Trusted News for Credit Union Leaders

Credit Union Times

JANUARY 24, 2018 | VOL. 29 | NO. 2 | CUTIMES.COM

redit union professionals predict direct loan growth, marketing automation, Instagram, Snapchat and topic-based marketing are expected to be some of the top prevailing strategies and trends throughout

2018 credit unions will use to attract new members and grow loans.

From participating in dozens of strategic planning sessions in 2017, Scott Butterfield, principle of Your Credit Union Partner in Sumner, Wash., said his firm heard a recurring theme from his credit union clients: Focus less on indirect member and loan growth and more on direct member and loan growth strategies.

“We heard many leaders of
large credit unions say they intend
to pull back, but not stop, indirect
lending during the coming year,”
Butterfield said.

“Common reasons for the shift in strategy include avoiding high and increasing indirect loan-to-collateral values, challenges of cross-selling other products and services to indirect members, and strong competition for indirect loan purchases, including a growing number of out-of-market paper

STRATEGY

CU Marketers Predict New Trends

PETER STROZNIAK

pstrozniak@cutimes.com

Y17
2017’s
Record-
Breaking
Breaches
ROY URRICO

rurrico@cutimes.com

.S. breaches set records for the number of incidents and record exposures in

2017, according to reports from the Providence, R.I.-based Cyber-Scout (formerly IDT911) and San Diego-based Identity Theft Resource Center.

The number of U.S. data breaches for last year, tracked through Dec. 27, 2017, hit an all-time high and represented a significant jump over 2016. The total number of breaches captured in the 2017 ITRC Breach Report totaled 1,339, an increase of 22.5% over 2016’s then record of 1,093. The total number of records exposed hit 174,402,528.

The ITRC defines a data breach as an incident in which an individual name plus a Social Security number, driver’s license number, medical record or financial record (credit/debit cards included) potentially puts people and their personally identifiable information at risk of exposure.

The ITRC 2017 Breach Report is a compilation of data breaches confirmed by various media sources and/or notification lists from state governmental agencies. Some breaches did

CYBERSECURITY

Y18

HUMAN RESOURCES

Employee Tax Protection

As human resources professionals continue to concentrate on assessing the needs of their organizations, one key area to focus on is preventing the theft of sensitive personal and business information. In 2017, we witnessed the most data breaches on record, with more than 15% more security incidents reported than in 2016. These data breaches exposed the personally identifiable information of hundreds of millions of people, and caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Beyond monetary losses, the emotional fallout of being hacked can be equally devastating to individuals and families.

Employees whose information has been compromised from a fraudster exploiting their HR department will spend dozens to hundreds of hours out of the office to restore their identities. They’ll feel a sense of betrayal from their company, hurting both morale and loyalty.

If the breach makes the news, the organization will have a public relations nightmare on its hands. Dealing with member, employee and media inquiries alone will become a full-time job. Furthermore, if you or your department is the source of the breach, your job and reputation will be in jeopardy.

Protecting your employees’ PII should be a year-round initiative, but is especially important during the first quarter of the year. Tax season is when CEO Y16

Must Reads FOCUSREPORT:

MOBILE BANKING

& PAYMENTS

What’s next in the mobile banking and payments world? In this Focus Report, take a look ahead at 2018 predictions from the experts – plus a look back at the biggest stories of 2017. Y6