PayThink

In regards to the story about Fitch reaffirming U.S. Central’s long-term Issuer Debt Rating (IDR) at AAA and its short-term IDR at F1+, I was pleased to note the many positive elements the story covered including the low risk profile, solid credit fundamentals, and strong funding and liquidity position that substantiates Fitch’s reaffirmation of U.S. Central’s very high credit ratings. However, the headline, which referenced a downgrade, was misleading and in fact, inaccurate. A downgrade occurs when the credit rating is lowered, which did not happen. The outlook change from stable to negative that Fitch noted means there are some business conditions that have the potential to lead Fitch to downgrade U.S. Central’s long-term rating. The negative outlook is not a downgrade nor is it necessarily a precursor to a rating downgrade.

A billion-dollar credit union, for the first time in its history, was experiencing negative growth. Although management could think of a variety of explanations, they wanted to isolate exactly what had to be done to reverse the trend.

Often we frame our view of civility in terms of another’s uncivil behavior. In our own shops we may have encountered irate members employing coarse language, or witnessed an occasional board member tirade. Employees occasionally lose their cool with a member or a fellow employee. These are easily detected examples of incivility, some within our control and others beyond it.

Should the credit unions that have been reporting losses for the fourth quarter be required to disclose that promptly to their members?

I was impressed with the courage the Credit Union Journal showed in printing the recent article related to diversity at the very top levels of the U.S. credit union movement.

Strategic planning is a process that should guide your credit union toward your desired future–or it can be an exercise in futility that drains valuable resources, time and efforts.

With credit unions nationwide incurring high costs for new branches, facing increasing competition, and anticipating impending margin compression, there is a greater premium than ever on maximizing branch sales.

Not surprisingly, Jim This has found a common theme among the credit unions and boards with which he often consults: what to do about the ongoing margin compression.

The push for growth among financial services providers has a lot of managers reconsidering the way they do a lot of things–and especially the way they market. Historically a lot of CUs have been reluctant to invest in a professional marketing effort. Instead they chose to save money by promoting marketing managers from within instead of bringing in real expertise. And they work with graphics houses that peddle the same basic creative to all their clients with a “put your credit union name here” mentality.

Credit Union Journal encourages reader feedback. Letters to the Editor can be sent to Managing Editor Lisa Freeman at lfreeman cujournal.com, or online at www.cujournal.com.