WASHINGTON—Have credit unions become somewhat complacent in sharing the CU difference? And has the movement’s “people helping people” mission statement simply become a “campfire song?”
CUNA CEO Jim Nussle shared those concerns as he kicked off the trade group’s CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) as part of remarks around about what credit unions must do to make a difference today and “future-proof the industry.”
While those steps were outlined by Nussle, he first commended CUs for the jobs they have been doing during the pandemic, again calling credit are “financial first responders” who “run toward trouble” when members face it, which he said was clearly on display during the COVID-19 crisis.
“During the last two years credit unions did so much to pitch in and do the special things members needed in 2020 and 2021,” Nussle said, noting that when he was younger he had been a fireman.
Nussle spoke about how during his training to become a fireman he was placed inside a burning room with his firefighting equipment on, and quickly learned that even as the room was on fire, there always is one place in the room to run to safety.
Similarly, he told attendees members have run to their CUs during the health crisis for so many needs—a skip a pay, a reworked loan, and other special assistance.
“You showed some big numbers then—90% of you waived fees and 95% offered skip a payments,” Nussle said.
Small Numbers, Big Stories
But Nussle emphasized that overall, while the big data points are important, it is the small numbers that tell a big story for the movement. He called on credit unions to tell their individual stories to their representatives on Capitol Hill, and back those stories up with the data that supports their good work.
“I know when I was a member of Congress I used to love when someone would come to me telling me how they are solving a problem in their community, and share data about how it is making a difference, and adding this is what we need to do moving forward to fix the problem,” Nussle stated. “In my opinion it is not just good anymore just to tell the story.”
As CUToday.info reports separately, CUNA has joined with the National CU Foundation to better document the impact credit unions are having on their members and communities.
Overall, Nussle said, those are the types of things that are needed to “future proof” the industry.
Nussle pointed to recent CUNA data that show consumers see credit unions are more highly rated than banks among consumers when it comes to addressing financial wellbeing and caring about their communities. That data, however, comes at a time when credit unions have slipped behind banks in a highly respected consumer satisfaction study (American Consumer Satisfaction Index) for three straight years.
Nussle said the trade association’s Open Your Eyes campaign has raised unaided consumer consideration of credit unions by eight points.
Singing the Next Verse
But Nussle turned back to concerns about how the movement is telling its story.
“I worry that the people helping people mission has become something of a campfire song,” he told attendees, explaining that when new employees are first hired credit unions are not doing a good enough job of sharing why the movement is different from other financial institutions and training often is simply sharing the CU mission. He called on CUs to “sing the next verse” that it’s “people helping people with their finances.”
“How can we future proof the credit union difference for years to come? Well, it can’t just be about today. It has to be about tomorrow,” Nussle stressed. “How will we be relevant to members for years to come…Credit unions may look similar on the outside…Don’t be complacent about talking about the credit union different, and back up your stories with data.”
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