The CU2.0 Podcast

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Quick now, what is NACUSO?

Of course that’s the National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations  - and CUSOs just may be the credit union secret power.  

On the show today is Seth Brickman, former CEO of QCash and now president of Ranqx, a powerful tool that can gather the necessary financial info from a wouldbe borrower, analyze and issue a verdict on a business loan application in a matter of minutes.  

A typical credit union would take a couple weeks to get to that verdict - which, by the way, is “no” in two out of three cases.

Brickman is a credit union true believer and he especially believes that credit unions have the pole position in lending to small businesses in their community - if they also have the right tools and process automation.

On the show Brickman tells how Ranqx works - and it is already working at credit unions including MSU Federal Credit Union and also at CUSOs.

Which brings us back to the question that opens the show: Does NACUSO matter?

Brickman  has a passionate answer and - spoiler alert - probably you can guess it.

Listen up.

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Hopeful.

Determined.

In a conversation with Renee Sattiewhite, the CEO of the African American Credit Union Coalition, she came across as both hopeful and determined.  And she believes there still is work to be done and she definitely is not giving up.  

Definitely she knows the landscape in today’s Washington DC is dramatically different but she does not see that as a call for waving the white flag of surrender.

Along the way you’ll hear mentions of some of the great heroes of AACUC such as Bill Porter and Bert Hash Jr. and Bill Bynum.  But you’ll also hear the names of many very successful women.

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said you can’t step into the same river twice, change is our constant. So it definitely is today and Renee Sattirewhite is determined to contribute her views on the kinds of changes we need to be making.

Listen up.

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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On today’s show, Mac Thompson, ceo  and founder of White Clay - a company focused on helping financial institution use data to build better, more profitable member and customer relationships, and he comes bearing a bitter pill for CU execs to swallow.

According to a recent Harris Poll sponsored by White Clay, “Roughly two-thirds of FI users (68%) do not feel truly known by their primary financial institution, with almost a third (31%) feeling like just another account number..”

Surely credit unions, which pride themselves on their member relationships, do better?

Yes but hold your self congratulations. The number for credit unions is 63%, said Thompson in the show.

It gets worse: 41% of members say they would switch FIs if another  institution offered more personalized financial guidance.

But Thompson also has good news: institutions can harness data, data they often already have on hand, to enrich their personal relations with members.  He discusses this in detail.

Listen up.

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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What’s next for WOCCU?

Is there a next?

The trigger for the question is a notification from the U.S. State Department that paused all funding for USAID programs for 90 days.  There’s no promise that funding would resume after 90 days.

Caught in this are three major WOCCU projects - in Ukraine, Ecuador and Peru, and sub-Saharan Africa.

That background is why we knew we had to schedule a call with WOCCU to learn what’s happening and what the future is.

On the podcast are Paul Andrews, WOCCU VP of International Advocacy and Erin O’Hern, WOCCU International Advocacy and Regulatory Counsel. 

This show is surprisingly upbeat, despite the profound uncertainty about the future of USAID monies.  

WOCCU still has plenty of good works to do and that it believes it can continue doing.

You’ll also hear how you can help WOCCU now.

Listen up.  

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email [email protected]
 
 

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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About 4.7 million homes sold in the US in 2024.

Does that sound like a dead market?

On the show today is James White of Total Expert which provides tools to help credit unions more efficiently close mortgages. What Total Expert offers is a  powerful CRM for loan officers that automates much of the process.

Also on the show is Zakary Short, vice president of mortgage production at Utah Community Credit Union,  with assets over $3 billion.

Short’s team are satisfied users of the Total Expert tools and he tells why.

The message of this episode is plain: although some institutions have walked away from the mortgage business, others - like UCCU - are prospering because they know homes are still selling and people need mortgages.

Listen up.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email [email protected]
 
 

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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This is the weather report from GAC, last week’s credit union confab in Washington DC.  On the show to report on key developments is Sarah Snell Cooke, former editor in chief and publisher of Credit Union Times and now a consultant to credit unions' business partners.

The big question at GAC was: is this really the end of the credit union federal tax exemption?

Also on the agenda was what’s the impact of staff reduction - a la DOGE - on NCUA?  Can the regulator adequately perform with significantly reduced staff?

Which leads to the big question: will NCUA be merged into another agency?

As for that last point: Cooke’s firmly held opinion is that if NCUA is merged into another agency this will spell the end of credit unions as we know them.  That’s a gloomy prognosis but Cooke explains on the show why she believes it.

On the show too she predicts that that demolition of NCUA won’t happen.

Listen up.

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Can a $350 million credit union play in the big leagues? Don’t tell Christine Blake, CEO of $350 million Cardinal Credit Union in Ohio, that she can’t.  Because she is.  

A few years ago Cardinal signed on as the official credit union of the Cleveland Browns, one of the historic football teams dating back to 1946.  Yes, the Browns have had a few rough years recently but this is a team with real history.

And an enthusiastic fan base in Cleveland, said Blake.

On the show she tells how she made the agreement with the Browns and what it means for the credit union.

She also tells about Cardinal’s Lil Brownies card which helps children learn about finances.

But she’s on the show with big news about an innovative Professional Sports Team  Credit Union Executive Summit where credit unions with relationships with pro sports teams will come together for three days of meetings in San Francisco, March 19-21 Among the presenters along with Cardinal are ENT - the official credit union of the Denver Broncos - and Northwest Financial Federal Credit Union which has a relationship with the Washington Commanders.  

Listen up.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email [email protected]
 
 

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Cliff Rosenthal literally wrote the book on CDFIs, community development financial institutions.  Hear his story in this podcast that dates back to 2019, episode 37 in the vaults.  

Rosenthal was on the show last year - episode 311 - talking about a new book he co-authored with Michael McCray entitled Community Capital. It’s part Rosenthal autobiography, part the sgtory of the death - the murder? - of an African AMerican credit union.  Hard hitting stuff.

But the story starts here, in episode 37 and it now is our Greatest Hit  #24

Listen up

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Here’s the money question  for you to ponder: : should you close that branch on  Third Street and open a new branch in a neighboring town? Keep in mind that the ballpark cost of opening a new branch is $2.5 million. As for costs in a branch closure there always are some and there also may be remember losses.  How to do the math?

Meet Steven Reider, president of Bancography - that’s the company that won best in show at Finovate fall 2024 for its Bancography Plan software tool that helps a credit union alanalyze branch closings and openings and also possible mergers.

Decisions that had been made based upon gut instinct now can be supported with analytical data.

How hard is Bancography Plan to use? It’s so easy, said Reider, even a CEO can use it.

As I tell Reider in the early moments of the show I’d never heard of such a tool before combing upon a Bancography press release.  But I knew when I read it I had to get this guy on the show.

Oh…the costs are surprisingly affordable.

Listen up. 

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email [email protected]
 
 

And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.
 
 

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Call this your must listen podcastg before GAC.

Because in this show you will be hearing explicit advice about your CAC 2025 to do.

Here's what is at stake: the credit union tax exmption on the future of NCUA.

Will credit unions lose their federal tax exemption?  Will NCUA be shuffled into a couple desks in the basement of the Treasury Department?

Issues of monumental importance to the credit union  movement are actively under discussion in Washington DC and longtime credit union lobbyist John McKechnie is on the showto report on the latest rumblings on Capitol Hill.

The big takeaway from this show: these issues very much are on the table in today's  Washington DC

On the date of this recording  - February 18 - McKechnie expressed optimism about credit unions retaining their tax exemption.

But he also stressed that what will be needed to win this fight is a concerted action by many, many credit union people to get the message across that to keep doing the valuable work credit unions do they need to keep that tax free status.

That means put on your shoes and get busy walking the Hill.  

And be ready to walk it not just during GAC but in the weeks and months afterwards because, stresses McKechnie, relationships with members and staffers on the Hill are forged via repeat contacts.

Listen up