LAS VEGAS - Credit unions looking to move into business services would be wise to consider offering 401(k) retirement plans to SEGs, business owners and others, according to a panel at NACUSO’s annual conference here.
The panel, which included CUNA Mutual’s Steve Dowden, SVP- asset accumulation sales distribution as moderator, along with Kevin Thompson, VP-asset accumulation product at CUNA Mutual; Peggy Mostowy, AVP-business development at Clearview FCU, and Chuck Purvis, SVP with Coastal FCU, outlined strategies for deploying retirement services as a means of driving other business.
“Offering 401(k) programs to SEGs and small businesses directly supports a business services growth strategy,” said Thompson.
Thompson added that retirement services can also act to:
* Attract and retain members (including younger ones).
* Generate ongoing fee income from plan sales.
* Attract 401(k) rollovers and individual rollovers from participants.
Strengthen current business relationships.
* Increase cross-selling opportunities for CU products (i.e. lending, checking accounts).
* Increase retirement expertise awareness within the community.
“For Coastal FCU, it gives us an opportunity to deepen the relationship with our 1,100 SEGs and provide valuable business services to diversify and grow our revenues,” Purvis said. “The ability to offer 401(k) plans will better position us to capture rollover funds in our Trust and Investment Services group, and these additional services will enhance our visibility within our SEGs, particularly with HR decision makers.”
Clearview’s Mostowy concurred, noting CFCU’s target market is small businesses with annual sales up to $5 million and the mid-market, with annual sales between $5 million and $10 million. “This product will assist small businesses as they grow and their needs become more complex. With mid-market clients, it will deepen the relationship and provide us the opportunity to compete with the larger financial institutions,” Mostowy said.
Coastal and Clearview are partnering with CUNA Mutual to offer the company’s growing 401(k) program. “It’s a turn-key offering that allows us to be very responsive to our clients and another way to let the marketplace know that Clearview offers the depth of products and services as other larger financial institutions,” she said.(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
