There is a trend in the US-one that seems like a custom-fit opportunity for credit unions, yet one that most credit unions are missing. It's called localization or buy local.

Across the country and in nearly every segment of the economy, organizations are moving money, ideas, businesses and work back to their own communities. They are moving away from the large, dominant, centralized companies and toward their local communities. This is localization and we are seeing it more and more throughout the country.

It's a logical outgrowth of the search by many to set things right in our country after several years of knowing that something was wrong. Consumers feel it. Members feel it. We don't need complex economic analysis to tell us this. We know it because the economic events since 2007 have left a mark on most Americans.