Are you passionate about credit unions? Do you feel strongly about where the community is moving? Credit Union Journal wants to hear from you — and now it's easier than ever to be heard.
At cujournal.com, you can do more than just read about the news — you can have your say about it, too. In addition to being able to submit letters to the editor for publication, you can leave comments on specific articles and spark a discussion and/or debate on the issues that mean the most to you.
CU Journal has always sought to be a forum for discussion of the issues that are important to credit unions, to facilitate a dialogue on the biggest trends, challenges and opportunities to face our readers. Read on to see some of your colleagues' latest comments.
100 Million Members Strong — Now What?
Not sure how the 100 million is calculated and while I see the point that many people are members of more than 1 credit union (myself included), not all credit unions measure membership by the number of different Social Security numbers. Our membership is calculated on the number of primary (membership) savings accounts. This could mean a joint account only counts as one member even though multiple people within that account use our services. Other variations of joint and separate accounts can skew the membersip up or down but my point is that (using other calculation methods available to us) we are aware we understate our membership compared to other common but not universal methods of counting. Other credit unions may do so as well and the combined numbers of credit union "users" may well be more than 100 million even with duplicates. This does not detract from the author's other good points but addresses only the point that duplicate members may subtract from the 100 million in total.
Posted by Steven B | Monday, August 11 2014 at 4:17PM ET
The first 20 years I was a credit union volunteer board member of a small credit union that survives today unlike many I have merged during the most recent 20 years as a credit union regulator in Kansas, Missouri and now Kansas. Credit unions should, through the ability of modern marketing by larger credit unions providing a wider array of financial products, achieve the 200 million milestone at a faster pace. John P. Smith, Administrator, Kansas Department of Credit Unions
Posted by josmith | Thursday, August 07 2014 at 5:42PM ET
Credit unions provide great value to their members and are expected to continue to do so. Credit union membership will continue to grow. There is a danger, however, in getting obsessed about artificial numerical goals that lack real meaning. I am a member of four credit unions, but only one of them is my primary financial institution. That skews the numerical count somewhat. While it is certainly OK to celebrate marketplace milestones, such milestones should not distract from the vigilance needed to defend against the regulatory attacks from the CFPB and other overreaching regulators that threaten the very fundamentals of the credit union business model.
— Marvin Umholtz, Umholtz Strategic Planning and Consulting Services, Olympia, WA
Posted by marvin.umholtz@comcast. | Friday, August 08 2014 at 12:36AM ET
The awareness created by this milestone will hopefully encourage new members to join credit unions if they previously ruled themselves out as ineligible, knowing there are so many that have joined already. Banks are continuing to price out the working class that don't maintain high balances in their accounts to avoid service fees. As long as the banks don't change their position to offer affordable services to everyday consumers, credit unions will continue to step in to serve this demographic and gain marketshare. As long as most credit unions continue to offer truly free checking accounts the growth will continue, and hopefully at a more rapid pace.
Posted by Scott C | Friday, August 08 2014 at 9:59AM ET
A question: How did you take into consideration the existence of one person with an account at multiple credit unions when you said one in every three Americans?
Posted by timmcm | Tuesday, August 05 2014 at 4:37PM ET
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Student Loans Help Build Relationships
An increase of interest rates on student loans could mean students could be paying thousands of dollars more on interest over the lifetime of loans. For many students, consolidating student loans using programs that can help lock in lower interest rates for their loans. Automatically deducted payments can help reduce interest rates even further. The most important thing is to lock in fixed interest rates, rather than adjustable rates.
Posted by kingDREW | Tuesday, August 05 2014 at 9:07AM ET
Marijuana Industry Needs a Light From CUs and Banks
No problem, just make the Federal requirements go away: Where did the pot come from, don't sell to minors, where does the money go after the sale? But hey, if we can deal with cartels, what's the big thing on BSA, OFAC, and a host of other regulations... why do they get a free ride (toke)?Perhaps we should throw away all those regulations for the average Joe as well. It's time cu's stopped doing everything for the Fed's but carry a gun. Go easy on evey'ne mon! Just chill out!
Posted by gdstockdale | Friday, August 01 2014 at 10:26AM ET
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How Mix Of Attitude And Aptitude Is Paying Off
I congratulate Bob. The award is well deserved. I agree with him that the branch is still alive and well. We are going to add branches as often as we can afford to do so... The two biggest sources of members are branches and indirect lending. With regard to student loans, I think it is a very important member service. If you make loans to good students that attend good schools and get good grades then you won't take much risk... Finally I could not agree more with the comment, "If you are not growing, you are dying." The advantages of scale are huge. You can clearly see that in the call report data...I salute Bob.
Posted by henryw | Wednesday, July 23 2014 at 10:50AM
