Addressing the Revenue Growth Challenge

Cutting costs and scaling back on expenditures is a sure fire way to achieve short-term profitability. Certainly credit unions can focus on shrinking assets to maintain capital, but how does that contribute towards long term sustainability? It may not be the engine for growth your credit union is looking for. In today's economic climate, credit unions are limited by narrow interest rates. As a result, it becomes essential for credit unions to create additional revenue streams that will stimulate top-line growth. 

In this report, a survey of 137 credit union leaders provides a glimpse of what various organizations are doing to find new sources of revenue. While there isn't one universal strategy for growing non-interest income (NII), the insights offered in the report encourage credit union leaders to trade in conventional solutions for more innovative approaches. Thanks to the respondents, we learned that: 

• Credit unions plan to grow revenue principally by selling existing products to existing members or to new members
• Only a quarter feel that building new products to attract new members is a priority, and only a third are prioritizing new products for existing members 
• Strong product design competencies will help drive long term revenue growth 
• 65% of respondents say that debit card rewards programs are somewhat effective at driving utilization of debit cards 
• Building platforms and tools that enhance personal financial management need to deliver enough value for members to be willing to pay for their utilization 

Filene thanks our generous supporters for making this important research possible.