Anna Mendez

Anna Mendez is the senior vice president of lending for Mission Federal Credit Union and an avid golfer. She says the key to being asked back as a part of a recreation/business outing is in enjoying the company and not letting the business aspect dominate the conversation.

“Talking about business is unavoidable, but you shouldn’t let the business part overwhelm the game,” she says. “The primary reason to be out there is to have a good time and enjoy yourself and let your partners enjoy themselves. And don’t take yourself too seriously.”

Mendez may be taking more meetings on the course as Mission Federal gears up to provide a full range of business loan services. “Right now we do mostly commercial real estate, but we’re going to be offering a full suite, including SBA, equipment loans, business auto loans, and business lines of credit,” she says.

Mendez offers two reasons to bring a commercial real estate transaction to the credit union: lower fees and a willingness to look at deals on which banks often pass on.

“We will look at the smaller, unique deals that don’t necessarily fall into big investor portfolio parameters,” she says. “It’s time- consuming and costly to do those kinds of loans and that’s why the major banks shy away from them. We do it as a way of responding to a member’s need.”

The nearly $2 billion credit union is on a mission to get back to its educational roots, Mendez says. Mission Federal opened in 1961 as the Public Schools Credit Union. “We’re repositioning ourselves to get back to our core market,” she says.

The biggest challenge in her lending role, she says, is in “balancing the interests of all of your constituents — the members, the employees, the directors, the regulators — and coming out with a solution that is good for everyone.”

Someday Mendez might like to take a swing at a CEO’s job. “I believe that one day that might be in my future,” she says.

In the meantime, she’ll continue to golf with family and associates, and to watch her favorite player, Tiger Woods. She also approves of Michelle Wie playing on the men’s circuit: “I think it’s wonderful; she’s setting a great example for the younger generation.”