Hood Emphasizes That the Time is Right for Credit Unions to Gain Market Share
May 8, 2009, Alexandria, VA – National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Vice Chairman Rodney E. Hood addressed the National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations (NACUSO) Annual Meeting. This year’s meeting focused on credit union sustainability through collaborative efforts and multi-owned CUSO’s which provide additional resources and expertise, spread the risk and capital investment of business ventures, and ultimately direct more value back to credit union members.
Hood welcomed the audience of CUSO and credit union leaders, commending them for their role in the cultivation of an environment that is the leading catalyst for innovation, collaboration, and reinvention of the credit union industry. During his remarks, Mr. Hood provided details on various legislative proposals and their current status in congress. However, his comments were largely focused on the benefits to CUSO’s and credit unions partnering.
Recognizing the difficulties that have surfaced due to the current climate of economic uncertainty, the Vice Chairman stressed that CUSO’s and credit unions have a unique opportunity to be part of the solution and gain market share through migrating customers into new credit union members by taking the lead in developing solutions to payday lending.
Although there are already good examples of CUSO’s providing payday lending alternatives, the Vice Chairman emphasized the advantage of leading the way to provide a national solution to payday lending alternatives. “By taking the initiative to head a national solution to payday lending, America’s credit unions and CUSO’s can play a vital role in ending the downward cycle for consumers involved in payday lending, and emerge as the dependable and honest partner on which the public can rely,” said Hood.
The Vice Chairman went on to note that it is not only vital for consumers to be able to access affordable short-term emergency loans, but also to have credit union members produce a revenue stream – particularly in today’s economy when fee income is critical to the credit union balance sheet. “Currently, payday lending customers comprise an industry worth more than $50 billion. The average age of a payday customer is 39, with 59% of customers between the ages of 18-44. We must recognize this as a growth market for credit unions and, partnering with CUSO’s, find a way to turn payday customers into credit union members. The end result of such an approach will serve to facilitate a greater market share for credit union membership while promoting the credit union mission of People Helping People.”
In closing, Hood thanked NACUSO and everyone in attendance for taking the initiative to promote innovation through collaboration…”It is this type of collaboration and innovation that will be fundamental to the continued success of the credit union system.”
The National Credit Union Administration is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, also operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), insuring the deposits of over 89 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the majority of state-chartered credit unions.
NCUA
|
