Corporate governance

ATLANTA – Several credit unions here partnered to offer free gas at a local Shell Station.

Membership and demographics are the key things to keep in mind as credit unions project beyond 2013.

The evolution of the payments landscape and new payment technologies, specifically EMV, should be at the top of credit unions' strategic planning discussions for 2013, according to Bill Lehman, VP Portfolio Consulting for CSCU.

While expanding the credit union's reach via electronic services is even more popular today due to belt tightening, Michael King, VP strategic planning for DEI, cautions not to overlook bricks and mortar in 2013.

A proactive pension and retirement strategy is a must-have as credit unions begin their planning for 2013.

Don't give up on those members with less-than-perfect credit-they could be the key to loan growth in 2013.

The "rate business" will no longer carry the bottom line load, and Michael Moebs, economist and CEO at Moebs $ervices, insists it's time CUs become more efficient-and that means adding fees for more of the services they provide.

With many credit union members still struggling in a weak economy, credit unions are being urged in 2013 to tap technology that gets more people into cars while building loan portfolios.

Credit unions are certainly feeling ROA pressure today, which prompts one person to ask if enough CUs have plans in place for creating alternative revenue sources.

Strategic planning for 2013 needs to focus on strategies to better use member data, improve the governance model, and make more effective decisions about core competencies, according to Shazia Manus, CEO of The Member's Group.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Fort Financial CU and Financial Members FCU, based in nearby Auburn, Ind., have received regulatory and membership approval to merge.

TAMPA, Fla. – GTE FCU, the $1.5 billion credit union chartered during the great Depression, is shedding the “credit union” in its name to become GTE Financial as part of a rebranding campaign.

WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department awarded almost $1 million yesterday to Native American groups to build two new credit unions on Indian reservations and to expand two others as part of its Native American CDFI Assistance program.

WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department awarded more than $17 million in grants to 25 credit unions and credit union organizations this afternoon under the 2012 round of the Community Development Financial Institutions Program.

Ben Psillas, president of Allpoint Network, noted that not only can a seamless integration help CUs reduce vendor costs and become more efficient, but also puts the institution in a better position to handle declining volumes of branch transactions.

Barb Kachelski, COO at the Credit Union Executives Society, said while CUs in recent years have focused internally on expense ratios and meeting the demands of regulators, now is the time to turn the focus outward.

"Many, many, many credit unions we talk to are concerned with the overall subject of 'replacement members,' and that means the younger generation," said Jerry Verdi, VP of market intelligence at Diebold.

With credit unions seemingly having little control over growing earnings pressures and shrinking margins, it's time the industry takes a systematic approach to product pricing.

Stan Hollen, CEO of CO-OP Financial Services, told Credit Union Journal that the recent recession has taught CUs that the organization must be nimble to react to the unexpected.

Mobile and P2P should be high, if not at the top, of this year's strategic planning topics, asserts Jim Park, CEO of Credit Union 24.