INDIANAPOLIS-Too much business is never a bad thing, but you have to be able to support it if you're going to benefit from it.
That was the challenge faced by Eli Lilly FCU in handling a huge mortgage refi rush from June through December of 2010. The CU saw the demand coming quickly and knew the current staff of eight would not allow it to serve all of its members' needs.
"We were faced with having to deliver reduced service or even turn members away," said VP of Sales Shelly Huyghe. "That is something we never want to do."
The $1-billion credit union had two options-one being to train temporary help to add to their staff. But Huyghe did not like that alternative. "It takes too long to train people and we did not have the time. Plus the best talent in the area was already working. It would not have been the best decision for us."
ELFCU instead outsourced with CU Members Mortgage and the result was that the outside team served 430 members for $78-million in outstandings during the refi crunch. "The best thing about our decision is that we were very comfortable with CU Members Mortgage," said Huyghe. "They had worked with us in the past, knew our values and how we like to treat members, and they have skilled mortgage specialists. The entire loan process was seamless for members who were served by CU Members Mortgage. They were looked at as our staff."
That's important, Huyghe said, to give members confidence the credit union is paying attention to their needs and values their business. Had the credit union not made a good choice, and service had slowed or the quality suffered, Huyghe feels that could have done long-term damage to the credit union's reputation.
Cement For Relationships
During the refi boom ELFCU got back to members with approvals within 24 hours and closed in 45 to 60 days. "This is during a time when our members told us other financial institutions were not even calling them back. We really cemented strong relationships with so many of our members."
Eli Lilly FCU is a proponent of outsourcing the mortgage work when needed, but again only to a team that is familiar with the credit union and provides the same level of service. "It also helps keep our mortgage staffing costs variable. This way when we need to handle more business we don't have to hire and then let people go. And working with temporaries, we believe, would have been more costly, with all the training."
Huyghe said it's a credit union's natural instinct to want to help as many members as possible. "We knew we had to find a way to get this done. We knew the refinancings were helping many families make it through the recession."
