This week, CreditUnions.com finds one credit union breaking the one-size-fits all approach to funds availability, another collecting cannabis deposits in the Evergreen state, and a third walking the long road to recovery.
Here are five can’t-miss data points:
1
As credit unions push to raise deposits, they might also find members pushing back to quickly access those funds, regardless of the service channel they’re using. Nusenda Credit Union has a well-vetted methodology for dealing with funds availability, one that balances risk to the credit union and rewards the member with a consistent user experience. The New Mexico credit union uses what it calls its Funds Availability Matrix, a proprietary formula which eliminates the one-size-fits-all approach and goes beyond funds availability dictated by Regulation CC.
Read: A Matrix To Temper Risk And Break The One-Size-Fits-All Approach To Funds Availability
$18 Million
Recent estimates by Barclays suggest the U.S. cannabis market were it legal today would be worth nearly $30 billion in annual sales and primed to grow by an additional $10 billion in the next decade. However, cannabis remains illegal on the federal level. As such, businesses that serve this market often referred to as cannabusinesses are often excluded from the mainstream financial system. According to FinCEN’s Marijuana Banking Update, 140 credit unions provided services to marijuana-related businesses as of March 2019. That’s an increase of 111 cooperatives year-over-year. Washington state legalized the recreational use of cannabis in 2012, and state-based credit unions, including Numerica, saw the need to provide safe and secure services to these businesses. Since first accepting deposits from cannabusinesses in May 2014, the credit union has built a portfolio of approximately 300 cannabis accountholders with a total balance of approximately $18 million.
Read: Collecting Cannabusiness Deposits In The Evergreen State
2018
In 2004, a sleepy little credit union on the white, sandy shores of the Gulf of Mexico woke up. The two preceding years were hard for the then $80 million NCSC Federal Credit Union, which was experiencing negative loan and membership growth, as well as declining employee morale. The credit union’s name at the time did it no favors in attracting new members. Overall, a lack of strategic vision left the credit union in a bad place financially. In the years since, strategic changes have helped the cooperative regain its footing, though there have been bumps along the way. In the past decade, the Florida credit union has faced three disasters that have altered its sense of normalcy as well as the fabric of the community it serves: the Great Recession; the 2010 BP oil spill; and, most recently, 2018’s Hurricane Michael, an epic blow from which the region is still recovering.
Read: On The Road To Resilience
$80 Million
Vantage West Credit Union has offered commercial loans since 2011 and commercial deposit accounts since 2013. Today, the credit union has a dedicated team of business bankers with enhanced training that ensures a better branch experience and an easier commercial account opening process. And the cooperative’s strategy of building relationships, not products, is paying off. According to the latest data, the credit union held nearly $80 million in commercial deposits as of March 31, 2019.
Read: 3 Ways To Ensure Commercial Services Success
61%
A few weeks ago, Forbes (alongside market research firm Statista) released its second annual listing of the Best Credit Unions In Each State. That list included many familiar faces. In fact, a full 61% of the honorees analyzing data, it’s one of the many things we do here at Callahan & Associates are clients of Callahan. These credit unions, and many other industry leaders, look to Callahan & Associates for industry insights and data analysis geared toward helping the nation’s financial cooperatives make decisions that better serve members and support organizational growth. Congratulations to all our clients on the list!
Read: A Nod To Clients And All The Credit Unions That Measure Member Value
Happy Reading!