Credit unions must collaborate in order to thrive and more ofthem are putting this belief into action.

Three Wisconsin credit unions decided to combine, each from aposition of strength. Best Advantage Credit Union in Brillion,CitizensFirst Credit Union in Oshkosh, and Lakeview Credit Union inNeenah, all determined it was in the best interest of their creditunions to explore credit union 2.0 – a partnership that would bedriven by extensive collaboration.

Each of the credit unions was mid-size or smaller: CitizensFirsthad $400 million in assets, Lakeview had $107 million, and BestAdvantage had $68 million.

Each CEO had independently come to the conclusion that theircredit union's long-term success depended on a future that lookeddifferent than the present.

“When we first started collaborating, it was more about findingways to allow each of our three credit unions to be individuallysustainable going forward,” Tammy Williams, EVP of CitizensFirst,said. “But the more we explored our options, the more apparent itbecame that we needed to go beyond that; that if we wanted toevolve in a rapidly changing world, we had to be open to biggerchanges.”

To read more about the journey these credit unions took tofacilitate a three-way collaborative partnership, download theFilene report, Credit Union 2.0 : An Opportunity to Build CollaborativePartnerships.

The report is the latest in a series of exclusive content fromFilene available to CU Times readers. Check out theseother reports:

• Only Up: Regulatory Burden and Its Effects on CreditUnions
• CreditUnion Implications of Living Trusts
• Gen Y Personal Finances: A Crisis of Confidence andCapability
• Impactsof Mergers on Credit Union Costs: 1984 – 2009
• ChannelDelivery for Tomorrow
• From Presence to Purpose: Developing Social Media Strategies andMetrics for Credit Unions
• Improving Social and Environmental Sustainability: A Credit UnionAssessment and Comparison
• Mortgages and Credit Union Performance: 1980-2011
• Future of Payments: Credit Union Implications – A Colloquium inSalt Lake City
• Asset-Liability Management: Theory, Practice, Implementation, andthe Role of Judgment

Manpreet Nat is a research associate at the Filene ResearchInstitute. He can be reached at 608-661-3752 or[email protected].