LAS VEGAS — In a time when membership growth has been declining, successful small and mid-size credit unions have been able to mine additional value from existing members.
Small and mid-size credit unions, short of merging, need to figure out how to do more to remain relevant in the market. "Economies of scale have been going away," CUNA Economist Mike Schenk said. Credit unions need to reach $300 million these days to get any real benefits of scale.
However, Bob Hoel of the Filene Research Institute said there are some shining "stars" among smaller credit unions that have a number of traits in common. First, they take advantage of credit unions' "golden goose"–loans. They have very high loan-to-share ratios and "manageable" charge offs. "I'm a loan nut," he admitted.
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