LIVONIA, Mich.—CU Solutions Group, a Michigan CU League CUSO, has launched a Lending and Operations Solutions division to develop products that expand CU loan portfolios in the state and deliver operational solutions that reduce CU costs.
The division, now the fifth within CUSG, CUSG will deliver niche-oriented solutions, explained David Adams, CEO of CU Solutions Group and the Michigan league. “With this new division, we are not looking to be everything to all credit unions,” he said
Two offerings will be released soon—a reverse mortgage and a small business bridge loan.
David Adams
Adams said the reverse mortgage product, offered through a partnership with One Reverse Mortgage, San Diego, is the result of the league understanding that “a really good reverse mortgage solution is not being offered in the credit union space now.”
Another gap in CU lending, said Adams, is a quick, short-term loan for small businesses. CU Solutions Group is working with RapidAdvance in Bethesda, Md.
“This is a loan to assist small businesses when they are in a pinch and need money,” explained Adams. “With the program they can get an unsecured short-term loan and then restructure their debt with something that makes more sense to them.”
Adams said both RapidAdvance and One Reverse Mortgage are associated with Detroit-based Quicken Loans. “We connected with Quicken through other business dealings,” said Adams, noting that CU Solutions Group likes working with a Michigan-based firm. “We are looking at other opportunities where we can partner with this organization to serve credit unions.”
The new division will also expand CU Solutions Group consulting services in the area of compliance, HR, training and strategic planning, said Adams. Several of the service areas, excluding compliance, could eventually reach outside the borders of Michigan, said Adams.
Launch Follows Rebranding
The launch of the new division comes on the heels of the league rebranding one of the most successful league initiatives in the country, Invest in America, which now goes by Love my Credit Union Rewards.
Introduced in late 2008 to boost struggling CU auto lending and provide much-needed business to Michigan-based Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co., which were working their way through bankruptcy filings at the time, Invest in America gives members of participating CUs special new car pricing below the manufacturer's suggested retail price. The partnership with Chrysler and GM put savings into the pockets of members and raised the visibility of CU's role in this country's financial system.
Chrysler eventually left Invest in America.
Since those early days, which also included a program for Sprint discounts, Invest in America has steadily expanded its offerings to include special CU savings from DirectTV, Intuit's TurboTax, 1-800 Flowers, ADT, and TruStage, and more.
Adams said Invest in America discounts has saved 3.6 million members more than $1 billion, and returned more than $65 million to the credit union system. “But it was time to rebrand to more accurately reflect the breadth of the offerings.”
CUSG revised the www.LoveMyCreditUnion.org consumer portal—the Invest in America website—keeping the URL. Under Love My Credit Union Rewards, Adams said the new site is easier-to-navigate and includes the “Love to Shop” platform that provides members with cash-back discounts from online retailers and also delivers daily offers to bring members back more often.”
“The rebrand has gone very well,” said Adams. “Volume through the new program continues to increase and credit union engagement is high. We think this move positions the program well for the future.