At CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference last week inWashington, dozens of CUSOs set out to make their presence felt andtheir voices heard.

Kirk Drake, president/CEO of Ongoing Operations LLC, used theevent to play up what CUSOs are and are not. 

“Even though CUSOs are owned by credit unions, it has been myexperience that they are largely overlooked, not asked toparticipate in most of the political advocacy and are lumped intothe general vendor category,” wrote Drake in his CUNA GAC CUSO guide. 

At least 25 CUSOs had exhibit booths at the GAC, according toDrake. Ongoing Operations, a Hagerstown, Md.-based CUSO that providedbusiness continuity and technology solutions, was be amongthem. 

In the CUNA GAC CUSO guide, Drake offers background informationon how CUSOs are different from vendors, how they enablecollaboration and a list of CUSOs that will be at the GAC.

One of the differences between CUSOs and vendors is credit union ownership in strategicpartners ensures that credit unions have a voice, Drake said.Another difference is there are non-credit union shareholders toplease, he added. 

Jointly owned CUSOs also pay dividends to their credit unionowners and can provide savings on services as well as generaterevenue through products and services a credit union cannot offerdirectly but can do through a CUSO, Drake said comparing CUSOs tovendors. 

“I think CUSOs are one of the most important if not the mostimportant way for innovation, adaptability and differentiationcredit unions have and are crucial to the long-term viability ofthe industry,” Drake said.  

Much of Drake's message could easily piggyback on NACUSO'spositions on how CUSOs are experiencing a number of new challenges,including CUSO reviews from the NCUA as NACUSO President/CEO Jack Antonini, wrote in a January op-edpublished in Credit Union Times. In 2012, a number ofCUSOs received an advisory from the NCUA informing them to preparefor a CUSO review. 

NACUSO found that there are no established CUSO reviewguidelines for NCUA examiners to follow, a void shared by thoseCUSOs that underwent a review and a lack confirmed by NCUA seniorstaff. Antonini said NACUSO is assembling a working group tocoordinate with the agency in the development of theseguidelines.

Meanwhile, Drake said CUSOs continue to provide the businessstructure to foster collaboration among credit unions.

“My experience has been that in order to create sustainedcollaborative efforts that transcend management teams and CEOrelationships, a CUSO is necessary,” he wrote in a recent blog.“CUSO's create an independent neutral zone that enables all partiesto work for the common good–occasionally at an individual ororganizations detriment.”

Drake said without this, tough business decisions and issuescannot be dealt with efficiently. “Ultimately, the boardgovernance, shared business ideals, joint problem solving andindustry focus breeds increased trust and collaboration whichyields innovative ideas and businesses that reshape the industry,”Drake said. “It isn't that collaboration won't occur without aCUSO, I find it just makes it much tougher.”