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CANTON, Ohio-Financials that are the best at driving the bottom line are those that coordinate their services and messages across all of their communications platforms-because "no channel ever goes away."

LOS ANGELES-Re-examining executive benefits-including the possibility of restructuring them-can both save money and generate income, according to Executive Compensation Solutions.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-Counting on consumers dissatisfied with their banks to drive growth is no panacea, reminds Fidelity National Information Services (FIS). "Credit unions need to know their market segment, who their members are, and what got them where they are in the first place," offered Patricia Valentino, SVP-general manager.

BROOKFIELD, Wis.-Member education and card rewards are two areas that mean a lot to the credit union bottom line in 2010, according to Fiserv.

CALABASAS, Calif.-Understanding the real value of data that credit unions already have along with how online services are evolving can have a profound affect on bottom line, one person is noting.

TEMPE, Ariz.-Budget custs for the sake of budget will not improve the bottom line, stressed Nicolette Lemmon, president of LemmonTree Marketing Group, who emphasized that reducing line items such as the marketing or training budget can be costly in a time when credit unions have the opportunity to grow.

LAKE BLUFF, Ill.-Keep those expense cutting knives out and quit waiting for a return of the pre-recession net interest margins, one person is urging.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.-It's time for credit unions to reach out to vendors to seek longer-term deals that cut costs. PSCU Financial Services reports it has been seeing many more requests for such deals, often extending terms out to 10 years, explained Chief Sales Officer Chuck Fagan.

SAN ANTONIO-Bolstering the bottom line is all about mitigating losses, insists Mark Hein, CEO of SWBC's Credit Union Division.

DES MOINES, Iowa-The bottom line in 2010: How do you generate more fee income? According to The Members Group, revenue can come through beefing up credit and debit rewards programs, and then adding fees to those programs. It's a balancing act, offered Sara Petty, VP-strategic initiatives. "How robust must that program be, and then how much can you fee on rewards?"

AUSTIN, Tex.-Auto loans are being paid off sooner, which means credit unions have to work harder to keep the pipeline filled.

ARVADA, Colo.-Recognizing that size limits their ability to improve the bottom line and grow, 20 Colorado CUs have created The Alliance of Rocky Mountain Credit Unions, an informal collaboration group that's producing quick results.

WILMINGTON, N.C.-Velocity Solutions believes that bringing inactive members back into the fold is one of the best ways to improve the bottom line.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-The "new reality," according to Dollar Associates Principal Dennis Dollar, is that CUs cannot afford to write off any source of income that is "not inconsistent with the credit union philosophy or is not member-centric."

ONTARIO, Calif.-Driving the bottom line in 2010 may come down to the credit union's ability to stay in the auto lending game.

LAKE MARY, Fla.-The recession's end will not bring a recession to increasing compliance demands. "All of the regulatory change, we believe, is not a temporary type of turbulence," offered Sam Kilmer, VP-market development for Harland Financial Solutions. "It is a systemic change in the financial services industry."

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.-It's pretty straightforward when it comes to credit unions and their bottom lines, stated Mike Kohl: Determine the products that are the most profitable and promote the heck out of them.

PLANO, Texas.-Improving the bottom line is more about evaluating the return on programs rather than scrutinizing expenses.

The just-released paper, which looked at bank and credit union performance from 1986 through 2009, showed that credit unions are much less susceptible to business cycle variations as delinquencies and charge-offs during recessions rise much less sharply than their banking counterparts.

LAS VEGAS – Troubled Silver State Schools CU, one of several Las Vegas credit unions reporting big losses last year, cut its red ink for the first quarter to $8.5 million, from almost $51 million for 2009.