One CUSO predicts the four areas credit unions and banks willfocus on in 2012 are profitability, efficiency, product and servicemix and deeper member and customer relationships.

“On the surface things may appear calm, but underneath currentsare swirling and business fundamentals and structures are beingtransformed rapidly,” according to Shazia Manus, CEO of The Members Group and author of the white paper “The RoadAhead: Four Very Important Competencies for Community FIs in2012.

In the category of profitability, these tactics includeevaluating new streams of revenue. With efficiency, Manus discusseselements such as branching and the technologies capable of loweringexpenses.

The product and service mix, she believes, will evolve toinclude more “lifestyle bundles”, and deeper customerrelationships, Manus writes, will stem from a larger commitment tocross-selling.

A former credit union CEO, Manus said “CEOs and their executiveteams, boards and staff must begin the strategic visioning processby asking a tough question: Does our business model stillwork?”

The Des Moines, Iowa-based TMG is a card processing and payment solutions CUSO servingboth credit unions and financial institutions. It is a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Affiliates Management Co., which is owned by Iowacredit unions and their members.

The TMG white paper can be downloaded online.