PALM DESERT, Calif.–CUNA CEO Jim Nussle said that in the 18 months since he’s been CEO he has worked to flatten the organization and cut $1.5 million in expenses.
“Going forward we want to reduce dues in 2016 to solidify those savings,” Nussle told the California and Nevada leagues’ REACH Conference. “And we have more changes to make. If we want to retool and innovate and disrupt, we have to do it from the inside out.”
The announcement comes as CUNA and the state leagues wrestle with demonstrating their value propositions, both individually and joint. With numerous leagues taking a position on the issue of dual membership in the leagues/CUNA, Nussle also told the meeting he will have a related proposal in December. He declined to provide further details.
Since coming to credit unions Nussle said he has also come to learn a new word, “coopetition.” He’s not a fan.
“We’re not big enough to have some of the fights we’re having. We’re losing one institution per day,” he said. “There are many reasons why, but we can’t afford to have this kind of competition and dwell on our differences. People will say I’m a federal, I’m a state, I’m big, I’m small. We are in this together folks. There are competitors coming after us every day.”
Separately, Nussle said CUNA has a study underway that it plans to unveil shortly that will monetize the regulatory burdens borne by credit unions due to regulations.
“We can use data to demonstrate that burden,” he said. “We don’t want to just complain, we want to show exactly where the costs are and how they are adding up.”