ENDICOTT, N.Y.-A regional recession in upstate New York that lasted for nearly 15 years well-prepared Visions FCU for the current economic downturn.
"During that time period we learned that we needed high reserves, low expenses and to be ultra conservative in our business practices," observed CEO Frank Berrish.
After IBM, the single sponsor for what was originally known as IBM Endicott Owego FCU, drastically reduced its workforce, the credit union moved to diversify its membership, change its name, and move away from its reliance on consumer lending. It also made another long-term move that has pared down expenses considerably by becoming highly automated.
"We've invested heavily in technology and 89% of our commodity transactions, those done over the phone or normally with a teller, are automated," Berrish noted.
In fact, the $3-billion institution has just 60 tellers across its two-state branch network, giving the credit union a $7 million in assets per teller ratio, about half the ratio of its peer group. Berrish said its home banking solution delivers the highest ROI and full service ATMs that can cash checks down to the penny have given the credit union incredible staffing flexibility.
"It has allowed me to replace tellers with ATMs in a lot of our lobbies," he explained.
All of the automation may leave something to be desired when it comes to the traditional personal touch, but Vision FCU's management believes it is tough to argue with the results, especially as the economy has sputtered.
"Our membership has grown during that time period and we're able to pay people higher dividend rates and charge lower loan rates," Berrish noted. "We're above average in the number of accounts per household. The average is 2.89 and we're running at five. [Our members] are not people who want to go to a branch and want to see a teller from 8-5. They want to do their business on computers or on a cell phone. The majority of my members never come into a branch and they love it."
Time To Get Aggressive
Despite the economic bumps and bruises, Visions FCU has seen deposits increase by nearly 100% over the last 12 months. Though many economists are talking recovery, Berrish is still wary of the overall economy, but sees the upheaval as a prime opportunity to be aggressive in the marketplace and let the public know what credit unions are all about.
"We're spending a lot of time with little groups that are getting displaced right now and trying to help them through the process," he said. "This is a tremendous opportunity for credit unions to help people and grow. It's a chance to shine and create our own future because of the banking crisis."
