As a credit union, one of your goals should be to increase the number of auto loans you acquire each year. And if you've been monitoring the market, you've probably noticed the significant increase in car payments, which has doubled since 2021. As of 2022, auto-related loans account for nearly 10% of all consumer debt in the U.S., which means a wealth of opportunities to boost your credit union's ROI and help people save!

Recent research has revealed that credit unions' tightened lending approach is backfiring, becoming detrimental to both borrowers and lenders. In their attempt to maintain high credit quality, many credit unions (CUs) have missed valuable lending opportunities and lost some of their reputations as lenders focused on serving average, working-class people. Many CUs have reported extremely low delinquencies and charge-off rates, which has sparked concern among lending officers who think they're missing opportunities to fulfill member needs. Thankfully, there are ways to make up for all those lost loans.

A car is one of the most expensive purchases in a consumer's life, which is usually accompanied by a large amount of debt from auto loans. In 2021, auto loans made up nearly 18% of total consumer debt for 18 to 29-year-olds, 10% for 30 to 39-year-olds, and 9% for 40 to 69-year-olds. So, with a vast majority of the population taking out loans for their cars, why isn't your credit union getting more auto loans?

You offer incredible auto loan rates at your credit union, making your institution the perfect spot for members to finance or refinance a vehicle. The competitive rates you offer can certainly help members save money rather than lose it, which is why you should invest in an effective auto loan recapture program. Not only can a recapture strategy benefit your bottom line, but it can also support you in empowering your members to reach their financial goals. However, there are a few options when it comes to achieving success in these areas, including opting to do everything in-house, partnering with a vendor, or paying a vendor to take care of it all. In this article, we'll review how to choose the right approach for your credit union that will benefit you and your valued members.

The value of offering your credit union members credit cards has never and will never be in question. Credit cards have become a fundamental linchpin in consumer lending strategies for credit unions. However, not all credit card offerings and strategies are created equally. Specifically, the changing credit card industry makes selecting the best sourcing model more important than ever for credit unions.

Did you know that, according to 2021 fourth-quarter data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans have over $856 billion worth of credit card debt? The amount rose tremendously from the third quarter of 2021, increasing by $52 billion. It is the most significant quarterly increase the U.S. has seen within the past 22 years and the third and only spike since the start of 2020.

As a credit union, providing your community's small businesses with the deposit and lending products they need is imperative to all you do. But are you currently meeting their merchant services needs? It's a fair estimate that credit card processing is a vital cornerstone for most businesses. And if you're not offering your members merchant services, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to deepen the relationship and increase your credit union's wallet share.

As a credit union, it's imperative that you offer merchant card services to local small businesses. Why? Because credit card payment processing is at the very core of small-scale companies, and of course, one of your credit union's goals should be to help them prosper.

We get it—acquiring new members is vital to the growth of your credit union and virtually any other business. While the importance of new member acquisition is never in question, the cost of these ventures can be exceedingly high. According to a study by market analyst firm Vetter, a credit union's new member acquisition cost (MAC) sits comfortably somewhere between $400 and $700. This is a figure that has been climbing since COVID-19 due to the supersaturation of digital channels.

Credit unions encounter a variety of obstacles within the competitive financial landscape of today. As a result, CUs must remain one step ahead of their competition by consistently increasing their membership all while adapting to ever-changing expectations from diverse demographics. In order to contend for their territory in the financial sphere, they must implement intelligent marketing and cross-selling strategies that will appeal to their target audience, especially within the upcoming generation (Gen Z). Here are the latest trends on how to effectively market your products and services that will result in a thriving CU.