CUNA Mutual dedicates one day of Discovery Conference to small CUs

SEATTLE - CUNA Mutual Group took its annual Discovery Conference down a different path this year with one day dedicated solely to small credit unions. Thus far the four-year old conference has tended to attract larger credit unions, according to CUNA Mutual officials. This year CUNA Mutual wanted to step up the attraction power to small CUs. On June 15, the Discovery Conference turned to small CUs. CUNA Mutual charged small credit unions in the Seattle area ($20 million and under) just $25 to attend its "Small Credit Union Day." Bob Hoel of the Filene Institute and Steve Goldberg, CUNA Mutual's vice president of small credit union development, facilitated the day's events. "One thing we asked them is whether growth mattered. There was a pretty thunderous expression of interest in growing once they understood what growing meant," said Goldberg. What growing means, according to Goldberg, is that the credit union can provide more services to members; it can survive beyond the current year; and staff members can be paid better. "It's not about growth for growth's sake. It's about improving service quality for members and the future viability of the credit union." Goldberg and Hoel led the group through four key issues that are important to the future survival of small credit unions. "They need to become very skilled at lending. Make loan policies and procedures more member friendly, have a more rapid loan approval process," said Goldberg. Unfortunately many small credit unions have their credit committees review each and every loan application, he said. "The credit committee really needs to be the credit policy review committee. Set the policies that the staff follows." CUNA Mutual has lending resources available on its small credit union Web site (www.smallcu.com). So far some 1,200 small CUs have ordered its 90-page lending manual. Small CUs can download a free six-page executive summary of good lending policies that the board of directors can use as a guide, he said. Technology development was the second issue covered during the small CU event. "One problem can be convincing the board and making directors understand the value of technology. We hear the horror stories of boards wanting to approve the purchase of a new PC." Goldberg said the technology issue should be one of the easiest for small credit unions to tackle because it's a no-brainer. "Small credit unions need technology to act bigger. There's a great quote from Pat Wagner (CEO) of New World FCU, `Because we're small we must have a Web site,' "said Goldberg. "That's the attitude that needs encouragement among small credit unions." The third key for small credit union survival is partnering. "One crying shame is that a lot of small credit unions don't seem to know what resources are available." He said they must call on their state leagues, large credit unions, and credit union-friendly business partners to help them develop a Web presence. Finally, Goldberg told small credit unions to "refuse to think small." "A small credit union can do almost everything a large one can through partnerships, but only if they they think beyond their size." Don Larsen, chair of CUNA's Small CU Committee and president of Community CU, Tacoma, Wash., hosted the small CU luncheon. The day ended with a demo of CMG's small credit union Web site. Goldberg said small CUs may be surprised to find how many free tools small CU tools are currently on the site. -pgentile@cutimes.com