It is not news to us in the financial services industry that times are tough. Yields are low, margins are nonexistent and loan rates (if we can make loans at all) are at historic lows. Yet with these almost insurmountable challenges, we are expected to continue investing in our businesses and continue to improve service delivery and our capital position.

The troubling aspect about this, from my point of view, is our willingness to first seek out fee-based solutions that directly come on the backs of our members. If we are truly a member-centric industry, we should pause to think outside the box. The answer should not be to look at what banks are doing to increase their revenues.

In addition to buying higher yielding loan participations, increasing punitive usage fees and increasing the penetration of existing products within our membership, there are a couple of other simple initiatives that should be explored. The credit union mantra is that "we improve the financial lives of our members."