Hear From A Father-Son Team That’s Built A Legacy In Financial Services

A father and son team that worked together to build a legacy in financial services say there is something special about running a family business.

Robert and Curtis Knuth of National Credit-reporting System and Service 1st have the kind of bond that comes with working together for decades. They laugh together easily and can complete each other’s thoughts.

NCS was founded in 1978 by Robert Knuth. It has the distinction of being the first organization to offer IRS tax transcript solutions (TRV® Services) nationwide.

NCS distributes income, identity, and employment solutions through its Alliance Partner network, which includes its affiliate, Service 1st.

Service 1st is a national credit reporting agency providing lenders and other benefit providers with verification solutions, background screening, and other credit-related services to streamline origination and risk mitigation processes.

The Knuths recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about their history together and the future of the two companies.

Robert Knuth started his career with Equifax. He worked for them for a number of years in locations throughout the United States and remembers the switch from paper to digital files.

“And it was not an easy task,” Robert Knuth said.

Today, Robert Knuth is retired, but he’s still involved peripherally in the family businesses.

Curtis Knuth is president and CEO of NCS. He is also the CEO of Service 1st and remembers going to trade association meetings with Robert as a teenager, where his father introduced him to other families who worked in finance. That included independent mortgage bankers and credit reporting companies.

Curtis Knuth said his interest in being part of the business had a lot to do with the technology that was revolutionizing financial services in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By the time his father resigned from his role as president and CEO at NCS to become chairman of the board of directors in 2017, Curtis had served as executive vice president of NCS since 2010.

Robert Knuth, who has Parkinson’s disease, explained that he wanted to make sure the company was left in good hands.

“Well, you know, the one thing that I was concerned about throughout all of this was my strong belief in quality,” Robert Knuth said. “We are comfortable that this is going to be very well handled by Curtis and whoever he passes it on to.”

Both father and son agree that it is a point of family pride, especially for Robert, that Curtis was able to follow him into this field.

“Yes, it’s really cool,” Robert Knuth said. “It’s a great opportunity to have your thoughts continue to somebody else.”      

“My dad was always very good at not putting pressure on me to take over the family shop. He was always very gracious like that. So, I had originally started out in environmental consulting. I really enjoyed that, but wanted to be with my family,” Curtis Knuth said.

Not that having a family business is simple. There is a bit of a balance when it comes to keeping work and home life separated. Curtis Knuth said his mother, Maryann, has always been good at striking that balance. She was a big part of building NCS.

“My mother was very instrumental in NCS as the company was growing, running our books and all sorts of different things over there. I certainly don’t want to leave my mother out,” Curtis Knuth said.

Will the family legacy continue on to the next generation?

“I don’t know. So my crew is still a bit young. My oldest is 15. Right now, it’s all about baseball. Baseball and, we hope, school,” Curtis Knuth said.

He has five children and his sister has three so, “You never know.”

Looking forward, Curtis Knuth said NCS and Service 1st are on good paths. NCS is continuing to do more on the verification side. Service 1st has expanded its leadership team with four senior hires specializing in mortgage operations, sales, and technology.

The companies have been successful because of the loyalty of their employees, some of whom have been with the Knuth family for 40 or more years. That is the secret to maintaining customer relationships, Robert Knuth said.

“Our customers can be totally confident that there’s high integrity and high quality when dealing with this crowd,” he said.