SAFE Credit Union chief is retiring, passing job to institution’s first female CEO

SAFE Credit Union President and CEO Dave Roughton, who led efforts to double the institution’s assets to over $4.3 billion in the past six years, is retiring at the end of 2022 and will be replaced in the top spot by the first woman in the financial institution’s history.

The Folsom-based credit union announced Thursday afternoon Roughton’s retirement and his successor, Faye Nabhani, who currently serves as executive vice president/chief credit officer of the credit union.

Nabhani will become president on Jan. 1, and take on the combined president/CEO role after Roughton departs at the end of 2022.

Roughton joined the credit union nearly three decades ago, becoming its top executive in 2013. The credit union went from 192,000 members to more than 240,000 during Roughton’s tenure, part of the non-profit financial institution’s aggressive marketing efforts to gain new customers, often at the expense of area banks.

The marketing included paying the city of Sacramento $23 million in 2019 to secure naming rights for the city’s downtown convention center. The center reopened in June and is called the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center as part of a 25-year deal.

The naming rights also include the new theater in the convention center called the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center.

In making the deal with the city, SAFE joined its larger local competitor Golden 1 Credit Union in paying for name recognition.

In 2015, Golden 1 Credit Union acquired naming rights for the Sacramento Kings new downtown arena for $120 million over 25 years, one of the largest naming rights deals at the time for a solo tenant NBA arena.

Nabhani said in an interview that acquiring the convention center naming rights was an important move in increasing the credit union’s visibility. She declined to elaborate on future growth endeavors, other than to say she plans to continue growing the institution’s assets and customer base.

Nabhani joined SAFE in 2016 as executive vice president/chief credit officer. Prior to that, she was employed by Keypoint Credit Union in Santa Clara for 22 years in a variety of capacities. Her last position at Keypoint was as its chief lending officer.

Roughton in a statement said that Nabhani will continue in SAFE’s mission of delivering financial health for all.

“My leadership philosophy centered on the principle of putting people first, always,” he said.

Nabhani said that philosophy has taken center stage during the pandemic. She said the credit union has provided $225 million in assistance to members since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. She said the assistance included low-interest emergency loans, payment deferrals and partial payment options.

She said the Credit Union also helped 478 businesses secure federal Paycheck Protection Program loans of $22.4 million.