SAN ANTONIO -
That was the message from Texas Credit Union League CEO Dick Ensweiler, who suggested credit unions need to refocus their efforts on creating a national, cooperative brand and working together to bolster member growth, rather than expending their energies in unproductive in-fighting.
"Our growth is 1% per year, and if we pull out indirect lending, we are in a negative growth situation," Ensweiler told CU Journal during Texas CU League's Leadership Conference. "And we all know indirect lending does not produce solid members, so there are challenges."
Ensweiler, who also serves as the chairman of CUNA's national membership task force, said credit unions must spend the next six to 12 months looking for ways to increase their membership rolls.
He said community charters bring "opportunities," but also the challenges of having to market and promote themselves to consumers who often are not aware of their ability to join a CU.
Some credit unions, he continued, have done an excellent job of "focusing, going after key markets and launching broad-brush marketing initiatives."
There are enormous opportunities with Generation Y, Hispanics and similar unserved or underserved segments of society.
"I believe credit unions will focus their marketing dollars to go after these ripe opportunities," he added.
Ensweiler acknowledged his position on the CUNA membership task force places the issue squarely in the forefront of his thinking, but he said everyone in the CU movement should be concerned with slow growth. "It is a huge issue-if we don't grow, we die."
CUNA's membership task force is divided into sub-groups, which are constantly looking for markets for CUs to capitalize on.
In addition, the task force brainstorms on methods of sharing back-room resources to build membership, and promoting cooperation on branding and marketing efforts.
One problem Ensweiler sees: "It is difficult to get credit unions to rally around a national brand. So many credit unions have community charters, and they worry more about competing with each other than competing with banks."
According to Ensweiler, credit unions lose "a lot of leverage" they could have with the public if there were to be a strong, national credit union brand. He said credit unions are not placing enough emphasis on "being a credit union movement," and they are not emphasizing the "uniqueness of the credit union brand itself."
"Which is inconsistent with the philosophy we see in other countries where membership is growing rapidly," he asserted. "In Poland, Brazil and the Netherlands we see a common brand and a common operating system. Credit unions in those countries can promote the brand locally, but it has a national impact because people understand the logo and understand what a credit union is. Credit unions there can leverage their marketing dollars. That is the difference between countries with rapidly growing credit union memberships and the United States."
