Do Not Be Afraid

I appreciate my vantage point and what I am able to read, listen to, email and absorb in this job. It’s a fascinating position to be in. Natasha Chilingerian and I receive editorial, op-ed and story pitches on a daily basis. We get those pitches, mainly by email, from those deep inside the credit union world. And, as I’ve mentioned before, we carefully go through each one. Then there are the days when we get the pitches that aren’t all the way tied into credit unions, but could lead to a story idea. It’s these pitches that can be pretty interesting and sometimes, just offensive. Such as:

• Puerto Rico real estate – how Americans can capitalize on the island’s downward trend.
• The Executive Woman’s Guide to Financial Freedom.
• How immigrants are both good and bad for banking.
• Red flags that indicate a real estate market crash.
• Using AI and ML to fight bank fraud.
• Whistleblower laws, the U.S. Labor Department and the financial markets.

And then quite often I’m just on the wrong email distribution list and get story pitches that have nothing to do with credit unions (yet, I don’t unsubscribe from these lists because they are fun to read). These are some of those pitches I’ve received in the past 10 days:

• Lessons learned from the Frontier Airlines Fiasco.
• Speak with Victoria Loke of CRAZY RICH ASIANS.
• The Awakened Woman’s Guide to Everlasting Love.
• Drake rolls out an epic #InMyFeelings video.

One day I will take up one of these public relations people on their pitch and ask Drake, “Where do you do your banking?”

I say all of this, not only to let you know how detailed our pitches are, but to say how thankful I am for the consistent brain power that exists in the credit union space. And those brains are not afraid of saying what needs to be said so that we all learn and we all grow.

Recently, we had a guest opinion editorial from Joel Hartzler, senior stewardship and development director at the Filene Research Institute. I’m not calling Mr. Hartzler or Filene out for something negative or salacious; it’s quite the opposite.

A couple of print issues ago, Hartzler wrote a piece called, “Make a Big, Not Biggity, Revenue Growth Difference,” and it made me think a lot about that brain power I mentioned above. In his article, he discussed new revenue growth strategies that are a little bold and some that are just smart.

“In Filene’s research, ‘Addressing the Revenue Growth Challenge,’ we found that a credit union’s plan to grow revenue focused mainly on selling existing products to existing members. But only one-fourth felt that creating new products to attract new members was a priority, and only one-third prioritized new products for existing members.”

I think you see the point about the narrow focus of the use of the word “existing” in that passage. It’s something that we hear often at CU Times from third-party vendors, fintech companies and outside-of-the-industry financial experts – that there’s a tight focus on what exists, rather than looking beyond to what future and next-generation members will need when it comes to what a cooperative financial institution such as the one you work in can provide.

Some credit unions focus a lot of energy and branding into talking about what they’re not: A bank.

And, I think that is such a freeing statement. Embracing this fact in your credit union’s heart should give you zero pause (except for some regulatory and compliance requirements) to go boldly into your community and seek out what is needed.

And to that point, I refer back to Mr. Hartzler and his guest opinion: “Take a look at the communities you are in and identify underserved populations. Filene has done extensive research on reaching populations that are often left underserved by other mainstream or traditional financial service providers.”

A real key phrase in that article that hit me emotionally was the following: “Emerging markets are often chased only after they are seen as profitable …”

Think about that. Think about yourself wondering how you’re going to get enough money to fill up your gas tank to get to a job interview. Think about you as the person standing at an intersection asking people for change as they sit there during a red light. Think about yourself sleeping in your car with your kids because your spouse left you and you have no money and nowhere to go. And then know as that person, you’re not profitable. You’re just the other low side of that revenue bell curve.

Life is hard and messy, and sometimes you aren’t given a choice as to how the chips might fall.

Credit unions do have a choice to help or not in many situations. Yes, there’s risk. No situation is without risk. It’s just that there’s a significant risky population out there who could use help from their local credit union. Because, as many of you have marketed yourselves, you’re not a bank.

Finally, Mr. Hartzler stated: “The programs require patience, determination, and, for many, the need to step outside one’s comfort zone. But our study showed that financial institutions using products geared toward serving minority households and other vulnerable populations can reach the intended consumer while supporting the institution’s bottom line.”

I get it; words are easy and acting on those words is an uphill climb.

But when I stopped to think about the “unprofitable people” out there I see each day, I thought about the brain power that already exists in our industry. And I believe inside those brains, there are several answers to helping out everyone in our communities.

I appreciate the pitches we receive, because sometimes we get something so simple and profound that it moves us closer to solving a bigger problem that isn’t just about what credit unions are not: Banks.

Michael Ogden is executive editor for CU Times. He can be reached at mogden@cutimes.com.