THE NORTH POLE—Looking to do a little post-holiday shopping for your credit union? CUToday.info asked select companies and solutions providers to credit unions to reach into gift bags and identify some products or services they’d suggest every CU give themselves for 2015.
Below is a look at their suggestions for your shopping list.
Lending Solutions & ViClarity: Leading Edge ERM System Every CU Should Have
Keeping on top of your compliance, governance and risk responsibilities is viewed as a challenging burden by some, but it need not be anymore.
Lending Solutions, Inc. and ViClarity have partnered to bring an innovative Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) solution to the market. This solution allows credit unions to simplify compliance monitoring and track all major processes and initiatives organization-wide in one easy system.
This ERM solution is essentially a risk-based approach to managing an enterprise, integrating concepts of internal control, regulatory compliance, and strategic planning. This solution allows you steer your decision-making process in order to optimize performance throughout your organization and easily identify any issues among the large volumes of data.
Why do you need it?
Financial institutions are continually faced with a mounting number of compliance and regulatory responsibilities. Pressure from both internal (board) and external (regulators, etc) sources continue to increase, and an intuitive ERM system such as this can greatly help your credit union manage all of its key processes in one place and eliminate the dangers of relying on complex excel spreadsheets and other ancillary systems.
What are the main benefits?
- One stop shop for all Compliance/Audit/Risk
- Automated report with full audit trail
- Pre-populated templates for NCUA guidelines & ability to customize system with your templates/spreadsheets
- Scheduled audits at predefined frequencies including automated prompts when activity is due
- Integrated view of Risk & Compliance
- No Excel spreadsheets = No chasing updates = EFFICIENCY + COST SAVING
- Quickly identify areas of non-compliance within the company
- Stay focused on growing business
How do I find out more information on this solution?
For more details please visit www.viclarity.com/us-credit-unions/ or contact Greg Raab at graab@fasinate.com
CUES: How Does Your Executive Compensation Stack Up?
Looking ahead to 2015? Your credit union’s future depends on its leaders, and competitive compensation is key to hiring and retaining the best talent.
Be sure to add CUES Executive Compensation Survey to your holiday wish list. Conveniently accessible online, this dynamic reporting tool allows you to choose the factors most important to you. Run reports based on:
- Asset size
- Region
- Membership size
- Field of membership
- State
- Loan portfolio
You'll also have access to:
- Benefits data, including insurance, retirement, perks, and employment contract details
- Side-by-side, year-to-year comparison reports
- Graphing tools
- Exclusive content explaining compensation trends, including data reports
Did You Know? Last year, CUES Executive Compensation Survey results established these important statistics:
- On average, CEO base salaries increased 7.8% over the year ending April 30, 2014, base plus bonus pay increased 10%, and total compensation was up 9.5%.
- CEOs with an MBA could expect to earn 14.5% more, and those with a doctorate typically 21.3% more, than peers with a two-year degree or less formal education
Learn more now! Questions? Call 866.508.0744 or email cues@cues.org.
CEO Advisory Group: Merger Trends & Strategy Session
Many credit unions find themselves wishing for a merger in the credit union Christmas stocking year after year, only to find a lump of coal.
This coming year is an opportunity to take mergers from wishful thinking to reality. Make mergers a core competency of your credit union. With CEO Advisory’s merger education and strategy session you can get your board and management team up to speed on the latest merger trends and establish actionable goals.
Whether you are looking to acquire or be acquired these sessions can help your credit union better understand how to position your credit union for success. These sessions typically include:
- Merger trends & projections
- Financial performance by peer groups
- Drivers of mergers
- Criteria for merger candidates
- Potential targets (acquirer or “acquiree”)
- Positioning CU as a good merger candidate
- Steps to implement strategy.
- So if a merger is on your credit union’s wish list in the future, contact CEOAdvisory.com and know Santa will come down your credit union’s chimney with a merger opportunity in his bag!
NAFCU: Compliance Webcast and Online Training Subscription
Here’s a great way to cut your compliance costs while making training easier!
NAFCU’s Compliance Webcast and Online Training Subscription allows your team to take advantage of over 30 webcasts on the hottest compliance topics, plus over 90 modules covering key foundational knowledge. And your entire credit union can access all that content for just one price.
Here’s what some of Santa’s elves already using the Subscription have said:
- 'Reduces my travel costs because employees can receive training right at their computer.'
- 'Employees are trained consistently. There’s no getting behind if a live trainer has an off day.'
- 'I can pause or rewind if something interrupts me. With live training, if I’m interrupted, I miss out.'
- 'If I’m interrupted, keep up our NCCO certification at a reasonable price.'
- 'We can train large segments of our credit union on exactly what they need.'
- If making compliance training more efficient and cutting costs are two of your goals, make this a 2015 resolution: get NAFCU’s Compliance Webcast and Online Training Subscription today.
Happy Holidays From Primax: A Credit Policy Benchmark Assessment
A review and update of your credit policy can be the most profitable gift this season for card issuers.
If you are frustrated with low penetration rates, stagnating growth, inactive accounts, and/or low ROA in your credit card portfolio, it is often traced back to an outdated credit policy.
As part of Primax's Card Management Advisory Services, our Credit Policy Benchmark Assessment provides issuers with a customized analysis and management report containing:
- A review and analysis of your current credit policy
- A comparison of your performance vs. industry benchmarks
- Specific, actionable recommendations to improve performance
Credit unions contemplating a card issuing program will also benefit from this service, insuring the new program launches with a framework for high growth and manageable risk.
Contact us at 855.794.2601 or info@primax.us to schedule your Credit Policy Benchmark Assessment
Holiday Bonus: Primax, in conjunction with Cyberlis, is also hosting a webinar on The Hidden Power of Your Credit Policy with our featured expert Susan Mylchreest, who has over 25 years’ experience as an operating manager of successful issuing programs at Scotiabank and Butterfield Bank. Webinar is February 25, 2015 at 11:00 A.M. (ET). Email us at sales@primax.us or check our web site at www.primax.us.
What’s in Your Stocking? Ask Santa for a PR Crisis Plan
Just like your own good name, your organization’s name counts.
Reputation-management research shows that a strong, positive reputation leads to supportive behavior from key stakeholders. If you demonstrate good corporate citizenship and transparency before an issue surfaces, members, customers, policymakers and the media are more willing to give the benefit of the doubt during and after a crisis.
But financial institutions, including credit unions, are especially vulnerable to reputation risk. Because your members trust you with their financial lives, even minor issues can cause a loss of confidence.
What’s your solution? A well-thought-out Crisis Communication Plan. When a member airs a major complaint on social media, an employee grievance turns ugly or a security breach shakes stakeholder confidence, advance public relations planning lets you focus on resolving issues, rather than scrambling to prepare the right messages.
Margaret J. Blankers Public Relations Group has the background and expertise to help your organization tell its story in good times … and in bad, before someone else does. For a strategic approach to crisis communication, put us on your 2015 list. Learn more at www.mjbpr.com or 866.714.7041.
Building a good reputation takes honesty, integrity and hard work – preserving it takes even more effort.
National Credit Union Foundation: Dear Santa, You asked, so two sizeable wishes, big guy!
First, please give all credit unions the gift of sending at least one staff person through Credit Union Development Education Training (CUDE) in 2015. Why? The Foundation’s unique CUDE Training provides critical lessons in cooperative principles, credit union philosophy and international development issues while incorporating challenges credit unions face today. It is also a retention and leadership development tool for young credit union professionals.
For more seasoned credit union employees, it re-energizes their commitment and passion for the credit union model and gives them new tools to serve members.
Second, may every credit union take time to volunteer at/help sponsor a Financial Reality Fair for high school students in their local community. This impactful and interactive financial education initiative helps 15-17 year olds learn about budgeting and money management in a safe, risk-free environment. Credit unions can contact their local state credit union foundation or me for more information on how to get involved in this worthwhile endeavor.
Thanks!
Gigi Hyland, CUDE ‘94
Executive Director, National Credit Union Foundation
P.S. – I baked you your favorite chocolate chip cookies this year. Enjoy!
CSCU: The Holistic View of Payments
In the ever-evolving electronic payments landscape, no single product or service is the answer. This year, CSCU encourages credit unions to view payments more holistically than ever before in order to retain and grow electronic payments transactions and revenue.
As more U.S. adults have smartphones—58% according to Pew Research—more consumers will be solicited with real-time merchant offers due to geolocation of mobile apps.
According to the Mobile 500 Study, the 500 leading retailers in mobile commerce will experience 80% sales growth from smartphones and tablets in 2014 up to $83.78 billion. Consumers are increasingly turning to mobile solutions and credit unions must be knowledgeable of new and developing technologies. For example, credit unions should enable their members to participate in all issuer-centric mobile wallets in their economics and value proposition while promoting them over merchant-centric options.
In order to retain the payments relationship, credit unions need to leverage new technologies to remain relevant to their members. Remaining relevant will mean different things to different people: convenience, security, loyalty, reliability, ubiquity, to name a few. Solve for those and credit unions can retain their members.
With a holistic view of electronic payments technologies, credit unions gain competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace where staying top of wallet has taken on an entirely new meaning.
Raddon Financial Group: Employee Satisfaction in 2015
Santa and his helpers at Raddon Financial Group have been hard at work to bring improved member loyalty and employee satisfaction to your credit union in 2015.
Answering the age-old question, “Are we meeting the needs of our members?”, involves an in-depth exploration within these key areas of the member experience:
- Technology and delivery channels
- Products and services
- Organizational culture
The most effective path to maximize credit union performance is through expanding your existing member relationships. Surfacing action items to successfully control more of your members’ balances requires eliciting directional feedback on how to effectively serve your members and improve their levels of loyalty and engagement.
Your staff, especially your member-facing employees, are directly influencing member perception. Raddon takes a holistic approach to measure member and employee engagement and helps your credit union build a roadmap to organizational excellence.
Meeting member needs requires fact-based research, not subjective opinions. Raddon can help your credit union uncover these answers within our suite of survey solutions. CLICK HERE for more information.
CLICK HERE links to: http://www.raddon.com/products/Survey/survey_form.aspx
PSCU: Checking Account Acquisition--The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Ah, the holidays...that wonderful time of year when we turn our attention to family, friends, festivities—and wish lists! Those lists can seem endless though, from presents to buy and cards to write to New Year’s resolutions to make for 2015.
Allow our team at PSCU to simplify things with a product solution so easy, so powerful, and so lasting that it can help your credit union meet all of its membership and revenue goals for the coming year: a direct mail Checking Account Acquisition Campaign.
Now, if you’re thinking that Checking Acquisition sounds about as exciting as unwrapping gifts of socks and underwear, these facts will change your mind: Checking accounts are the single “stickiest” product your credit union can offer, shown to build more long-term member loyalty than even 30-year mortgages.
And Checking Acquisition is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only will you add new members and deposit dollars, those new members will purchase additional products and loans worth roughly twice their initial deposit amounts. And on top of those purchases, your direct mail piece will act as free advertising to trigger even more incremental purchases among your existing members.
So make your list and “check it twice” for a Checking Account Acquisition Campaign in 2015.
LEVEL 5: Generate More Returns From Your Branches
This Holiday Season, every credit union’s list for Santa needs to include the professional services of LEVEL5 to help generate more financial return from their branch network!
Imagine combining a trusted advisor to the credit union with a design/build firm. That’s LEVEL5.
We take a facility study/design/construction process that many credit unions have limited expertise in, and approach it as if we’re part of the credit union team. The result is a highly skilled approach to developing the best facility solution to accomplish the credit union’s specific goals.
Don’t be fooled by real estate brokers pushing their land inventory, functionally baseless architectural drawings, or consultants doing cheap or free work. They’re not looking out for the long-term best interest of the credit union.
LEVEL5 develops long lasting partnerships with credit unions which is evidenced by the amount of repeat business we receive – our reputation speaks for itself.
Give your credit union the greatest gift of all this Holiday season and call LEVEL5!
The Members Group: Give the Gift of Springboard Portal
The advanced, patent-pending technology of The Members Group’s (TMG’s) proprietary Springboard Portal gives credit union card teams a big advantage over the competition. The web-based system automates many of the services credit union staff perform every day.
With the easy-to-use Springboard interface, it takes just a click or two to change a card account status from open to lost or stolen, re-open a card account, close an account, activate accounts and block cards, or perform balance transfers, card requests and address changes.
Delivering an exceptional consumer experience has never been easier. Direct, real-time access to all member credit card information keeps support staff moving quickly while offering fully-informed responses to cardholder questions.
With Springboard, weeks of training is reduced to a few hours. Learning is easy with pop-up graphics that explain each field’s function. Springboard is also fully integrated across multiple platforms to make it easy for frontline staff to get the information they need when they need it.
TMG allows Springboard users to completely customize different levels of user access based on operational needs. Card team leaders can determine who can see and do what on a function-by-function basis. In addition, the system tracks every mouse click so credit unions can monitor all activity.
D+H: Lending Diversification in 2015
In 2015, credit unions should consider lending diversification to help increase member value and differentiate service offerings against banks. One approach to diversification is to evaluate how to address the growing member business lending opportunity.
Expanding your lending strategy into small business can increase profitability and expand member wallet share while minimizing the impact of changes in the market – from fluctuations in interest rates, to potential slow-down in auto sales, to other factors that drive volatility. However, entering the business lending market requires a thoughtful assessment of internal infrastructure and technology solutions needed to deliver on your promise to members.
Whether members come to you for a loan to open a new retail shop, launch an online business or buy an existing business, you must quickly and efficiently address their needs to be a viable source for the growing demand for business loans. Achieving that vision necessitates a single solution to streamline any business loan request – from application to closing – while maintaining document compliance. This is exactly what LaserPro®, the industry standard for commercial loan documentation, does. With over 3,200 clients nationwide, the LaserPro® Commercial Lending solution already enables organizations like CoastHills Credit Union and Beacon Credit Union to address member business needs, including SBA loans, agricultural loans and more – today.
Credit Union Student Choice: Embrace Young Adults Through Private Student Lending
According to CUNA’s 2014/15 National Member and Non-Member survey, the average age of a credit union member has now reached 48.5 years old.
The survey also reports that only 35% of credit union members are in their peak borrowing years (age 25-44), down from a whopping 51% in 1989. And in spite of all the discussion in the credit union space about growing membership amongst young adults, just 7% of members fall into the 18-24 age range, down from 9% in 2013.
At conferences and industry events, stats like those mentioned above are tossed around like grenades. Credit unions are inundated with ideas and strategies on how to build meaningful relationships with young adults, but the numbers from CUNA’s survey seem to indicate that results may be lacking.
But what about simply offering a product that we know for a fact is needed by millions of college-age kids every year? Helping families navigate the confusing maze of how to best pay for college, while also offering a fair-value private student loan to those who need to fill educational funding gaps and refinance high-rate student loans is proving to be a very powerful connection source for many credit unions.
Why private student lending?
#1: Proven way to bring in new Gen Y members.
#2: Strong performing asset on your books.
#3: Members need help.
#4: After graduation, even those with good jobs may need a better deal.
#5: This is what credit unions do.
Credit Union Student Choice
Jim Holt, Chief Revenue Officer
800-541-1500
CUNA Mutual Group: The Importance of Investments in 2015
It’s important for credit unions to offer an investment services program because roughly 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65 daily until 2030, and lack long-term financial management and planning.
That’s where credit unions fit in. By offering an investment and retirement services program, credit unions help members build a retirement income stream that’s sustainable for the life of the retiree.
Oftentimes credit unions lose members as they retire because members want to consolidate financial services, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Credit unions are able to provide all of the services that other financial institutions offer; they just have to choose to do so.
By doing so, it benefits both credit unions and members. Members receive expertise to build solid retirement plans while credit unions receive additional member-friendly fee-based income as well as greater member retention.
CUNA Mutual Group’s CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc. (CBSI) is the leading broker-dealer serving credit unions throughout the nation with more than 250 credit union programs, 400 financial advisors, and $3 billion in mutual fund, annuity and managed account sales. For CBSI, credit unions are its first and only priority – complete focus. To learn more, visit: www.cunamutual.com/CBSI.
Akcelerant: A Centralized Account Service Solution
This holiday season, credit unions should place a centralized account service solution on their wish list. It's a gift that you didn't actually know you needed, but afterwards wonder how you were ever successful without it. The Akcelerant Framework service solution introduces the next level of service and is sure to deliver on its promises.
- Improved customer satisfaction for employees, especially the front-line staff who are able to engage with account holders through a single touch point for all requests while collecting Net Promoter Score or pursuing cross-sell opportunities.
- Development of consistent processes for service activity execution, avoiding undocumented and haphazard processes and maintaining consistency across all departments.
- Enhanced communication and escalation of ticket status to external and internal stakeholders, offering real-time visibility into the state of service activities to set expectations on responses and resolutions.
- Increased adaptability and extensibility, placing the control in the institution’s hands by allowing administrators to configure the system specific to the organization’s unique requirements, while offering the flexibility to adjust it as needed to reflect an ever-changing business environment.
- Superior data visualization and reporting which presents the transparency and feedback needed to improve customer satisfaction on an ongoing basis.
For more info, www.akcelerant.com.