WASHINGTON — A new study commissioned by the Filene Research Institute argues credit unions can meet future growth challenges through bringing traditional skills and expertise to create environmentally and socially sustainable operations.
Dr. Stuart Hart, a professor of sustainable enterprise at Cornell University and a colleague, Monica Touesnard, conducted the study.
"Rather than competing directly with banks, Hart and Touesnard conclude it may make more sense for credit unions to go 'back to the future' by using their unique historical and organizational characteristics (e.g., tax- exempt status, cooperative ownership, community lending, and focus on the underserved) to offer a set of products and services that differentiate them from banks and other financial services providers," wrote George Hofheimer, chief research officer for Filene in an introduction to the report.
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Many of the reports recommendations include discussions of things like offering loans that credit union members can use to make environmental changes to their housing or commercial real estate in order to both draw members looking for those sorts of products and to save the CU money.
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