Understanding The Post-Election Political Landscape

Credit Union leaders from around the state carve out time to visit Washington. Pictured are Yvonne De La Rosa, SACU; Les Sachanowicz , SACU; and Mike Maldonado, Randolph-Brooks FCU.

The Post-Election Atmosphere
The results of the November election are still resonating across the nation. Within the fi nancial services industry, credit union advocates can take stock of their victories and assess what the political landscape means to our efforts on both the state and federal levels.

Here in Texas, TCUL PAC supported 65 state legislative candidates, and 62 won election. In addition, through Credit Union Legislative Council (CULAC), we supported 27 Texas congressional candidates, 26 of whom won their races. This involvement was made possible by thousands of credit union employees and volunteers around the state who support the PAC through payroll deductions and other fundraising efforts.

Most importantly, the PAC enabled TCUL to help re-elect key individuals who understand credit union issues ...

Altruism: The Driving Force Behind What We Do

Banks give back to their community because the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) says they have to. Credit unions, on the other hand, engage in philanthropic efforts because they are altruistic at their core.
"Our cooperative structure dictates that our focus is on maximizing service and not profits," notes Texas Credit Union League (TCUL) President and CEO Dick Ensweiler. "And because we are people- driven and not profit-driven, we have an uncompromising commitment to our members and the communities we serve."
Whether we are collecting food for the hungry, building a Habitat for Humanity house, teaching a financial education class, or offering second chance checking to marginalized segments of the population, altruism flourishes in the credit union movement.
Altruism is such a driving force behind what we do, because fundamentally we understand that we are part of something bigger than the communities we serve. We are part of an international cooperative movement that does so much more th... Read more...

The Race for Relevance: Where is Your Credit Union?

"While most associations and professional societies are not in immediate danger, they will struggle if they cling to conventional
approaches and structures. They will survive but they won't grow. They will function but without vitality. They will have members, but their market share will decrease. They will exist but their influence will decline." - The Race for Relevance

If the one true constant in life is change, it follows that a quest for relevance would matter a great deal to any individual, group, business or association. This is the pivotal point of Race for Relevance , an interesting recent book that proposes radical change for associations. In it, authors Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers suggest a series of challenges to relevance and practical ideas to help stem the tide of its enemy: irrelevance.

Remaining relevant is critical for credit unions today. We must remain relevant – or risk decline.

There are five key credit union relevancy questions:

1. Why do credit unions struggle with re...

The Texas 12

Injecting a new level of energy and excitement in the movement

The credit union movement is deeply rooted in tradi- tion and history. And while it’s important to preserve our past, we cannot get lost in it. In a rapidly changing and highly-competitive market space, we must be agile, bold, flexible and innovative.

Events such as Bank Transfer Day and Internation- al Year of Cooperatives have certainly drawn more attention to credit unions, resulting in an uptick in membership. However, attracting a younger generation continues to be a real challenge for credit unions. As an aging movement, it’s critical to our future that we inspire young professionals to seek career opportunities in credit unions, in- crease our presence in the market space so that we are better positioned to connect with younger audiences, and aggressively build our infra- structure so we are able to meet the financial services needs of consumers at all life stages. Texas Credit Union League (TCUL) president and CEO Dic...

High Performing Credit Unions CEOs Share their Success Stories

Neches Federal Credit Union (FCU)

Neches FCU, which today boasts eight physical branches and 317 shared-branching locations [the credit union joined the shared branching network in 2008], was founded in 1952 by a handful of employees from the Jefferson chemical plant. After nearly 50 years of successfully serving the financial services needs of just one select employer group (SEG), the now-$328 million credit union decided it was time to expand its outreach.

The man that would lead Neches FCU through this transformation was Jason Landry, who had been CEO since 1991 when he assumed the helm at the tender age of 26.

Landry says management, as well as the board of directors, were acutely aware of the risks associated with being a single-SEG credit union.

Rising Above the Competition: How Credit Unions Can Remain Unique in the Crowded Financial Services Marketplace

Adapt or die.

The dinosaurs discovered this—after it was too late. Unlike their mammal counterparts, they were unable to grow hair and survive the Ice Age. So they became extinct.

It’s not much different in business. A company must adapt to changing consumer demands, or else it will find itself on the trash heap of yesteryear.

Remember the Flip video camera? It seemed like a good idea at the time—an inexpensive digital camcorder—until everyone’s Smartphone was able to record video—then the Flip became disposable. However, it doesn’t have to end that way. Businesses that adapt and differentiate themselves can not only survive, but thrive.

Today we are witnessing a transformation in the financial services industry. Following the meltdown of 2008 and the ensuing bank bailouts, consumers are looking for stability, convenience and lower fees. They have more choices than ever, and the advent of banking online has made it easier than ever to switch an account to another financial institution.

Cred...

Overcoming the Brand Chasm

"The most innovative organizations fuse marketing and innovation into an integrated strategy for growth."
— Michael Schrage, MIT

Branding can change a credit union. The key word is "can." Many times a credit union embarks upon a new brand or recreates an existing brand. Perhaps the board, management team or marketing department identifies key targets, develops a new look and even drafts a catchy tagline. But then the brand falls flat. Why? In many cases, the credit union has fallen into "the brand chasm."

What is Branding?

Before explaining the brand chasm, let's first define what branding is. A brand is not an icon.   It's not a logo.   It's not an identity.

So what is branding? There are thousands of ways to define branding, including:

·        "The sum total of a person's thoughts and feelings about an organization."

·        "The process of determining your competitive advantages, building an institutional culture, a brand strategy and a business strategy to those advantages, and then communic...

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