DES MOINES, Iowa–Perhaps the biggest news when it comes to making investments to improve the bottom line is that more CUs are actually doing it.
That's the observation of Jeff Russell, senior advisor for The Members Group, who has noticed that credit unions have started to get out of the cost-cutting mode and have begun looking forward. "Credit unions have done a lot to reduce operating expenses over last few years, now we are seeing more credit unions spending money to improve top- and bottom-line growth."
According to Russell, more are looking at ways to increase membership–particularly younger members–finding new ways to generate loans, and deepening member relationships. "Those are the three big things I see."
Russell acknowledged that the Bank Transfer Day boon may have contributed to the rise in attention to growing the CU piece of the overall financial marketplace pie. "It has been a catalyst, certainly. Now we hear credit unions talking about how do I make every day Bank Transfer Day, keep the drumbeat going, keep consumer awareness of credit unions up."
When it comes to cards, CUs are stepping up investment in analytics to better harness the information the credit union already has and improve overall card penetration and credit card balances. Russell said that is important because the big banks have significantly stepped up their credit card marketing.
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