JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-Sometimes, you really should sweat the small stuff.
That was the advice from Randy Marks, CEO of Missouri Electric Cooperatives Employees Credit Union, who suggested that sweating the small stuff is worthwhile if it helps boost your return.
The $81-million institution, which serves swaths of the Show-Me State, believes that the big picture will come better into focus if staffers keep their eyes on the details.
"Everybody needs to be measuring something," he said, noting that the measurement should be more than the red or black top line numbers. "This last quarter we put up a wall of fame and we had our employees cross selling e-statement and cross-selling Internet access. If you continually pay attention to something (specific) the numbers will continually improve."
Marks has strong evidence to back up his claims as the 33-year old credit union placed second overall for its asset size in Callahan's Return of the Member rankings.
"That means we are giving back and fulfilling our responsibility to our owners," he said of the ranking. "That's just another gauge that we can look at and say that we are giving back to our savers and giving good rates to our borrowers. Our members are finding value in using our products and services."
Despite the poor economy, MECE is seeing a boost in its loan volume; from September 2007 to September 2008, HELOCs jumped by $1.1 million and even auto loans improved slightly.
The credit union has stuck to its traditional rates and terms, though it did recently run a quarter-long special geared towards increasing motorcycle loans by lowering the rates to that of used automobiles.
"Some people that were looking for a motorcycle, that gave them a little bit more incentive," said Marks, noting the rate cut of about 1.25%.
MECE takes somewhat of a unique approach in that it eschews product offers or calling members, though staffers do take the time to make a cross-sell attempt when a member makes an inquiry.
"We're literally just taking requests, we're not making sales calls," Marks said.
But the hands-off approach has not hurt savings either, Marks notes, and said the credit union is trying to make a difference in the spending habits of its members and their families with kid-friendly CDs that have a smaller balance requirement than their adult counterparts.
MECE hopes not only to teach children good financial habits, but for those habits to rub off on the parents as well.
"If the parents will get their kids to save, then they should practice what they are preaching at home," Marks argued.
MECE is fortunate to have strong asset quality as well, with very low delinquency rates and a strong operating expense to asset ratio. As a single SEG credit union, it also has a distinct advantage in avoiding risk and keeping costs low.
"When you take those two things into consideration, the type of credit union we are and who we serve we don't have that delinquent loan risk and we don't have that operating expense because there is no question who are members are," Marks said.
Because each credit union is unique, Marks shied away from giving advice on loan or savings promotions and instead reiterated his focus on a strong staff that pays attention to the details.
"I don't think anything can be accomplished without a good team," he said, crediting his employees for the credit union's success.
