Credit Union Insights

Growth is good for most credit unions, but funding it can be long and costly. But if you look below the surface, maybe it’s not.

As credit unions and banks continually try to assess the optimal purpose and layout of future branches, Tesla and Apple have seemed to figure it out. Their solution: Retail spaces aren’t for transactions, they are for experiences.

In spite of all the pressures surrounding them, Credit Unions hold a unique opportunity to advance the economic stability of those who work hard and need it most.

The stock market is on a roller coaster. The supply chain is overwhelmed. Inflation is impacting everyone. The job market is weird. Interest rate hikes are right around the corner. Financial technologies are rapidly transforming the banking industry. Economic volcanoes below the surface are simmering everywhere. Is your credit union ready?

When it comes to serving the “under-banked,” Wells Fargo is doing many things right. But their priorities could use some “real world” adjustment.

In a world where seemingly everything is changing, it’s logical for credit unions to “stand pat” when it comes to their headquarters. But this period of uncertainty can be a gateway to significant benefits – as long as those HQ decisions are made with your mind wide open.

Real estate is one of the most important – and costly – aspects of a credit union’s existence. Yet, for all their expertise, knowledge about why and how real estate decisions are made are not always widely understood by Boards of Directors. This can be a problem, especially for credit union members.

Like all industries, commercial real estate has its own set of terms and acronyms. They all make (somewhat) perfect sense if you happen to actively work in the industry. But to the majority of humans – such as credit union board members — real estate jargon sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo. So, let’s simplify.

Driven by the COVID-19 and its hideous variants, the world is changing in myriad ways. Remarkably, many industries and organizations have used the pandemic as a way to re-invent themselves and catapult their businesses forward. Those that assume that things will simply “return to normal” are likely mistaken.