WESTBURY, N.Y. — Nassau County FCU's decision to change its name to sound less like a credit union and more like a bank — Nassau Financial — may not seem that wise today.
But CEO Frank Cordano said the 2005 switch has helped the CU grow over the years, without any negative impact from the current economy.
"Before we changed our name, we found that people were having difficulty understanding what a credit union is and how they were eligible for membership," said Cordano. "Even some credit union members themselves couldn't define what made them eligible to join. So we wanted to distinguish ourselves as a financial institution. We picked a name that could stand by itself and convey we have a full range of financial services and not have to rely on the words 'federal credit union' to denote that."
Perception problems created by the original name — having primarily served government employees of Nassau County before going to a community charter in 2005 — were further confirmed when the credit union hired an outside agency to conduct research a year before the name was changed in July 2005.
"It was more than a name change," Cordano said. "It was a rebranding of the credit union. We went to a community charter and we wanted people to know all the products that we have and the market we are in — that we are competing for all of their banking services."
Cordano insisted the name change, and the new tag line, "More of What a Bank Should Be," is not about saying the credit is more like a bank than a credit union. "It's about saying we are a financial institution that provides the same services and products as a bank. But we think we do it better."
That message is even more clear in today's economy, Cordano contends. Annual share growth is up 21.25% through July and membership is up 4.5%. The $325-million CU grew by $59 million in assets in the four years prior to the merger, and by approximately $75 million fours years afterward. Capital stood at 12.91% in December of 2008.
Some of that growth is due to an increased emphasis on marketing, Cordano acknowledged, and being more aggressive with indirect lending. "I think our name and our brand is becoming very well known in our community," said Cordano, who added it took about a year for members and employees to become accustomed with the change and to start seeing payback.
Most of the costs came from the $27,000 price tag to pay the agency to do the rebranding, and an increased marketing budget. Signage was not an issue, since four of its branches are located in sponsor companies. "The change has also helped separate our connection with the Nassau County government," Cordano explained. "Just having the word county in our name often had people thinking we were another department of the county."
Throughout the name change process, Cordano kept the board deeply involved in the rebranding. "That is so critical," he said. "I have seen so many times where credit unions do not involve the board enough, and when the time comes to pull the trigger on the name change the board decides not to do anything. We never had a problem with our board."
