Strategic planning season has arrived, and many credit unions are considering ways to take more deposits in so they can loan more money out. It might sound simple, but with yields ranging from low to nil and competition fierce among lenders of all kinds, attracting share deposits calls for some creativity.
In4 Ways To Chase – And Catch – Deposits, Callahan senior writer Marc Rapport outlines four strategies from four credit unions that are increasing their deposit base today to ensure they have the resources at hand to serve members tomorrow.
When Ent Federal Credit Union launched a 50th anniversary certificate special six years ago, the cooperative had no way of knowing the country was about to run headlong into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
The rapid drop in market rates during the two-month promotional period caused demand for the CD to spike much higher than the credit union anticipated. To learn how much new money Ent brought in and how it managed runoff when the certificates began maturing in 2014, read Know Before You Grow by Callahan contributor Ted Goldwyn.
The region of Nevada stretching from Reno to Las Vegas is home to more than 2.5 million residents and has been in the front car of the economic roller coaster for years. But now, an improving economy for One Nevada Credit Union means new growth opportunities in Clark, Washoe, and Nye counties, which include the cities of Las Vegas and Reno plus numerous rural towns and communities in between.
Today, One Nevada is focusing on the checking account specifically, how to migrate members away from free checking and into value-added checking. An account that pays members up to $200 a year in merchant rebates plus unlimited cash back rewards on signature-based debit card transactions is helping the credit union do just that. Read more in How To Entice Members To Choose Fee Over Free by Callahan contributor E.C. Harrison.
The loan-to-share ratio for all U.S. credit unions has risen from a low of 66.11% in first quarter 2013 to 75.88% as of midyear 2015. This reflects the industry’s robust lending performance and underscores the industrywide need to increase deposits to even out the balance sheet.
The loan-to-share ratio at Elements Financial Federal Credit Union at second quarter 2015 was 87.75%. In 2012, it introduced a health savings account (HSA) to help it establish a firmer deposit relationship with its nearly 70 employer groups.To learn more about the product and the lending opportunities it has presented, read How Elements Financial Uses Health Savings Accounts To Spur Deposits by Callahan writer Erik Payne.
Finally, credit unions broke deposit records during second quarter 2015. Which state led the nation? And how are credit unions doing it? To learn the answers to these questions check out the CreditUnions.com Graphic Of The Week,Core Deposits Are Breaking Records Nationwide by Callahan analyst Stephanie Clark.
Happy Reading.
