SAN ANTONIO-Driving growth in 2010 means focusing on lending and ways to creatively expand the loan portfolio.
Mark Hein, CEO of SWBC's CU division, believes those strategies must include entering the small business market or increasing emphasis there. "If I am in credit union land, I am trying to find a way to increase my lending because I am saturated with deposits. To increase lending, credit unions have to think out of the box," Hein said.
That means including business lending and possibly getting into the SBA market, he added.
CUs that fare well in business lending will be those that hire and upgrade lending staff, not only to improve service but to find new ways to market, Hein suggested.
This year could tempt CUs to focus heavily on auto lending, especially since the recession has positioned credit unions as the lender of choice for car loans. But there's too much uncertainty regarding consumers' car purchasing tendencies and the potential for banks and the captive finance companies to return, offered Hein. "Will consumers purchase more new or used cars? And do you want to saturate your auto loan portfolio with used cars? There are just too many unknowns with the auto loan market."
