LONGVIEW, Wash.-For those that can afford it, credit unions should bite the bullet and look toward branch expansion to capitalize on 2010 growth opportunities.
That's according to Lesley Carrell, SVP-marketing at the $680-million Fibre FCU, who said that despite the electronification of many aspects of how members do business with their members, branching remains a key issue.
"It's critical that credit unions have the branch structure in place to drive growth," said Carrell, who believes the opportunity to take significant business from banks will last long enough for CUs to add branches this year and still make the move profitable.
"Yes, people want to do online banking, but most of those people also want a branch nearby," Carrell said. "Over and over, research has shown that to be true. And it's not only building branches, it's finding the right locations and providing the right hours of operation," she reminded.
