BankThink

Banks generate precious revenues by utilizing call centers that are able to help customers with questions and concerns, while functioning as a means to market and cross-sell. Unfortunately, credit unions tend to lack these call centers due to their smaller sizes, limiting them to websites and face-to-face interaction as a means of member contact.

Few people likely noticed, but two pieces of world history and credit unions intersected last week like bookends of the Cold War.

It's been a rough few weeks in the financial marketplace. The housing sector seems to be crumbling (especially the subprime market), financial stocks are bouncing around, the bond market has seized up and investors are besieged with fear. With new worries over a coming credit crisis, no wonder it looks to many like we're headed for a complete market meltdown.

During the recent National Directors Conference I presented a lot of data and analysis in a very short period of time and perhaps this made for a lack of clarity in your Aug. 27 report.

The headlines tell us that thousands of families across the nation are headed to foreclosure each month- some parts of the country are hit harder than others. Why is this happening now and how could credit unions be an important part of the solution?

Peter Duffy, the self-appointed expert on charter options, has spoken once again about the horrific limitations of the credit union charter. In the article "Outside Perspective: Takeovers Not Issue" that appeared in the Aug. 27 issue of the Credit Union Journal, he cites his usual array of statistics that indicate, at least in his for-profit world, the insignificance of credit unions in the financial service sector. According to Mr. Duffy, credit union growth is abysmal and, of course, he knows the cause - it's our outdated, onerous charter. But he doesn't stop there. No, he wants us to know who the culprit is - "the serious constraints upon the credit union business model are not being addressed by leadership."

The considerable turmoil in the credit markets this summer, especially with respect to residential mortgage-backed securities, has sent ripples virtually throughout every aspect of our economy and captured the full attention of the financial services industry, legislators, regulators and the world at large.

It is said that in polite company there are several things you don't bring up at dinner, chiefly politics and religion. If it's a dinner of credit union folks there's a third topic that comes around about as often and dependably as the meter reader that is also supposed to be taboo: "member vs. customer."

There is near unanimity among industry experts that during the next five to 10 years the number of credit unions will shrink from 8,400 to around 5,000. But what will it take to survive and flourish during the next decade?

From Boston to Santa Fe, Seattle to Key West I've crisscrossed the country working with CUs and CUSOs in rebranding and renaming their organizations. After attending countless BOD, annual meetings and staff meetings and working with CEOs, marketing staffs and board of directors here's what I've learned about protecting, changing and growing your brand: