By Frank J. Diekmann
Given all the unhealthy amounts of time spent recently in the not always so friendly skies, here are some completely arbitrary items found in the bottom of the computer bag next to some crushed Biscoff cookies, a random hotel room key and business cards with QR codes that I won’t be QR coding, all jotted down across 10 or so time zones…
In Some Cases, A Big Upgrade
Hey, I’m not suggesting certain people in credit unions might be among the first to lose their jobs due to ChatGPT, but one credit union in the Northeast recently sent a press release to CUToday.info in which it got its own name wrong.
And Speaking of Releases…
Another company recently distributed a news release in which it noted that “91%” of attendees at its 2022 meeting would recommend its 2023 event to a colleague. One paragraph later, it repeated the sentence, but this time the figure had risen to “100%.”
Can’t Touch That
During a House hearing on oversight of federal financial regulators, one congressman made it abundantly clear he had no intention of tangling with the credit union lobby.
Rep.
Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) asked NCUA Chairman Todd Harper a general question about credit unions and the Community Reinvestment Act.
“CRA does not apply currently to credit unions,” Harper replied.
Cleaver opened his mouth and appeared ready to ask a follow up, and then had second (and maybe even third) thoughts, stopping himself before saying, “I don’t want to get involved with credit unions. I’ve been around for a while. That’s a headache I can ignore.”
For Harper, by the way, it was the kind of hearing one could only dream about when called before Congress. After offering his prepared statement, Harper sat back and watched his fellow banking regulators get grilled by committee members over the recent failures of several banks.
And the same scenario played out the same way the following day in the Senate.
Now This is Job Security
During both the congressional hearings, numerous members of the House and senators demanded to know if anyone would be fired at the various regulators for the failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and others.
The federal regulators generally demurred, saying only that investigations were under way.
Of course, this is Washington, home of the one-day outrage and then on to the next. Given that federal heads remained firmly on shoulders during the financial crisis of a 2008-09, and that no one at NCUA was ever shown the door for the corporate crisis, the taxi medallion meltdown, long-term embezzlements, etc., I’m guessing no examiners, supervisors or anyone higher up will be out of work at the bank regulators, either.
And if examples of bureaucrats not being held accountable is your thing, then by all means binge away on the new Madoff series on Netflix, which puts a shining light on how it is simply impossible to get investigators to “investigate” even when evidence is delivered on a silver platter with a detailed PowerPoint and a big red bow.
I Think We Can Say That About Anything…
In a recent letter, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) called on Congress to hold hearings on how financial institutions are using AI, stating, “The speed at which AI is being developed can potentially outpace Congress’ and regulators’ roles in fully assessing and understanding…” And we wouldn’t want anything to outpace Congress.
I Guess We Can Go Home Then
Before its recent annual conference had even started, one CU association sent CUToday.info a full wrap-up on the success of the event, including how well-received the speakers had been, even though they were still two days away from giving their remarks. Perhaps they used AI.
And Not the Telegraph, You Say!
During a recent breakout session for small credit unions at one conference, ideas were being shared on how to cut costs. That led the CEO of one such CU to say her shop shares a CFO with another credit union. This development seemed to come as big news to one director, who asked, “And you do that over the Internet?”
Long Lessons From a Short Drive
Often, you don’t need expensive research or a consulting firm to let you know what your CU is up against. It often involves little more than a drive—and some open eyes.
Speaking to NAFCU’s annual conference in Long Beach, consultant and author Jon Petz noted that credit unions have special reasons to find ways to stand out, sharing that within just 2.2 miles of his home there are 13 different financial institutions.
And they are all “in the same looking buildings, all painted a different color.”
Largely generic branches aren’t driving any differentiation, according to Petz. Instead, it requires moments of “magic,” which you can read more about here.
Little, Dumb Things
Throughout NAFCU’s recent annual convention, there were several speakers who kept returning to the point that it isn’t the big things that really drive member experience, it’s all the little things.
There are also a lot of dumb little things that waste money, pointed out Allied Solutions’ CEO Pete Hilger. He noted his daughter still receives mail from her credit union after it financed a car for her while she was in college. She’s 39 today.
Hilger, incidentally, is predicting a surge in auto repo’s is on the way. You can read more here.
The ‘F Bomb’ In Member Service
Members are often asked about their experiences by credit unions eager to please, and those members will often reply by saying everything was “fine.” That’s not good, according to one person.
“Ask ‘How did you like the experience in our credit union?’,’ and members will say ‘fine.’ Fine is typically not fine. Fine is the ‘F’ bomb of customer experience. If fine were an acronym, it would be for Fake smile, Insincere feedback, Never coming bank and Emotionless. ‘Fine’ is satisfactory. People want something better than just OK. When you do that you move into the zone of amazement.”
Speaking of F-Bombs
On a flight recently three adorable kids came walking down the aisle, all wearing identical T-shirts that read, “Them Kids.” Cute, I thought. Until I saw what I assume was their parents behind them in similar t-shirts, but theirs read, “F… Them Kids.” And yes, they spelled it out, because they’re classy. Good luck, kids.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief of CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info. Mr. Diekmann is also author of several new book, including the brand new “The Last Lyric,” a humorous satire about a murder investigation at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in which every line of dialogue is either a classic pop/rock song title or lyric. Available on Amazon, Apple iBook, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Mr. Diekmann is also author of a non-fiction compilation of the very best & worst he has seen and heard in covering more than 500 CU meetings and conferences, “501 Name Tags: How Everything You Need to Know About Business Can Be Learned at a Conference & Forgotten in the Trade Show.” It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Lulu, and Smashwords