South Texas credit unions are not altering their marketing strategy as they continue to take banking pot shots following the failure of the $13 billion Guaranty Bank.
For one, the $496 million Velocity CU of Austin said its "bank schmank" radio and billboard ads have been well-received by the public and represent another phase of Velocity's safety and soundness marketing campaign. The bank schmank t-shirts have been particularly popular, according to Carol Cain, senior vice president of marketing.
"We don't see a reason to change based upon last week's news about Guaranty," said Cain. "The campaign is solid and still very relevant," Guaranty was the second largest U.S. bank collapse of 2009.
The fact is the past 10 months "have seen a deluge of banks in the news and so our strategy is to offer the people of Greater Austin a unique alternative to banks," Cain said.
The media stories, she noted, "have been full of news about how banks are not lending any more; we just want to ensure that people are aware that Velocity is."
Debbie Mitchell, president/CEO of Velocity, noted also that "the recent events at Guaranty are no different from what happened in the fall with Wachovia and others…We just try to serve our members well and to let others know that they're welcome to join at any time."
Other Austin-area CEOs agreed that it's business as usual, noting that Guaranty's mortgage loan troubles, particularly on real estate ventures in California and Florida, were well known. Except for the probable downsizing of its corporate headquarters, Guaranty "is not a factor in this market since most of their operations were elsewhere," commented Tony Budet, president/CEO of the $1 billion University FCU of Austin. He said his CU will continue its trusted adviser branding campaign and sees no need to alter strategy now.
Similarly, Tommy Seargeant, president/CEO of the $373 million Greater Texas FCU, said it would continue its safety and soundness campaigns in ads and newsletters. He added that he deplores "foreign interests taking over U.S. banks. We should be able to handle our own," referring to the Spanish BBVA Compass Bank, which took over Guaranty.

Mo. CU Opening Three
Wal-Mart Branches

The $1.7 billion Community America Credit Union of Kansas City is strengthening its tie-in with Wal-Mart by opening three new branches metro-area
stores this fall.
The CU opened one of its new facilities last week in a Kansas City shopping mall with two more branches set to open in October in Kansas City, Kan., and Raytown, Mo., Community America already has a branch in Blue Springs, Mo.
"We have a good partnership with Wal-Mart and good relations with store managers," said Dennis Pierce, president/CEO. Community America has 31 branches and 136,000 members.
Pierce said he has seen no evidence yet of competition in his market from Wal-Mart's Money Center expansion within its stores. The Money Stores sell money orders and various checking products, sometimes criticized as undermining the business of bank or CU branches in the stores.
Pierce views his CU's in-store branches as good for building future loan business and favorable exposure despite a record of heavy, yet low-profit transaction volumes.