Shared Branches Shining Example

I would like to thank Editor in Chief/Co-Publisher Frank Diekmann for letting us in on his insightful conversation with Jim Hughes and Gerald Verdi in his piece entitled "Unconventional Ideas from an Unconventional Source" found in the June 19 edition of The Credit Union Journal. Hughes states that "one aspect of working with credit unions that is enjoyable is the willingness to experiment and pilot different delivery approaches across the entire enterprise."

He also states that "credit unions are more at the forefront of applications of new technologies...it seems like in many markets credit unions are the pacesetters and banks try to keep up."

You can see examples of these statements throughout the movement, however nowhere are they more evident than in shared branching. The concept of shared branching is a delivery approach completely unique to credit unions. The cooperation it takes to make the concept work is demonstrative of the philosophy that credit unions were founded on and are still living and breathing today. I think it is highly unlikely that we would see banks open their doors to each other even though it is their customers' best interest that should be at heart.

This spirit is what has kept me, like so many others, a part of the movement for all these years. And because this is what is missing in the bank world, they can keep huffing along behind us, but they are not going to catch up.

Carroll Beach, President/CEO

Credit Union Service Centers (CUSC), Atlanta, Ga.

Send Letters To The Editor To Lisa Freeman at lfreeman cujournal.com.

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