END, Ore.-Include MidOregon CU among those that believe 2010 is the year to add services to keep members.
The $123-million CU, which grew by 5% in net new members last year, recently added a Visa platinum credit card, a business services manager, and a mortgage brokerage service. According to Kyle Frick, VP-marketing and community involvement, the credit union realized it needed to make some changes following a year of "very different" growth.
"We saw an immediate impact on our growth across all of our branches when one of the local community banks was taken over by the FDIC and then sold to another bank. We saw the same thing when Washington Mutual was taken over by Chase."
The Visa card is already deepening relationships, Frick explained. The no-annual-fee product that offers fee-free cash advances and balance transfers, and charged 4.93% APR at press time, has increased the CU's credit card portfolio by more than a million dollars since it was introduced in September. "Growth in that portfolio has been 26% since we offered the platinum card-that represents $1.4 million new credit card balances," Frick said.
While MidOregon has always made business loans, it has added a full-time person to run that side of its lending business, and will market commercial loans aggressively for the first time this year. The credit union has also added a mortgage brokerage service through a partnership with a local business. "So now we have a broader range of services for our members," stated Frick, noting that the credit union is establishing a relationship with a local property and casualty insurance firm, as well.
"Just more pieces to add to the relationship pie."
