Credit Unions Have to Stay Focused on The Issues that Determine their Future

I wanted to thank Guy Messick for bravely saying in his July 5 opinion piece, “We Have Met the Enemy and It Is Us,” what so many are thinking, but so few actually verbalize. As a relatively new initiate to the industry (just over three years now) I see so many things to love about credit unions and their financial cooperative model. However, as you so accurately put it, the industry is being marginalized and everyone is too busy arguing over whether or not we are a movement or an industry or whether or not we should use the word “banking” in our advertising. In case we have failed to notice, credit unions are quickly closing the gap with banks on the fees we charge-we need the money to make up for our negative spread between net interest margin and overhead. Banks on the other hand have very healthy margins, are not reliant on fee income, and are becoming more and more customer focused with free giveaways and innovative products and services. Is it any wonder that most surveys show the perceived difference between credit unions and banks also quickly narrowing?