4
Viewpoint
First Glance
EDITOR'S COLUMN
New Twists on the At Your Service Mandate
6
8
Women to Watch
BECU vice president Stacie
Wyss-Schoenborn says, “To
remain relevant, we must bring
value to members’ lives every
single day and earn their loyalty.”
Change Debate
Debate teams at the THINK 13
conference pondered whether
massive change or measured
change is best for the industry.
Going Local
Carolina Mountains Credit
Union’s local focus has been
kicked up a notch through a
partnership with Asheville Grows
and a Go Local campaign.
Sarah Snell Cooke
Publisher/
Editor in Chief
scooke@cutimes.com
attitude, and it demonstrates that size
is not an excuse for not generating
creative solutions. In fact, it should
be easier without the bureaucracy a
larger credit union might have.
Certainly it represents an investment on the credit union’s part but
relative to what a financial institution
8
10
Health Care
John Harris, CEO of CU Insur-
ance & Benefits Alliance, offers
his take on if the industry will
have to overhaul the way it offers
insurance.
12
IRR Back Testing
A stronger regulatory focus has
brought to the forefront the re-
quirement that institutions back
test their IRR models, writes
Benedict Voit, an asset-liability
management adviser.
Payden Smith’s piece, “Don’t Pet
the Jellyfish,” won grand prize.
Departments
Women to Watch ................... 6
THINK 13 ............................ 8
Hollis Bosch’s piece, “Trashy Trio,” won
first place in the adult category.
Guest Opinions ........ 9, 11 & 12
Competition .................. 10-11
Cartoon ............................ 12
oncierge banking is
usually for the rich and
famous at the high-
end banks. Alamo
The $44 million credit union in
San Antonio started a personal con-
cierge banking program. This small
credit union will send a representa-
tive out to members’ office or home
or wherever it’s convenient to open
accounts or assist with complet-
ing a loan application. Wisely,
the concierge will not carry cash,
but he or she will be able to assist
with switching over current ac-
counts at other financial institu-
tions to Alamo FCU.
CEO Max Villaronga stated in
the credit union’s press release,
“With Alamo FCU, you don’t wait
on us, we wait on you.” That state-
ment is exactly the point. It gets at the
crux of credit union philosophy and
running a solid business. It represents
a true members-lead-the-business
would have to invest on a fixed asset,
such as a branch and security along
with everything else, the concierge
concept could prove well worth it.
The proof will be in the results,
but this type of direct investment in
the members and growing potential
members is the point from which to
start. For many small business owners trying to run their one-person
shops or stay-at-home parents with a
couple of toddlers, it can be too much
of a hassle to make the trek into the
credit union. In addition, they may
require consultation on various financial matters that the online or
mobile venues simply cannot fulfill.
Alamo FCU looked at a service
typically reserved for the well to do
and applied it to its members’ needs.
They looked at one model and fit it
to the credit union’s vision to create
something different. And that’s exactly what contestants in MAX Credit
Union’s 2013 Funky Junk art contest
did.
The $960 million credit union
partnered with the Montgomery
Clean City Commission to bring
creativity and recycling to life.
More than 75 pieces were en-
tered into the competition from
age 5 through adult. MAX CU’s
participation supported three
objectives by drawing attention
to environmental concerns, pro-
viding artists a venue to highlight
their creativity and, last but not
least, bringing awareness of the cred-
it union to potential members.
The lesson? Look at something as
common and chaotic as a pile of gar-
bage and build something beautiful.
I couldn’t resist including a couple
pictures of the winning pieces here.
What could your credit union come
up with by borrowing from other
similar–or not–businesses? A con-
cierge service perhaps.
EMAIL Sarah at scooke@cutimes.com
CU
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Brett King and the
Death of the Branch
This three-part series by Bank 2.0/3.0
author provides an in-depth look at
his central thesis: Consumer behavior
is killing the traditional branch.
CUTimes.com/BrettKingBranchDeath
History of the C Note
A slide show and
detailed look on the
four iterations of the
$100 Federal Reserve
Note leading up to the new bill debuting on Oct. 8.
CUTimes.com/$100Bill
Mobility Matters:
Unified apps, locked-down security,
and the scramble is on to get there.
CUTimes.com/
MobilityMattersMobile2.0
Video: A Daily Dose
Of Leadership
Check out a daily bit of wisdom from
our Women to Watch credit union
executives.
CUTimes.com/W2WDaily
Credit Migration and
Determining ALLL
A look at determining the proper
amount to set aside for Allowances for
Loan and Leases Losses.
CUTimes.com/Blog
Follow us on Facebook @CookeOnCUs @Gen YBack Talk
Add your voice to our discussions!
Banker for a Day
Postal Credit Union hosted some
Minnesota schoolchildren for some
hands-on learning at the teller line
and more.
CUTimes.com/Community
Editorial Cartoon Slide Show
Political and editorial cartoons have been around for
a long time. Some of the first were medieval woodcuts
that preceded the printed page. Ours are online.
Check out the
“slide show” of the
editorial cartoons
we publish regu-
larly in our print
edition. It begins
on the home
page.
CUTimes.com/
Cartoons
May 21, 2008 Credit
Union Times
To hear Oklahoma credit
union executives tell it, a
Texas Credit Union League
to provide a host of services
to its Oklahoma counterpart
is either clever strategy or a power grab.
CUTimes.com/OKTexas
Brand new! The CUTting Edge
Our new e-newsletter The CUTting Edge
delivers a monthly update on the hottest
tech news for CUs. Get the latest in online
and mobile banking, core processing,
security and more, along with original
and thought-providing commentary from
leaders in the field. Subscribe today. Next
edition is May 20.
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