A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats...EXCEPT The Ones That Aren't in the Water

by Ron Daly

It's been a few months since the collapse of Lehman Bros. and Fannie/Freddie, but the hole gets a little deeper every day. For Credit Unions, it's been the good and bad. But looking backward doesn't work - it's time to be forward thinking and to do what most CU marketers have been TALKING about doing for years now: Tell people who aren't members that the credit union is THE place to plan their financial future. There is, in fact, a difference between credit unions and banks. And between CUs and other CUs.

This article from the Ecommerce Journal talks about that difference and I think it sums up all the little nuances. Because I know (and you, fellow Soap-sketeer, know) that the credit union is more than just money changing hands. And what's more, your credit union is likely catering to a specific demographic. As friend-of-blog Jeffry Pilcher said in his most recent post: 

The "Duh of the Week" award: Isn't the Horse Out of the Barn?

by Ron Daly

Sometimes the "Duh of the Week" will just go to things that make you shake your head and laugh. For example, I saw the story below which reminded me of my daughter's favorite Hannah Montana saying "Ya think!"

Seems Visa, a little credit card company you've probably never heard of, recently decided to drop Heartland as a compliant processor (click here for the ComputerWorld article).

We all know the impact that the Heartland security breach has been wreaking on the industry. In hindsight, we all should have invested in "plastic" the minute we heard about the breach of 80 to 100 million accounts. Seems you can't even get a lost or damaged credit card replaced at some institutions because there are not enough plastic cards for all the reissuing going on. Here is an article on the Soapbox that covered the potential costs and damages of the breach (read our article about Heartland from February here).

Folks, the horse is out of the barn, but thanks for making me smile...

Have any further nominees (that aren't AIG, Bernie Madoff or Ben Bernanke)? Let's hear 'em. 

The Skeptical Non-Member Switch Kit

by Ron Daly

If you're a fan of this blog (a "Soap-sketeer", as we refer to them), the odds are good that you've already made up your mind about credit unions. You've studied long and worked tirelessly on your own to spread the good word about your credit union in the community you serve. Well, your good work is being recognized. Here is some ammo to keep up the good fight of credit union promotion.

Credit Unions versus Banks in the Media

More and more recently, people are stacking up credit unions and banks in the news...and coming up with some surprising results. So, in the interest of offering you something you can use in the coming months to boost your "Q-rating", I give you four articles that show how well CUs stack up against banks. 

Not everyone goes to creditunions.com every day, but Elliott Kashner wrote an article about credit unions and banks. He puts them against each other on several key areas; customer satisfaction, fee income/gross income, capital ratio, re-default rates. If you need to convert someone who's a "numbers" kind of person, this is for you. Click here for the article. 

AIG: Can We Be "Frank"?

by Ron Daly 

AIG. Three little letters that are quickly becoming the symbol of everything wrong with the bailout process. Months after the first bailout check was handed to AIG by the Federal Reserve, the sour stories are still rolling in. Millions in bonuses for the executives who mismanaged the company, stockholder retreats that have made it impossible for everyone in finance to do anything productive/fun - there are, sadly, many more revelations. 

And now the public ire over AIG is swelling. So much so that Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), who we've mentioned often here on the Soapbox, went on the "Today" show this morning and expressed his discontent with the situation. 

The Non-Existant Red Line: Congress Seeks to Make CUs Do What They're Already Famous for Doing

by Ron Daly

In 1977, Congress sought to make banks pay for the unbecoming practice of "red-lining". This was a sort of financial gerrymandering, in which banks would not offer services to areas with low incomes or high minority populations. To scold the banks for this practice, Congress enacted the Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA. 

Fast forward 32 years. With a jaundiced eye on all financial institutions, Congress is seeking to hold anyone who lent or still lends money accountable for more community and low-income lending. This is not surprise to the Soapbox, as Dan Mica told us about Rep. Barney Frank's charge to make every lending institution accountable (read about that here). But Congress wants to push CUs into the CRA (click here for the CU Journal article). This, folks, is no good. 

The New Modest Proposal

by Ron Daly

The old "Modest Proposal" was written by Jonathan Swift. It was a satirical essay, a response to the plight of impoverished Ireland, in which Swift suggested the poor sell their children to the rich as food. It remains a major model of satire for writers, even 280 years after its first edition. 

And now, we're faced with our current recession. Creeping toward 9% unemployment, businesses failing left and right and AIG begging the government for more money THREE TIMES ...things are getting crazy. It's time for a new "Modest Proposal", but not one that's satirical or suggests eating the young. 

I could use a little Paul Harvey right about now...

by Ron Daly

The news just keeps getting bleaker. 

Paul Harvey died this past Sunday after living a life dedicated to telling us "the rest of the story". People my age remember Harvey as a nice guy with a great voice telling stories about real people and their real adversity. I used to love hearing him on my drive, listening to facts about someone I'm sure I'd never be interested in otherwise. And now, with the Dow driving down to 6,000 (and hopefully not much worse), industry in free fall and our country at a crossroad, I want a little ray of sunshine. But when I tune my radio dial to find Paul Harvey? Static. Thus, I turned to an old e-mail that I've kept around since it was first sent to me years ago. 

Can I send my "Mii" to your virtual conference?

by Ron Daly

Yep, that's me. 

I've decided to convert and go fully virtual to participate in the "winds of change" in this era of tightening budgets, less travel and, coming soon, virtual conferences. I took the "Mii" off of my Wii system (okay, it's my daughter's Wii, but I get to use it when she wants to beat someone in a game) and am getting ready to send it to all the virtual conferences that will be popping up in the coming months.

He's going to hit the road this summer now that Symitar's educational conference has gone virtual (click here for the CU Journal article). I think it's a bold move and Symitar CEO Kathy Burress is on target when she points out "this is not time for business as usual." Webinars certainly are more popular these days, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they structure their two-day Users Group Conference into the virtual format in 2009.

If Capitol Hill Called Up the CU Industry...

[Industry Analyst Elliott Kashner from CreditUnions.com wondered what would happen if Congress decided to aim their judgement at credit unions. Elliott represents the proceedings with a script of the fictional conversation between lawmakers and CU industry head honchos: ]

I couldn't help but wonder how things might look if it were the CEOs of the ten top credit unions: Navy FCU, SECU, Pentagon, BECU, SchoolsFirst, The Golden 1, Suncoast Schools, Alliant, American Airlines, and Security Services. I'd like to imagine it would go something like this. (This did not actually happen, although the data was pulled from Callahan & Associates' First Look Program for Fourth Quarter)

Representative: Thank you all for appearing today in front of the Financial Services Committee. I'd like to start by taking a quick look back over 2008. As I am sure you all know, it was a brutal year. We’ve seen many financial giants fall. In response, Congress has passed several stimulus packages to get the economy back on its feet.
State Employees Credit Union: Well, 2008 was not such a terrible year for us. We actually saw our total assets grow by 11.28%.
Representative: I see you have been making use of TARP funds then.
American Airlines Credit Union: No, we are not currently receiving any federal funds. We were able to fuel our growth by attracting 19.41% in new shares and deposits.
Representative: Then how are you responding the to recession?