WASHINGTON — There is no quick fix or hard-and-fast rules about how to halt credit unions resigning state leagues in some parts of the country or how to get them back once they've quit, according to the head of an American Association of Credit Union Leagues panel charged with helping find solutions.

“We remain very concerned about the impact of disaffiliation and retention on industry unity which is why we we're collaborating with CUNA to come up with 'best practices,'” said Paul Mercer, chair of AACUL's “Affiliation Task Force”.

Organized in June to help share ideas on the disaffiliation problem, the five-member AACUL panel held its first working session two weeks ago in Boston during the annual summer conference of the trade group made up of league managers.

“We spent hours exchanging ideas on strategies and rationales as to why individual credit unions leave the system but we found that while there are many individual concerns, it is going to take a one-on-one approach to demonstrate the real value of belonging,” said Mercer, who also is president/CEO of the Ohio Credit Union League.

To that end, the panel expects to marshal both league and CUNA staff on a focused basis with on-site visits to demonstrate to disaffiliated CUs the cost value of rejoining, said Mercer. The stepped-up contact work becomes more urgent to protect the industry's future, he concluded.

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'No Quick Fix' on Disaffiliation, Says Mercer

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