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First South President and CEO joins St. Louis Fed CDIAC

MEMPHIS, Tennessee – The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis recently appointed Dr. Craig Esrael, President and CEO of First South Financial Credit Union, to its Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC). Established by the St. Louis Fed in 2011, the 12-person advisory council is made of executives of financial institutions across the Fed’s Eighth District, which includes Bartlett. Esrael has been appointed to a three-year term ending in 2019.

Council members advise St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on the credit, banking and economic conditions facing their institutions and local communities. With 16 Mid-South banking center locations, First South is by far the largest credit union in West Tennessee based on capital.

“I am honored to serve on the CDIAC with bankers across the 8th Federal Reserve District,” said Esrael. “Joining the CDIAC provides First South with an invaluable opportunity to shape policy that benefits our members, employees and communities.”

Ranked among the strongest banking institutions for financial strength and stability in the U.S., First South has enjoyed an A+ Weiss Rating, over 20 years of Bauer 5-star ratings and the longest history of perfect 300 IDC Financial Publishing scores of all the financial institutions in Tennessee. The credit union is also ranked one of the Top 200 Healthiest Credit Unions in America by DepositAccounts, the largest and most comprehensive online consumer banking publication in the U.S.