WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The combination of a stronger lending focus and leveraging more electronic services to drive efficiency are among the common areas of focus for CU leaders heading into 2012.
Credit Union Journal spoke with several CU leaders who shared their top goals for next year.
Hank Hubbard said Communicating Arts CU will leverage $1.5 million in Community Development Financial Institution grant money to back an “auto bailout loan” effort this year. The $32-million community development CU will refinance car loans members have at other financial institutions and hopefully cut most rates in half, said the CEO.
Making loans to help small farmers is the focus this year at Shreveport FCU in Shreveport, La., said CEO Helen Godfrey-Smith. The $88-million credit union’s “Healthy Foods Financing Initiative” invites farmers in the Mississippi Delta to take advantage of a crop loan program.
Arthur Kremer, CEO of $270-million Sharefax CU in Cincinnati, told Credit Union Journal his CU will grab a bigger piece of the local auto loan market through expanding indirect relationships. “We’ll also add additional electronic delivery channels, including remote check capture and mobile bill payment to streamline operations.”
Credit Union Journal will feature the views of other CU leaders as part of this series on CUJournal.com in the coming days.
