AUSTIN, Texas—A new study indicates that CU CEOs are feeling more optimistic about 2015 than they have any year in the recent past.
Credit union consulting firm Abound Resources has published the results of its annual Insights survey of credit union executives for 2015. In the report the firm explains that credit union CEO confidence is higher than any year since the survey began in 2010.
“That is not to say that all CEOs are content,” Abound stated in its report. “They still have serious concerns about the regulatory burden, and they are still worried about the economy and interest rates.”
Not surprising, replacing NSF/OD income with other fee income sources is the concern that moved up the most in the list this year, with 27% of CEOs rating this as a focus for 2015, as opposed to 15% last year.
While CEO’s top priority for 2015 is to grow consumer loans, they are also focused on growing mortgage loans and on growing their Internet and mobile channels, the study revealed.
“While CEOs are growth focused, they have not lost sight of the need for cost containment,” Abound explained. “Streamlining workflow was the top cost saving strategy cited this year.”
The biggest move this year in the study was the big jump in CEOs’ focus on fraud and information security, nearly doubling in importance.
“The credit union executives in charge of IT seem to have heard their CEOs loud and clear. Those executives named their top three technology concerns as using technology for better member services and competitive differentiation, better efficiencies, and gaining more value from existing technologies and vendor relationships,” the study stated.
Those same credit union executives expect an increase in technology spending, with 13% expecting “much more” spending in 2015 compared to 2014, and 53% reporting “slightly more.”
While credit union officers expect technology spending to increase, this year’s priorities reflect CEOs’ focus on Internet and mobile channels with consumer and commercial remote deposit capture, commercial and consumer Internet banking, and mobile banking making the top five planned purchase list with one out of five credit union officers making at least one of them their priority.
“We are very optimistic for credit union prospects in 2015,” the report concluded. “Though there is only a glimmer of hope that we might see any real regulatory relief, the recovery is hitting full steam and interest rates will likely rise in the second half of the year. That alone will lift earnings for the majority of credit unions. There are still challenges, of course, and credit unions will need to continue to improve efficiency and update information security and fraud mitigation strategies. The big banks are back to their aggressive growth strategies, so sales execution and sound pricing strategies will also need to be a priority.”