When your boss suggests you take a one week trip through the upper Midwest in February, there are three thoughts that run through your brain
- First thought is geez that’s a really bad idea,
- Second thought is this sounds like that Chris Farley movie Tommy Boy
- Third thought (which is verbalized) is geez boss, that’s a great idea!
Being the loyal servant I loaded up the rental car (a sweet Red Chevy Impala) and drove exactly 1,408 miles through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario, Canada to visit 8 Research Council members and their senior teams. Joined by the newest member of the Filene team, Implementation Advisor Matt Davis, we discussed all things credit unions: challenges, opportunities, needs, wants, dreams, and nightmares during our site visits.
Without divulging proprietary information, here are some themes we observed from our gracious guests:
- Enterprise risk management is white hot: if the capability was not present before the Great Recession, credit unions are scrambling to build it;
- Consumers are behaving: this statement is vague on purpose.Consumer attitudes are highly localized; however the general sentiment is that ‘thrift is the new black’;
- Credit unions are frustrated with new rules: corporates, CARD Act, overdraft…you name it…credit unions are feeling the burn from rule changes on top of all their other challenges;
- I don’t want to be like Mike: Credit unions are crafting clear, differentiated value propositions. As resources become more tenuous, credit unions are deciding what not to do more readily than in the past;
- Gotta an extra set of hands?: Resource allocation is focused on the non-sexy things: risk, loss mitigation, capital preservation, etc. Still credit unions recognize the need to be prepared for the economic upturn and yearn for that extra set of hands to deal with future opportunities.
We are aiming to visit every Research Council CEO this year in hopes of honing in on the obvious and not so obvious opportunities inherent in this world we live in. Expect updates from these visits in the coming months.
Finally, in a nod to my friend/colleague Denise Gabel, the most innovative thing we observed during our trip was FORUM Credit Union’s use of fake coyotes to scare the geese away from their grounds. This photo show’s Matt awarding one such coyote with a well-deserved innovation award.
Comments
5
Our coyotes are thrilled to be honored with such a prestigious award! Thanks for spending some time with us during your road trip.
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I’m considering putting a paper Matt Davis in my backyard.
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@Michael…which begs the question, ‘what would a paper Matt Davis keep out of your backyard’?
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Bankers…
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For now, I’m holding off on both the backyard Matt Davis and paper coyote. Not sure which the neighbors would appreciate more.
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