Any given Sunday, the NFL delivers surprises, but nobody expected the surprise that Buffalo Bills' Vontae Davis delivered mid-game during the Bills eventual loss to the Chargers. Davis came to the realization that he "shouldn't be out there anymore," pulled himself out of the game, changed into street clothes and left the stadium, later announcing his retirement from football. Davis knew he was struggling physically after ten grueling years in the professional level of the sport, and decided to "walk away healthy than limp away too late." While his timing is being questioned by teammates and fans alike, there is no doubt there is a lesson here that's applicable to all of us. Knowing when to say no to a member that becomes more harmful than beneficial is a key, but difficult, skill for credit union executives to master.

Market conditions are a contributor to the number of loan applications that you receive, but ultimately, your staff and solutions are what make a great lending partnership between members and your credit union. There are several factors within your control that can help your lending process become more efficient, effective, and successful. Here are 10 factors to consider when refining your credit union's lending process.

Organizations are straying away from the annual employee review process in favor of organic, year-round conversations. Annual employee reviews are now seen as both inefficient and ineffective, considering a good manager-employee relationship would cultivate this type of conversations as needed. Even though annual reviews are fading into the background, that doesn’t mean credit unions should stop monitoring their staff’s skill level. MSRs will respond better to constructive criticism and skill development if their performance is backed by numbers and data that indicates areas of strengths and weaknesses. There are key metrics readily available from your core technology to aid in evaluations and in improving credit union processes, plus these metrics can identify where your employees are excelling or where they need improvement. 

P2P payments are no longer an everyday essential reserved just for millennials. There has been immense growth in the P2P marketplace in terms of the volume transferred, as well as the number of users on these platforms. Paypal’s Venmo was the first P2P app to gain popularity, but now faces competition as many other services have started popping up. Zelle, launched just one year ago, to the surprise of many, overtook the P2P market quickly with their real-time payment service. In 2017 Zelle processed $75 billion, whereas Venmo came in at less than half of that with $35 billion in transactions. Considering Venmo revolutionized P2P payments, what is it that Zelle has done to gain such a following?

Indirect lending has grown substantially over the past several years, especially with the auto lending market. While auto loans grew 18% between 2011 and 2016, other loans grew at just 10%. Today, auto loans comprise 35% of most credit union’s portfolios, however, we’re starting to see a shift where credit unions are backing off of indirect lending programs. It has become clear to the credit union industry that the benefits do not necessarily outweigh the drawbacks. Here are some pros and even more cons of indirect lending:

Should all Member's be Treated Equally?

Seth Godin, an acclaimed American author, blogger and business strategist, has repeatedly stood by the mantra "Treat different customers differently if you want them to remember you."  Many managers make the mistake of insisting that all members should be treated the same, or similarly stated, that all members should be treated the best. In the words of Syndrome (aka the villain in Disney's The Incredibles): "when everyone is super, no one will be." If you are striving to treat all members the best every time, not only is it unrealistic and exhausting your resources, the perception becomes your best is normal, and when certain situations demand even more than your normal, you simply can't out-better your best.

At the close of trading on August 22, 2018, the stock market made history by setting the record for the longest bull market ever recorded. The last low set by the S&P 500 index was on March 9, 2009, making this run 3,453 days of fairly steady growth, with the S&P 500 climbing by more than 320% over that period. A bull market refers to a market that is on the rise and is typified by a sustained increase in market share prices. During a bull market, investors have faith that this upward trend will continue, and will invest more. But not all investors are keen on stocks these days. Another report made the news last week that surprised some economists: Millennials actually prefer cash investments over the stock market, even in this long-standing bull market.

Efficiency is the goal of every credit union executive, increasing revenue while operating in a lean environment. Lending is the bread and butter of the credit union's revenue stream, and many credit unions are looking to grow their loan income without increasing staff count and expenses. There are several ways to bump up direct loans efforts but it all starts with your employees. Your staff is the most essential element when it comes to creating a seamless member experience. After all, that’s one of the primary reasons people choose credit unions - for their outstanding member service. Here are 10 ways you can optimize your staff roles and operations to grow direct loans, and one way you can promote it:

A hot topic for 2018 has been the struggles of small credit unions compared to their larger peers. 2018 economic developments are broadly supportive of favorable credit union operating results and the first quarter was not disappointing. According to CUNA's Credit Union Profile Report for 2018, continued strong membership growth, solid loan growth, and healthy earnings results were hallmarks of the credit union industry as we kicked off the year. Overall, credit unions reported a 4.3% increase in memberships with a total of 112.7 million memberships nationwide, an increase of 3.9% in savings balances, and a 1.6% growth in loan portfolio for Q1 2018. When broken down by asset size, however, the numbers prove the old saying "the rich are getting richer," and the smaller CU's need to look at leveraging technology efficiencies to survive.