PayThink

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

In general, CUNA will work to remove barriers, create awareness and foster service excellence for credit unions (with the ultimate aim of achieving our overall vision of "Americans choose credit unions as their best financial partner").

Whether the credit union is large or small, focused on community, sponsor companies or small business; having a singular interest in the outcomes for your members trumps the drive for shareholder/investor returns.

So, it is with much gratitude that I can, instead, point you to our "The Year Ahead" special report, in which a number of brave souls offer their insights into what credit unions can expect to see as 2015 unfolds.

As with any marriage, banks that forge alliances with tech companies need to make sure they really know their partners. They may also want to consider a prenup.

In recent years, companies have used Big Data to improve marketing, sales and operations.

Financial institutions need to have good digital offerings, but they also need to find ways to stand out from the crowd. That's why branches will remain a crucial home base.

Mortgage denials in 2013 were comparable to those recorded a decade ago, analyses of HMDA data show, challenging perceptions about how easy lending really was during the era of "pulse" loans and "fog-a-mirror finance."

Retail businesses require expansion, in terms of increasing physical locations or getting more customers into the store. But there are several other ways of boosting profits that involve payments management and analysis, though these are often overlooked by most owners.

The financial crisis scarred many Americans. Now that they have given themselves permission to spend again, they will do so responsibly.