employees gave a combined total of 7,000 hours to organizations in need. Additionally, the credit union provided approximately $865,000 in donations and sponsorships in support of their communities.

“A lot of the small businesses,” Morgan says of their service efforts, “every time we’re out and talking, [owners] say, ‘Hey, I love what y’all are doing for the community.’”

→ Advice to business owners

“Be true to yourself,” offers Morgan as advice to entrepreneurs and business owners. “And make sure you understand what you are getting into. And once you’re in it, devote yourself to it.”

It’s not about getting rich quickly but putting in the work. Morgan encourages entrepreneurs to focus on one idea, then make it profitable.

“Find something you know—that you like and care about,” Morgan says, “and then replicate it.”

Having one outlet store for Product X may not provide high cashflow, Morgan explains, “but doing it 20, 30, 40, 50 times will be.”