The Paulson Plan: What’s A Credit Union to Do?

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s recently announced plan to overhaul the regulation of the US financial services industry has generated much concern in credit union circles, and rightly so. There was a terrific discussion about the plan’s implications on the OpenSource CU Blog last week. 

Late in the week, many folks were no doubt cheered by the remarks of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank. (Also, as you probably know - Paulson himself said that the credit union reaction to the plan was “a bit premature.”)

Despite late-week assurances, I think CUNA is right on the money to get in front of this thing - and there are a few key lessons for credit unions to draw from this:

1. Keep telling your stories (and if you aren’t - START!). A comment that was attributed to Uber-Marketer Ron Shevlin at BarCampBank New England this past weekend says it best: “It’s not about telling members our stories, but about getting them to tell their own stories. Create experiences.” (Thanks to Andy LaFlamme of Maine State CU for relaying this quote via Twitter.)   
   I’m pretty sure that Ron was referring to the word-of-mouth that happens when a credit union comes through for a member when it matters most. I would take this one step further and encourage you to find those member stories and where possible and permissible, share them with the world using your existing message channels. Add them to your newsletter, put them out on your web site and share them when you mix and mingle in your community. And do these things regularly.
   Low fees and good deposit rates are nice, but frankly that’s banker-speak. The difference your credit union makes in people’s lives IS the CU difference - everything else is secondary.   
2. Get involved politically. We are blessed in NC to have so many great credit union advocates who get involved in the political process … but there’s always room for more! While some people go to Raleigh as part of State Capital Connections or DC for Hike the Hill, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own credit union branch to advocate for your credit union! You can host a legislator at your CU, hold voter registration drives and many other activities to develop relationships with elected leaders. These relationships give you the opportunity to share the credit union difference with lawmakers. If you have any questions about how to get involved, call us here - we’re always happy to provide assistance.
3. We’ve got to work together. Credit unions of various sizes have different operational challenges of course … and the competitive landscape is different than in years past. But the opportunity to be successful (perhaps even viable?) in the future lies primarily in our ability to close ranks and say to the world, “We may be many credit unions, but we are one, united movement.”

Language matters. Despite the assurances of the treasury secretary, anyone reading what the proposal actually says should be concerned for the credit union movement. But this is also true: information is currency, and our stories in this context make us fabulously wealthy. No matter the outcome of the Paulson Plan, I believe both our individual and collective dedication to sharing the credit union difference will determine the fate of the credit union system.    

What do you think?

Community Involvement As Brand Building: A Conversation with SECU’s Jim Blaine

One of the things that has always impressed me about State Employees’ Credit Union is that from the standpoint of member service and culture, the credit union acts like a tiny shop. As most people know, SECU is instead one of the largest credit unions in the world, holding more than $15 billion in assets.

This culture of service and absolute dedication to the cooperative philosophy shines through in the credit union, from the membership at the grassroots all the way up the chain through its board and senior management.

Many of the ideas and much of the credit union passion that you might hear from the CEO of a small shop shine through in the few moments I got to spend with SECU CEO Jim Blaine. Jim graciously spent some time with me to reflect on the Herb Wegner Award the SECU Foundation received as the outstanding credit union organization.  

The SECU Foundation has only been around a few short years, but it has already left a tremendous footprint across all 100 counties in NC. The video interview focuses on the Foundation’s scholarship program, which has awarded scholarships to one student in every NC public high school for the past three years or so.

The Foundation has also embarked on some other outstanding projects that are making an impact in NC. Some of these projects are summarized in the video presentation below that we got to see at the Herb Wegner Awards in Washington, DC last week.

The leadership of the credit union views these activities as its advertising campaign. From my vantage point, I’d have to say that it’s clearly working. Every week when the newspaper clippings arrive in the mail, the activities of the credit union and its foundation get consistent mention in papers of all sizes.

The scholarship winners, which are generally pictured with a local SECU representative, get mentioned the most in papers across the State. At the same time, and I don’t have hard stats to back this up — I’d say clearly the newspapers and other media outlets have become much more likely to pick up press releases that come from the credit union over the past couple of years.  

As the notion of a national branding campaign continues to get kicked around, the SECU Foundation has put together an impressive narrative that suggests that collective philanthropy and community building will get the credit union movement a lot more mileage than a national advertising campaign.

What do you think?

Wednesday Morning Update - Our Trek to the Hill!

The 120 representatives of NC credit unions have really enjoyed their stay in Washington thus far - and today, the rubber meets the road! Late this morning, our group will head to the Capitol to meet with Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr - these meetings will kick off our afternoon of visits with members of Congress from NC.

The group is anxious to meet with our elected officials and share their thoughts about credit union regulatory relief. I think our elected leaders also appreciate it when they get the opportunity to meet with “real folks” from back home as well.

In addition to reg relief, the group will be sharing how NC credit unions are returning value to their members and boosting the NC economy. Included in this will be the stories of a few NC credit unions that made year-end dividends and rebates. Combined, these credit unions put more than $750,000 back into the hands of members - many of whom live in small towns in NC that are struggling economically!

Much more to come on our day in DC on the Hill. In the meantime a few pictures are posted on Flickr. Click here to view them in a slide show. Much more to come!

The CULAC Raffle

One of the fun events that happens each year at GAC is the CULAC Raffle. This raffle, while helping raise funds, also provide entrants with the chance to win some great prizes.

Mickey Fanney, the League’s Grassroots/Political Action Specialist, clues us in on the raffle and its importance. Mickey has done a wonderful job the past two years energizing NC credit unions in a very important aspect of our grassroots efforts.

(Edit to add that Mickey reports that NC credit union people combined to raise more than $5,200 for CULAC in the raffle this year. Way to go, everyone!)