RENO, Nev.-Dennis Flannigan, president and CEO of $103-million Great Basin CU in Reno, Nev., said on normal Saturday it might get five or six new accounts, but on Nov. 5 it had 18 new accounts plus six current members added checking accounts.
"In October we took in 239 new members, compared to 97 in October 2010," he told Credit Union Journal. "In the first week of November prior to the fifth we opened 44 new accounts, compared to 14 over the same period last year. Obviously this has been building, and from what we have seen the momentum has continued into this week. Usually our growth tails off about May, but this year growth in checking accounts has continued all year and has accelerated in the last month and a half."
Flannigan said Great Basin's staff is trained to cross-sell these new members into loans. However, he noted, "consumer confidence is still very uncertain in Nevada, so lending remains a bit soft in a highly competitive environment."
In Las Vegas, $684-million One Nevada Credit Union did not open its branches on Nov. 5, but a spokesman said it enjoyed a 40% increase in new accounts in October.
"Many of those were former Bank of America customers," said Greg Barnes, SVP of marketing.
