A few weeks ago, a colleague of mine was co-presenting a talk about emerging technologies in financial services for a large group of credit union executives and volunteers. At one point the discussion turned to PFMs; specifically, how giving members more information about their financial behavior could allow them to reduce spending, enjoy the fruits of thrift, minimize their dependence on high-priced credit, and prevent costly overdraft charges.
During the Q&A session afterward, a credit union CEO asked (paraphrasing), "why on earth would we want to make our members less profitable?"
My colleague's response (again paraphrasing): "if your credit union's success is tied to your members' failure, you may want to rethink your business model."
As much as I liked this response, the fact that this exchange took place is disheartening. How did we get to this place? How did our service organizations morph into disservice organizations?
Contrast that CEO's mindset with Jack Moser, an Ohio drunk driving defense attorney hellbent on putting himself out of business. Moser is one of the area's biggest supporters of initiatives to eliminate the senselessness of driving under the influence, and yearns for the day he has no more clients.
Credit unions seem to have forgotten one of Edward Filene's greatest teachings; that if you offer anything except the best possible products at the best possible prices, you are instituting an unsustainable (and inefficient) business model. In way too many cases we've overspent, overbuilt, and overgrown. We've prioritized our credit unions' net income concerns over those of our members. We are on record fighting against the consumer protections outlined in the CARD Act and the larger financial reform bill.
In many ways we've lost sight of what it is to be a credit union.
I can't help but relate the devolution of credit unions to that of labor unions. (I know this assertion will rub some of you the wrong way, but I'm not shy.) Certainly, there was a time in our nation's history at which labor unions served a very important, and productive, role. Labor conditions for railroad companies and steel mills a hundred years ago were atrocious, and needed to be remedied. Unions fixed those conditions and made sure that workers were safe, fairly compensated, and assured some semblance of work/life balance.
Today, labor unions are at least partially responsible for allowing bad teachers to litter our schools, professional athletes to price most families out of watching them play, the collapse of the U.S. automobile industry, and the shipment of millions of jobs overseas. This wasn't the goal, of course. It's simply a display of what happens when good intentions get pushed aside by greed. At some point, it would have been nice if unions would have decided, "We did it! Our mission has been accomplished. Let's have a beer and reconvene if and only if we're needed."
Credit unions should be working to put themselves out of business too. Our goal should be to make sure that consumers have access to affordable credit for provident and productive purposes, while understanding (and demonstrating that understanding) the importance of thrift. Instead, we're fascinated with growth, net income, power structures, competition with one another, and a childish "banks are evil, credit unions are saints" mentality. Competition is healthy. But our supply far exceeds the demand for our services. This, in many ways, is due to our success. In many ways we've succeeded.
In many more, we've failed.
If we truly are different as a movement, we should move mountains so that some day we can all call it quits.
Showing posts with label challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label challenge. Show all posts
12 October 2010
15 June 2010
I Still Dig the Diggers...But We Dug this Hole
We could blame the recession. We could blame regulators. We could blame consumers/bank competition/[insert your legislator/president of choice]/Wall Street/each other.
Whatever we choose to blame, I think we all realize deep down the rut credit unions find themselves in has been largely carved out both by and for credit unions. Lip service to our core cooperative principles, an unwillingness to hire (and pay appropriately) top talent, being way too slow to adapt to changes in the competitive environment, misappropriated budget dollars, gross negligence regarding our corporates (from the elected to the electorate), and a hell-bent determination to follow as opposed to lead in the marketplace have much more to do with the predicament we find ourselves in than any external factor. If we are going to dig out of this rut, we need to make a few things happen:
1) We need to reevaluate our staffs (from top to bottom). Do we have the right talent in place to make the necessary improvements to our operations? Are we willing to pay for it? Are we willing to capitalize on this golden opportunity to gobble up the amazing supply of skill in the job market right now? We have some of the best people in the world working for credit unions. We also have some of the least talented and skilled. If your team isn't cutting the mustard, now is the time to make a change. Don't forget to look in the mirror.
2) Work together. Fighting with each other over 6% of the marketplace is asinine. Cut it the hell out. Collaborate. I don't necessarily care if we grow market share at all. I do care, however, if we refuse to capitalize on ways to lower operating expenses. If you are truly interested in serving your members, then you should be tirelessly searching for ways to cut costs. An easy start to this would be eliminating as many duplicative processes/expenditures as possible between credit unions, trades, and membership organizations.
3) Find new problems to solve. Upper and middle class Americans with good credit have extensive access to affordable transaction, savings, and loan products. Done. Problem solved. Just as the world doesn't need another reality television show, coffee shop, or American Idol, we don't need another run of the mill financial institution. Start by reaching out to the 60 million Americans who are either unbanked or underbanked. Train staff to offer the services members need instead of the ones you want them to have. Put yourself in your members' shoes to uncover day-to-day problems credit unions may be able to help with. Launch.
4) Fix your pricing. We price products like we're banks. We're not banks.
5) Cheer up. We're special organizations trying to do special things. One of the best things we have had going for us over the past 75 years is our optimism. Don't lose that.
Whatever we choose to blame, I think we all realize deep down the rut credit unions find themselves in has been largely carved out both by and for credit unions. Lip service to our core cooperative principles, an unwillingness to hire (and pay appropriately) top talent, being way too slow to adapt to changes in the competitive environment, misappropriated budget dollars, gross negligence regarding our corporates (from the elected to the electorate), and a hell-bent determination to follow as opposed to lead in the marketplace have much more to do with the predicament we find ourselves in than any external factor. If we are going to dig out of this rut, we need to make a few things happen:
1) We need to reevaluate our staffs (from top to bottom). Do we have the right talent in place to make the necessary improvements to our operations? Are we willing to pay for it? Are we willing to capitalize on this golden opportunity to gobble up the amazing supply of skill in the job market right now? We have some of the best people in the world working for credit unions. We also have some of the least talented and skilled. If your team isn't cutting the mustard, now is the time to make a change. Don't forget to look in the mirror.
2) Work together. Fighting with each other over 6% of the marketplace is asinine. Cut it the hell out. Collaborate. I don't necessarily care if we grow market share at all. I do care, however, if we refuse to capitalize on ways to lower operating expenses. If you are truly interested in serving your members, then you should be tirelessly searching for ways to cut costs. An easy start to this would be eliminating as many duplicative processes/expenditures as possible between credit unions, trades, and membership organizations.
3) Find new problems to solve. Upper and middle class Americans with good credit have extensive access to affordable transaction, savings, and loan products. Done. Problem solved. Just as the world doesn't need another reality television show, coffee shop, or American Idol, we don't need another run of the mill financial institution. Start by reaching out to the 60 million Americans who are either unbanked or underbanked. Train staff to offer the services members need instead of the ones you want them to have. Put yourself in your members' shoes to uncover day-to-day problems credit unions may be able to help with. Launch.
4) Fix your pricing. We price products like we're banks. We're not banks.
5) Cheer up. We're special organizations trying to do special things. One of the best things we have had going for us over the past 75 years is our optimism. Don't lose that.
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