This week, CreditUnions.com looks at how a new charter breathed new life into a New York credit union, why cutting incentives at a Florida credit union proved invaluable, how to increase employee engagement, and more.
Here are five data points you need to know:
25
In 2015, Peru Federal Credit Union faced a hard truth. Friends and regulators were hinting it was time to grow or die, and merger offers were circling.
The upstate New York credit union chose to live. It invested in its future, and under the leadership of manager and CEO Maggie Pope and a supportive board, built a new office and secured a community charter.
The results have been dramatic. Before the charter change, the credit union would open five or fewer memberships a month. After the change, that figure jumped to 25.
See how a new headquarters building and a community charter underpinned growth for Peru FCU in New Charter, New Life For New York Credit Union
50%
Power Financial Credit Union removed individual employee incentives on Jan. 1, 2015. In the two years since, the results have been impressive.
According to data from Callahan & Associates, loan growth since the start of 2015 has remained at or higher than the average posted by credit unions in Power Financial’s $500 million to $1 billion peer group. Share growth has jumped nearly 15 percentagepoints in that time frame.
In addition, according to CFO and COO Tuyo, the credit union’s loans per household has increased more than 50% and loan applications have more than doubled.
Learn more in Toss The Incentives, Keep The Performance
10
The environment at online shoe retailer Zappos energizes, rewards, and celebrates employees, who in turn go above and beyond in terms of customer service.
Zappos’ 10 core values drive decisions at all levels of the company. That’s why the company posts them throughout its campus and even on employee ID cards. And credit unions can learn from this: come up with a set of core values for the creditunion and make them part of everyday life.
What else can credit unions steal from Zappos? Read 5 Ideas To Increase Employee Engagement to find out.
215
In 2016, there were 215 credit union mergers. That figure represented 3.5% of all credit unions.
Although mergers in and of themselves are not a viable growth strategy, for today’s credit unions, mergers have become a reality requiring constant consideration and due diligence.
In Best Practices In Merger Strategy Callahan profiles the before and after of mergers, including strategies and ways to handle the memberand employee impacts.
3
Credit unions are ready for the next uptick in interest rates the Fed has hinted it will introduce as early as its next meeting in mid-June.
The Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors has increased interest rates, only three times since December 2015, which has leveled the yield curve into a flat plane.
Now, only a sliver of investments held by American credit unions are in long-term securities. Cash and maturities of three years or less comprise most of the portfolio.
See how the credit union investment portfolio in the first quarter remains liquid for lending and buffers against rising interest rates in Credit Union Investments Stay Short For The Long Run
Happy Reading!