The credit union, formed to serve city residents with limited income, received charter approval in October 2011. When CreditUnions.com profiled Stepping Stones in August 2012, it had $347,000 in assets and 115 members. After expanding more aggressively in the past three years, the organization now boasts more than $4 million in assets and serves more than 1,000 members.

A Mobile Approach

The credit union has reshaped itself over the years to serve its communitys distinct needs, and one of the drivers of Stepping Stones recent growth has been its proactive approach to community engagement

In 2018, Stepping Stones rolled out a mobile branch a conversion van retrofitted by Discover and Barclays Bank to provide a notable presence at community events, offer on-site account opening, and deliver the ultimate in convenience for members and organizations alike.

The addition of our mobile branch has been tremendous,says Blanche Jackson, CEO.

With the support of Discover and Barclays Bank, Stepping Stones Community FCU introduced a mobile branch in 2018.

Whats more, the mobile branch has been a vital resource during the past 18 months, allowing the Wilmington cooperative to safely operate throughout the pandemic.

We parked the van across the street from the branch and did all of our transactions from there so members didnt have to come inside the building,Jackson says.

The side of the van opens like an ice cream truck, and members use the window for service. A computer and a card printer inside allow for easy account opening and instant issue ATM cards. The van also is outfitted with a firewall, a router, a virtual private network, and secure internet access; however, it doesnt hold cash.

Digital And Lending Options

In addition to adding a mobile branch, the small credit union also has rapidly expanded its digital services. Stepping Stones now offers everything from home banking to bill pay, account-to-account transfers (A2A), and person-to-person payments (P2P).

We had to evolve to serve the community,Jackson says. Now, we can meet them wherever they are, whether they want our digital services or want us to bring our van to a community event.

Loan options have also expanded significantly. After its founding in 2011, Stepping Stones initially focused on payday lending alternatives, but today it offers signature loans, vehicle loans, and share-secured loans. Its also launching a new mortgage program in late 2021 or early 2022.

Our hope is to change renters into homeowners and help members who want to purchase a small-dollar home,

Our hope is to change renters into homeowners and help members who want to purchase a small-dollar home,Jackson says.

Larger financial institutions might not be interested in smaller mortgages, but Stepping Stones plans to concentrate on them to serve residents of modest means.

Perhaps most impressive, the three-person credit union staffed by the CEO, a manager, and a volunteer board member/teller/mobile branch driver closed more than $3 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans last year.

Even large institutions struggled to navigate the program, and many focused solely on their larger customers; however, Stepping Stones took a different approach. It started with the second round of funding and focused on serving local non-profits and small businesses. Of the 46 PPP loans the cooperative made, 44 of them were less than $150,000. Still, these loans provided a lifeline to the self-employed and others in the community who might otherwise have missed out.

Many Supporters Make The Model Work

Stepping Stones provides most of its digital services through its core, VisiFi IPower. Non-member deposits from local banks, grants through the Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council (DCRAC), and assistance from local organizations support the credit unions operations.

For example, DCRAC received a grant from the CARES Act to purchase computers to help bridge the digital divide. DCRAC, in turn, supports Stepping Stones in its efforts to teach members how to use the cooperatives digital services and provide computers for online banking and other needs, such as completing school forms and arranging for telehealth. Stepping Stones also formed a partnership with Comcast to offer members access to Comcasts Internet Essentials program at a reasonable monthly cost.

CU QUICK FACTS

Stepping Stones Community FCU
Data as of 06.30.21

HQ: Wilmington, DE
ASSETS: $4.3M
MEMBERS: 1,068
BRANCHES: 1
12-MO SHARE GROWTH: 38.6%
12-MO LOAN GROWTH: 40.4%
ROA: 2.37%

In addition to the above support, this year marks the first year Stepping Stones received CDFI funding. The credit union was awarded grants for rapid response and training and technical assistance to help start its mortgage program and increase support staff.

Overall, Stepping Stones business model is to offer products and services its community needs, and it forms partnerships with organizations throughout the community to make that happen. According to Jackson, the cooperative wants to ensure anyone who wants to be banked can be banked without any barriers. Stepping Stones even funds the $5 membership fee for every account it opens.

Building On Community Partnerships

Although Stepping Stones does not have any of its own ATMs, it has partnerships with local banks and credit unions to offer members outsized convenience.

We have relationships with WSFS Bank, Fulton Bank, and Dover FCU,Jackson says. Our members can use surcharge-free ATMs in Wawas and Royal Farms, which are plentiful in our area.

Its partnerships with local organizations beyond these larger financial institutions also have attracted attention and members. Year-over-year membership growth was 33.5% as of June 30, 2021; loan growth was 40.4%. Jackson attributes much of this growth to the mobile branch.

We started taking it to different events and developing our partnerships,Jackson says. Bringing the van to community groups has become the most frequent request we receive.

And the credit unions impact is growing as stories circulate of members struggling under payday loans with interest rates as high as 375% learning of Stepping Stones more affordable solutions.

Even though were the smallest financial institution in Delaware, we strive to provide all the same services to our field of membership.

As for the cooperatives small team, a day in their life is both strikingly different and surprisingly similar to that of a larger credit union. They focus on ensuring current and potential members have access to fair financial services. And with the help of an independent, experienced credit committee, online loan applications, and e-signatures, the team often is able to provide loan decisions the same day or within 24-hours. The manager and CEO both work new member applications and typically can open them the same day with an instant issue ATM card; debit cards are on the horizon.

I spend a lot of time developing partnerships and implementing projects that will benefit our members,Jackson says. Even though were the smallest financial institution in Delaware, we strive to provide all the same services to our field of membership.

The post Serving The Underserved Since 2011 appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

That kind of activity extends to credit unions, too.

We have been providing small business loans to the community for more than 20 years, says Dan Smithson, CEO of Star USA Federal Credit Union ($158.7M, Charleston, WV). We know firsthand the role these businesses play in our local economy.

Indeed, small businesses play a critical role in local economies. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has forced businesses to close for health and safety concerns, throwing into flux the future of companies, jobs, livelihoods, and communities.

Small businesses, specifically Main Street businesses that are often overlooked by larger financial institutions, need and want commercial services, says Tim Verreault, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Evergreen Credit Union ($331.4, Portland, ME). We pride ourselves more for being a valued resource for Main Street businesses than we do for being the largest credit union producer of PPP loans in Maine.

To combat the potential long-term deleterious effects of the virus on the American economy, U.S. lawmakers passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March 2020. The act established a $659 billion fund to provide business loans to cover staffing and other costs. The Paycheck Protection Program promised necessary funding for small business, and credit unions worked long hours to ensure their business members could tap into that assistance.

Most of the small businesses in our community had nowhere to turn for PPP loans as few lenders here were offering the program, says Pam Fleuette, CEO of Tidemark Federal Credit Union ($301.4M, Seaford, DE), a cooperative that serves rural areas, small towns, and a resort area on Delaware’s eastern coast. If their financial institution did offer the program, when they applied, they never got a response. We were able to turn applications around in one or two days.

Now, as PPP loans start to enter the forgiveness stage, credit unions must pivot from originating loans to educating borrowers about the various requirements to receive forgiveness.

We stand ready to provide additional assistance as needed, says Charles Friederichs, CEO of Central Minnesota Credit Union ($1.2B, Melrose, MN).

On July 6, the Treasury Department released data that shows the full scope of the Paycheck Protection Program. In a previous post, Callahan & Associates looked at the number of jobs saved by credit union PPP efforts. In the table below, the firm drills down further to uncover the credit union PPP leaders according to total number of loans made to borrowers in a given state.

How do you compare?

The post State Leaders In PPP Lending appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

PUBLICATION DATE: April 2016

Personal Teller Machines, Interactive Teller Machines, Video Teller Machines whatever you call them, credit unions who ignore the value this evolving teller technology offers because of a past experience do so at their own peril. As one reader of CreditUnions.com put it, History provides a way to learn how not to make the same mistake twice. This is a different machine and a different time.This Callahan Collection will cover a list of objections, and how to overcome them, from hiring to deploying to benchmarking and more. ContentMiddleAd

Download PDF

The post Teller Technology appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

What Is ROM?

ROM goes beyond traditional safety and soundness issues covered by CAMEL scoring to instead assess member value.

Learn morE ABOUT ROM

For credit unions, which typically offer better rates, fees and service than for-profit financial institutions, members recognize benefits in proportion to the extent of their financial transactions and general usage, says the Cornerstone Credit Union League on its website.

But how do credit unions measure the benefit of their membership?

Enter ROM, a comprehensive metric designed by Callahan & Associates that uses savings, lending, and product usage to quantify member value and assign a score to every credit union in the United States. Credit unions across the country use their ROM score to set member-facing goals and hold staff accountable to better serve members.

The interactive graphic below shows the top ROM leader in every state. Filter the view by state, ROM score, and credit union name. Click here to learn more about ROM calculation.

The post Which Credit Union In Every State Returns The Most Value To Members? appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

Methodology

This dashboard is part of a regional data series and focuses on the performance of credit unions in the NCUA’s Mid-Atlantic Region.

All ratios displayed represent weighted averages.

• The yellow bar labeled Industry refers to the weighted average of all credit unions in the United States.
• The blue bars represent the weighted average of credit unions within the Mid-Atlantic Region.
• Grey bars represent the weighted average of credit unions outside the Mid-Atlantic Region.

To examine the performance of credit unions in any Mid-Atlantic state, click on a blue state on the map that appears on each page of the dashboard. The default state is Ohio, but clicking on Pennsylvania, for example, changes the yellow bars to populate with Pennsylvania data.

The data for this dashboard comes from Peer-to-Peer by Callahan & Associates. Learn more today.

On the asset side of the balance sheet, these credit unions excelled in member business lending and also reported above average penetration in credit card and real estate loans.

Credit unions headquartered in the Mid-Atlantic Region reported MBL growth of 18.0% in the fourth quarter of 2017 that’s 4.8 percentage points faster than credit unions headquartered outside of the Mid-Atlantic region. The region’s average credit card penetration was 19.5%, compared with 15.9% for credit unions outside of the Mid-Atlantic region. On a similar note, the region’s real estate penetration of 4.8% was 25 basis points higher than the average for credit unions outside the region.

On the savings side of the balance sheet, the average share balance at Mid-Atlantic credit unions was $3,221, $370 higher than credit unions outside the region in the fourth quarter. And at 8.8%, the region’s share penetration was 1.88 percentage points higher than for credit unions outside the region.

Mid-Atlantic credit unions have also done well generating income. The region’s income per full time equivalent employee reached $225,900 at year-end, compared with $214,500 for credit unions outside the region. Furthermore, the region’s interest income to total income was 75.6% 3.7% higher than credit unions outside the region with 87.7% of the interest income coming from interest on loans. Finally, the fact the operating expense ratio for the region was 16 basis points lower than for credit unions outside the region signifies credit unions in the Mid-Atlantic are operating relatively efficiently.

Mid-Atlantic credit unions averaged a higher dividend payout as of fourth quarter than did credit unions outside the region $62 versus $56. Credit unions in the Mid-Atlantic Region also captured more of their potential member base than did credit unions elsewhere 5.9% versus 3.6%.

The interactive map below shows how states in the Mid-Atlantic Region compare to industry averages in lending, savings, business model, and member impact. Click on any sate on the map to change the table and the graphs.

Don’t see analysis for your state? Watch for more regional analysis in the upcoming weeks or click here to see other regions.

The post Regional Performance Report: Mid-Atlantic Credit Unions appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

The trade group’s first conference mortgage symposium focused on the opportunity for credit unions to build on their share of the housing market by engaging more deeply with millennials. And it wasn’t just about using a mobile app to apply. Much of the discussion was about leveraging the credit union difference.

Devon Lyon, director of education at NAFCU, says many millennials do an intense amount of research before they engage with a business, and also love the idea of doing business with companies that give back beyond the profit motive. All the research indicates that.

He says credit unions were the original kickstarters, the original consumer financial protection bureaus, so don’t undersell the idea that you’re looking out for members and participating in the life of the community you serve.

That’s across all delivery channels, whether pushing mortgages or messages, Lyon adds.

Opportunity Knocks, Compliance Woes

While the credit union industry’s growing market share has been well documented, there is ample room for growth. Symposium speaker David Allison, senior vice president with Dovenmuehle Mortgage, pointed out that American credit unions have about 100 million members, representing about third of the nation’s households.

Credit unions are only doing about 10% of mortgages and most of the credit unions we work with only see a penetration rate of 3% to 5%, says Allison, whose company provides mortgaging service to about 350 credit unions, banks, thrifts and other lenders.

The economy also presents opportunity, Allison says. He says active foreclosures have dropped below 600,000 for the first time 2007 and that in April there were 60,000 new foreclosure starts, the lowest such figure in the past 10 years.

Meanwhile, rates remain low and could even go lower, presenting growing opportunities for both new purchases and re-financing. We’re seeing rising employment, income, and housing prices, and the credit market should stay this strong or stronger, barring some kind of economic shock, Allison says.

That said, the wet blanket as usual is compliance. Allison says his company employs 50 people in compliance enforcement along with 17 attorneys, and we’re just doing servicing. While still recovering from the implementation of TRID, he added, the CFPB has been ramping up servicing rules and state regulators and municipalities also are getting more active, particularly in the areas of delinquent and defaulted loans.

Plus, there’s constant change. The industry is transforming right before our eyes, faster than it ever has, in terms of who’s gaining market share and product development and technology, Allison says, and that along with regulatory costs are causing some re-think, including the exit of some lenders who no longer see the gain worth the pain.

That opens the door wider for credit unions. You have an extremely loyal member base and a natural marketing advantage with a brand recognition that most of the competition just doesn’t have, Allison says. If you’re competitive with the mortgage products people want, many will prefer to work with you.

Patience And Parents

As for growing the mortgage market among younger buyers, self-described aging millennial Michelle Burretta, 35-year-old market research and segmentation manager for Genworth Mortgage Insurance, prescribed patience.

Marriage, babies, and mortgages are coming later than they used to, she says. Circumstances they face may be much different now, but not the goals. She also pointed to research that indicates that regardless of age, price matters more than process when it comes to buying a home.

A Collingwood Group survey found that 79% of respondents ages 24 to 34 would not be willing to pay slightly more for a completely online and streamlined application process, Burretta says. That number actually dropped slightly to 76% saying no among people ages 35 to 75. And 75% of the younger crowd said they would be more comfortable applying for a mortgage with a traditional lender than an alternative lending platform. That figure was 68% for the older group.

Burretta says millennials also still often rely on their parents for guidance, so don’t hate, appreciate. Embrace the characteristics and experiences of the millennial generation with financial literacy programming and invest in your future by hiring millennials to leverage their talent, ideas, and new perspectives.

They don’t know what they don’t know, they’re not afraid of anything, and I just told them not to blow the place up.

Phil Clarey digs. The 66-year-old CEO of Tulare County Credit Union ($90.0M, Tulare, CA) says most of his senior managers are 35 and under. They’re all smarter than me and they think differently than I do, he says. And, befitting a credit union that serves a mostly rural, agricultural area, they’re homegrown, too, reflecting the community’s diverse mix of Latinos, Anglos and Portuguese.

You can’t get anybody to come to central California like this without paying an arm and a leg, and we can’t afford that, Clarey says. I told my board four years ago to give me 10 years to develop an organization for the future, and that’s what we’re doing here. They don’t know what they don’t know, they’re not afraid of anything, and I just told them not to blow the place up.

Military Matters

They’re not blowing anything up at Dover Air Force Base, either, although Jim DiDonato will be sad to see one old building come down. Nearing retirement from the Army National Guard, he’s a director for >Dover Federal Credit Union ($440.7M, Dover, DE) and says he’ll the miss the 45-year-old branch on the air base that’s giving way to a smaller, more sophisticated facility.

I hate to see it go. We’re making sure our branches now aren’t cookie-cutter versions of the past. But we’ll always maintain our connection to our past, he says, noting that the credit union’s first office was a closet in the maternity ward of the base hospital.

That connection includes the lasting value of credit unions. I believe in them and believe in instilling an appreciation of their value in our young soldiers and other millennials, DiDonato says. That value also must include cutting edge banking products and services, says the chief warrant officer whose civilian job is as director of banking services for the state treasurer’s office.

Meanwhile, nearly every credit union in the country will be gaining a new appreciation of the Military Lending Act’s new rules and regs. One set covering many consumer products excepting cars and mortgages takes effect on Oct. 3, 2016, while new credit card rules kick in on Oct. 3, 2017.

One headline is a 36% cap on APRs for consumer credit extended to an active military member or family member of same, while another is the responsibility for financial institutions to determine who is such a covered borrower. There remains a lot of ambiguity, however, says Brandy Bruyere, NAFCU’s director of regulatory compliance. That includes around safe harbor disclosure and collections issues.

The new rules also up the ante for credit unions and other lenders to know who they’re lending to. Rather than just having borrowers sign a form, lenders will need to either go to a Department of Defense website that lists service members, or rely on a new system expected to be available soon from the three major credit bureaus.

The new rules were a focus of the Defense Credit Union Summit that again kicked off the annual NAFCU meeting, and Bruyere has been following their development in her blog and FAQs.

Obviously this is a bigger issue for credit unions with a major military presence, but it really affects everyone, the NAFCU regulatory specialist says.

The NAFCU conference continues through Friday in the Music City Center in downtown Nashville, TN.

The post Mortgages, Millennials, And Military Matters appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

The most insightful metrics often are those that combine and blend various elements of performance into a single benchmark that covers multiple areas of an institution’s operations. The loan-to-share ratio is one such metric.

To maximize member value, credit unions must provide competitively priced savings and loan products. A credit union’s ability to provide the latter is largely dependent upon its ability to attract members through the former. But like most thingsrelated to performance, there are nuances to the loan-to-share ratio that credit unions must consider when using it to analyze performance.

Traditionally, credit unions have strengthened their balance sheet by increasing share balances and distributing those funds in the form of loans. All things being equal, a credit union can use its members’ deposits to make as many loans as itsmembers demand. Even becoming loaned out, the term applied when loan balances equal share balances, is not insurmountable, as credit unions have the ability to borrow money and access secondary capital to continue lending.

LOAN-TO-SHARE RATIO
For all U.S. credit unions | Data as of 12.31.15 Callahan & Associates | www.creditunions.com

Source: Peer-to-Peer Analytics by Callahan & Associates

In the past eight years, the industry average loan-to-share ratio has fluctuated. It peaked in September 2008 at 83.7% and fell to a low of 65.9% in March 2013. During this period, financial institutions tightened underwriting standards and generallyreduced risk across nearly every lending category, which greatly reduced consumer access to credit.

After bottoming out in March 2013, the industry average loan-to-share ratio gradually increased and stood at 77.4% at year-end 2015. During that 2.75-year period, loan and share balances have expanded 31.1% and 11.6%, respectively.

From a state-level perspective, those that posted the largest increase in average loan-to-share ratios were not necessarily the most populous. In fact, the top 10 of 14 states that increased their loan-to-share ratios more than the national average betweenMarch 2013 and December 2015 represent a cross-section of the country.

LOAN-TO-SHARE RATIO BY STATE
Data as of 12.31.15 Callahan & Associates | www.creditunions.com

Source: Peer-to-Peer Analytics by Callahan & Associates

Follow The Leader

Explore dozens of leader tables and hundreds of pages of credit unionperformance data in Callahan’s Credit Union Directory. It’s the gold standard for reliable insight. Read the digital download today.

The net difference between annual deposit and loan growth, or net liquidity change, shows how loan growth gradually outpaced share growth and pushed the loan-to-share ratio higher between March 2013 and December 2015 (also shown graphically below as NetShare Growth).

Annual net share growth had already begun to decline by March 2013 when the loan-to-share ratio was at it lowest and would go on to decline for the following six quarters. In third quarter 2014, net share growth dipped to -$28.9 billionbefore reversing course the following quarter.

NET SHARE GROWTH
For all U.S. credit unions | Data as of 12.31.15 Callahan & Associates | www.creditunions.com

Source: Peer-to-Peer Analytics by Callahan & Associates

An improving broader economy and rising consumer confidence both contributed to the decline in net share growth. There was a surge in member demand for loan products over the period, and resultantly, net share growth dipped into negative territory asloan growth outstripped share growth.

On a state level, between March 2013 and December 2015 all but two states Montana and Nevada lent more than they received in member deposits. Many of the 10 states that posted the highest negative net share growth are also the most denselypopulated credit union states, based on both assets and number of credit unions.

NET SHARE GROWTH BY STATE
Data as of 12.31.15 Callahan & Associates | www.creditunions.com

Source:Peer-to-Peer Analytics by Callahan & Associates

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The post The Dynamics Of The Loan-To-Share Ratio appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

1. Start With An Internal Audience And Experienced Staff

In 2012,Corning Credit Union($1.1B, Corning, NY) debuted video teller machines

at its New York headquarters to an internal audience.

CU QUICK FACTS

Corning Credit Union Data as of 06.30.15

• HQ: Corning, NY
• ASSETS: $1.1B
• MEMBERS: 96,218
• BRANCHES: 18
• 12-MO SHARE GROWTH: 5.55%
• 12-MO LOAN GROWTH: 13.73%
• ROA: 0.59%

We knew there might be some reservations about this type of change, says Megan Wilson, manager of consumer lending and member contact services for Corning Credit Union. We wanted to really understand what the machines could do forour members before we made them public-facing.

The credit union also selected its most experienced employees to staff the machines to ensure deployment in its New York and North Carolina branches went smoothly. The knowledgeable employees remained at the headquarters location in New York yet couldstill serve members in new markets like North Carolina.

2. Find And Coach Employees Who Connect On Screen

When Sussex County Federal Credit Union($254.7M, Seaford, DE) introduced video tellers in all of its branches in 2010, it looked for employees who could connectwith members on the video screen.

CU QUICK FACTS

Sussex County FCU Data as of 06.30.15

• HQ: Seaford, DE
• ASSETS: $254.7M
• MEMBERS: 14,876
• BRANCHES: 4
• 12-MO SHARE GROWTH: 0.43%
• 12-MO LOAN GROWTH: 10.90%
• ROA: 0.87%

Being able to connect means everything whether you are on a video screen or at a traditional teller line, says CEO Pamela Fleuette.

In addition to traditional teller training, new employees at Sussex County FCU learn how to conduct themselves in a video session.

The importance of maintaining eye contact, not moving too rapidly as you’re talking with someone, and looking straight at the camera are all emphasized, Fleuette says.

The credit union also reviews the video tellers every month to see if they are providing consistent member service and, if not, coaches them so they improve.

3. Invite Members To Preview The New Experience

Corning Credit Union found success when it handpicked experienced employees for its video teller positions, so it took that strategy a step farther when it selected choice members to sample the new technology three weeks before the official launch.

We sent out formal invitations and invited some of our most vocal members, our branch regulars, and even a few business members to an exclusive evening event where they could be the first to try out the new video tellers while enjoying light appetizersand conversation, Wilson says.

Members were thrilled they had been chosen to do something special and appreciated that the credit union valued their feedback. When these branch influencers had the opportunity to try the machines themselves, they quickly overcame any objections or reservationsthey had held. What’s more, they became advocates for the technology.

When we did open the video tellers to the general membership, those members proved to be our biggest advocates and helped our overall adoption, Wilson says. They were able to say, Hey, I’ve used this and it’s great,’with some even demonstrating for other members.

4. Ensure Video Tellers Are Warm, Friendly And Comfortable Making Decisions

CU QUICK FACTS

Coastal Federal Credit Union Data as of 06.30.15

• HQ: Raleigh, NC
• ASSETS: $2.5B
• MEMBERS: 204,853
• BRANCHES: 17
• 12-MO SHARE GROWTH: 6.53%
• 12-MO LOAN GROWTH: 11.71%
• ROA: 0.80%

In lieu of traditional teller lines, Coastal Federal Credit Union($2.5B, Raleigh, NC) uses a video teller model in all of its branches. The tellers themselves are centrally located in one of two credit union facilities and must be both friendly and knowledgeable about the financial services industry to make personalconnections with members remotely. Adequately assessing those skills, however, isn’t as easy as the credit union initially thought it would be.

In the early years, we would literally test candidates on video, but we found that wasn’t as useful as we thought it might be, says Willard Ross, Coastal’s senior vice president and chief retail officer. Instead of a screentest, we’ve honed behavioral questions to help us gauge whether someone is service-oriented. It’s more important for us to know if the candidate is natural at building rapport and has that innate friendliness that our members expect fromthe credit union.

But being warm and friendly isn’t enough. That’s why Coastal also looks for tellers with enough experience to make decisions on their own.

They understand fraud risks and know what to look for and how to make a good decision on when to waive check holds, Ross says. We train all of our employees on these topics, of course, but if someone comes in with experience, theyare more likely to feel comfortable making decisions without having to ask a supervisor.

This existing skill set makes the employee more valuable to the credit union and allows Coastal to deliver faster member service.

5. Assess Applicants’ Technological Savvy

Coastal also ensures video teller applicants are comfortable using the latest technology during their recruiting process. One of the questions the credit union asks during the interview is: What is your favorite piece of technology that you own and useregularly, and why?

This is a good indicator of their level of comfort with technology, Ross says. If they are big users of Skype or FaceTime, then they are probably going to be comfortable with our video capabilities as well.

6. Find Employees Willing To Work Non-Traditional Hours

An important benefit of video teller machines is they allow a credit union to operate during nontraditional teller hours. As such, remote tellers must be willing to work a different kind of schedule than the old banker’s hours.

We’re 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, Ross says. It’s important to make sure video tellers have some flexibility in their schedule and can work some weekend shifts.

That’s great for the member but will likely require an adjustment for credit union tellers. Credit unions that are considering a widespread shift to video tellers should plan for some turnover.

We had some folks over time that didn’t want to work nontraditional hours, Ross admits.

7. Train Staff Differently And Pair Them With A Mentor

CU QUICK FACTS

Park Community Credit Union Data as of 06.30.15

• HQ: Louisville, KY
• ASSETS: $745.0M
• MEMBERS: 74,548
• BRANCHES: 14
• 12-MO SHARE GROWTH: 12.37%
• 12-MO LOAN GROWTH: 10.85%
• ROA: 0.51%

Coastal puts new tellers through member service and systems and procedures training. Then, it pairs them with a mentor. New hires have video time built into their training, which gives them time to adjust, but the mentor model also helps. Experiencedmentors sit near the new employee for the first 30 days. Mentors offer tips and help the new hire overcome any initial jitters. New tellers have the opportunity to watch mentors, pick up best practices, and ask questions without having to approacha manager for help.

Park Community Credit Union($745.0M, Louisville, KY) became the first credit union in Kentucky to open a branch with interactive teller machines (ITMs) in January2015. Although the credit union conducts its interviews via video chat, it knows implementing the right ITM staff requires more than FaceTime.

Park Community’s multi-step process includes retail theater training that enhances on-camera presence.Internal hires with teller experience receive extensive interactive teller software training. External hires complete orientation and teller training, which includes working in a traditional branch for a minimum of two weeks, before starting the interactiveteller training.

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The post 7 Tips To Staff Video Teller Machines appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

Supplemental Service

When Corning Credit Union($1.08B, Corning, NY) debuted new video teller machines at its New York headquarters two years ago, it was to an internal audience.

We knew there might be some reservations about this type of change and wanted to really understand what the machines could do for our members before we made them public-facing, says Megan Wilson, manager of consumer lending and member contactservices for Corning Credit Union.

Corning had just a few machines which, after some internal testing, were deployed as a pilot to two branches in New York.

We have not completely eliminated teller lines. We use the machines for supplemental services in our New York branches, Wilson says.

The credit union also purposely chose its most experienced employees to staff the machines to ensure that things went off without a hitch.

Employees Who Connect On Screen

When Sussex County Federal Credit Union($252.8M, Seaford, DE) introduced video tellers four years ago in all of its branches, it looked for employees who could connectwith members on the video screen.

Being able to connect means everything whether you are on a video screen or at a traditional teller line, says CEO Pamela Fleuette.

Sussex trains its staff for the machines differently. In addition to traditional teller training, new employees learn how to conduct themselves in a video session.

The importance of maintaining eye contact, not moving too rapidly as you’re talking with someone, and looking straight at the camera are all emphasized, Fleuette says.

The credit union also reviews the video tellers every month to see if they are providing consistent member service and, if not, coaches them so that they improve. Because the supplemental model didn’t work well for Sussex, it made adjustments toboost usage.

When we first started, our teller machines were situated right next to the traditional teller counter. This dual format did not work for us so we remodeled all of our branches and removed the teller counters, replacing them with a self-servicewall, Fleuette says. The change encouraged use so that video teller transactions jumped from 20% to 60%, with each branch having only one cash recycler for members who can’t or won’t use the video machines.

An Invitation To Preview The New Machines

Not only did Corning Credit Union handpick employees for its video teller positions, it also hand-selected a small group of members to sample the new technology three weeks before the official launch.

We sent out formal invitations and invited some of our most vocal members, our branch regulars, and even a few business members to an exclusive evening event where they could be the first to try out the new video tellers while enjoying light appetizersand conversation, Wilson says.

The event was a huge success. Members were thrilled that they had been chosen to do something special and appreciated that the credit union valued their feedback. After these branch influencers had the opportunity to try the machines themselves,they quickly overcame any objections or reservations they had previously.

When we did open the video tellers to the general membership, those members proved to be our biggest advocates and helped our overall adoption. They were able to say, Hey, I’ve used this and it’s great,’ with some evendemonstrating for other members, Wilson says.

A Branch Designed For Video Tellers

In addition to the supplemental video teller machines used in New York, Corning recently opened a new branch in North Carolina, which was specifically designed for the video teller technology. The branch has an open floor plan with the video teller machinesfront and center.

If at all possible, I’d encourage other credit unions to incorporate video tellers as they are building or remodeling branches. It’s not impossible to integrate it in an existing location, but the layout can significantly impact usage,Wilson says.

And who staffs the video teller machines in Corning’s North Carolina branch? The handpicked employees based in New York.

This model allows us to expand where we offer member service with less overhead and put people where they matter most. For our Leland branch in North Carolina, this means the staff in that location is not rushed because there are no teller transactionsthere. They have the time to help with higher-level questions and can focus on enhancing the member relationship, Wilson says.

Corning also offers a concierge at any location with video tellers. The concierge introduces members to the video teller machines (which at first glance look like ATMs), shows them how to do a transaction or two, and answers questions.

Improved Efficiency

Thanks to the video teller machines, Sussex and Corning improved teller efficiency and extended service hours. Although both credit unions have lobbies that are open during traditional hours, the machines allow the branches to open earlier and close later.For example, video teller hours at Sussex are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and only three video tellers are needed to staff four branches versus the eight (two per branch) that would have been required for a traditional teller line.

The efficiencies have been truly amazing, Fleuette says. We’ve gotten rid of so much of the idle time we’d had in the past with tellers being active maybe 30% of the day. Now our member service reps are busy throughoutthe day and never have to worry about managing a cash drawer or jumping behind the teller line they can truly focus on the member.

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The industry showed a significant improvement in asset quality in second quarter 2015. Credit unions reported lower delinquency and net charge-off ratios as of June 2015 compared to one year ago. According to data collected through Callahan’s FirstLook program, the industry’s delinquency ratio decreased 11 basis points to 0.74%. Among major loan categories, auto loans posted the lowest delinquency 0.54%. The overall net charge-off rate also declined two basis points to 0.47% with first mortgages posting the lowest ratio 0.07%.

DELINQUENCY AND NET CHARGE-OFF RATIOS
For 5,605 FirstLook Credit Unions | Data as of 06.30.15
Callahan & Associates | www.creditunions.com

Source: Peer-to-Peer Analytics by Callahan & Associates

Among all states, Colorado credit unions reported the lowest delinquency ratio 0.35% as of June 2015 while Delaware credit unions posted the greatest improvement in their delinquency ratio a 20-basis-point year-over-year decline. All but one state reported an annual decline in the delinquency ratio as of June 30, 2015.

TOP 10 STATES WITH THE GREATEST IMPROVEMENT IN DELINQUENCY RATIO
For 5,605 FirstLook Credit Unions | Data as of 06.30.15
Callahan & Associates | www.creditunions.com

Source: Peer-to-Peer Analytics by Callahan & Associates

The post Asset Quality Reaches Pre-Recession Levels In Second Quarter 2015 appeared first on CreditUnions.com.