 |
|
We are thrilled to announce that the League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates (LSCU & Affiliates) and the Virginia Credit Union League (VACUL) are officially consolidating to form a unified organization designed to amplify the impact of the credit union industry across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Virginia. This week, members of both organizations voted in support of this strategic merger. This partnership will expand resources, strengthen advocacy, and provide greater reach for our industry partners. Contracts with vendors and service providers continue to be evaluated to ensure they align with the goals and needs of the newly consolidated organization. We are currently reviewing existing agreements to determine whether they should be renegotiated, continued, or modified to better serve our combined membership. Partners will gain access to a broader range of educational and networking opportunities to engage credit unions, increased sales representation, and a larger market. On January 1, 2025, the combined organization will represent 386 credit unions and 31.5 million members. LSCU President Samantha Beeler will lead the new association alongside myself, who will oversee the combined service corporation. Thank you for your ongoing partnership as we embark on this exciting new chapter together. We look forward to working alongside you to create an even stronger and more dynamic credit union community. Warm regards, Steve Willis |
 |
|
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, December 10, at 11:00 a.m. ET, when the Learning with LEVERAGE series will focus on “Countdown to 2025: LEVERAGING 2024 Payment Trends.” In this webinar, Ross Talbert, Vice President of LEVERAGE Payment Solutions, and Stephanie Hainje, Assistant Vice President of LEVERAGE Payment Solutions, will discuss the latest payment trends shaping the financial landscape. As we approach 2025, our panel of consultants will share actionable insights and strategies to help you leverage these trends for success. Whether you're looking to enhance your payment processes or stay ahead of the competition, this session will provide valuable guidance and real-time answers to your pressing questions. Don’t miss this opportunity to prepare for 2025! For more information, contact consult@myleverage.com. |
 |
|
LEVERAGE is excited to announce a new strategic partnership between LEVERAGE and Aux, a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) that offers innovative back-office solutions designed to drive credit union success, including accounting and CFO consulting. The perspective credit unions adopt regarding shared services and outsourcing will play a critical role in shaping their future. The traditional business model is no longer sustainable. Aux is deeply committed to ensuring that credit unions thrive for generations to come. To achieve this, the organization has invested significant effort into researching and understanding credit unions' key challenges and developing tailored solutions to address them. A large majority of the Aux Team has previously worked for credit unions, bringing with them extensive credit union-specific experience. This dedication has resulted in a highly adaptable suite of services that includes accounting, CFO consulting, and partner services. These offerings help credit unions address critical issues such as mitigating key person risk, ensuring separation of duties, and alleviating staffing concerns. To learn more about how Aux can make a difference in your credit union’s efficiency, growth, and bottom line, visit Aux or contact a Business Development Consultant at consult@myleverage.com. |
 |
|
Credit Union Loan Source (CULS), a partner of LEVERAGE, makes joining shared loan pools easy. CULS offers the chance for credit unions to improve their loan to share ratio and increase their yields. The program includes a consistent pipeline of quality, geographically diverse auto loans. Through the program, CULS has provided over $13 billion in assets to 170 credit unions across ten states. With CULS, you will receive:
For more information, click here or contact a LEVERAGE Business Development Consultant at consult@myleverage.com or 855-9EXPERT (855-939-7378). |
 |
|
By: Corrin Maier, Vice President of Lending Member Experience, TruStage Today’s loan-growth leaders in the credit union industry share a common proficiency—digital integration. New research from TruStage™, Making Strategic Choices for Growth, reveals the strategic decisions behind the success of top-performing credit unions. Credit unions with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7% or higher are significantly more likely to adopt digital tools like cloud computing (60%), APIs (50%) and automated loan underwriting (27%) compared to those in the bottom third of loan growth. Integration is a key component of the digital transformation that has driven financial services strategies for years. It focuses on connecting software, hardware and data systems to enable seamless communication between different technologies, as well as between the technologies and the humans interacting with them. Mastering digital integration enables credit unions to meet evolving consumer demands for speed and personalization, ultimately helping credit unions remain competitive in the pursuit of member attention and loyalty. Digital integration propels embedded lending Non-banks are getting very good at this, leveraging consumers’ love of personalization and immediacy to diversify and grow revenue. Airlines are offering trip protection insurance as travelers book their flights; retailers are offering buy-now-pay-later options to customers during checkout; Apple Card is offering cardholders a high-yield savings account during the application process. Embedded lending enables credit unions to compete in this space, seamlessly incorporating their loan offers and services into non-financial platforms to get offers in front of people when they are most receptive. Not only does this supercharge the volume of prospective borrowers and loan originations for a credit union, embedded lending also simplifies access to credit, potentially accelerating financial inclusion among untapped consumer segments. Credit unions get to respond quickly to consumer credit requests, engaging digitally and sometimes with instant decisions. Competitive differentiation hinges on digital focus and a culture of agility Agility and adaptability were two additional traits shared by the loan-growth leaders. Nearly 60% of the credit unions in the top 1/3 tier of loan growth agreed with the statement, “My credit union has the ability to pivot and adapt quickly to change.” Having a culture of agility certainly helps credit unions meet fast-shifting member demands by embracing various digital integration pursuits, including embedded lending. However, to get the most from a culture of light-on-the-feet responsiveness, credit union strategists must take intentional steps to leverage agility for measurable loan growth. Actionable steps to advance digital integration 1. Leverage member data: Member intelligence, including payment and purchase transactions and loan application and repayment behaviors, identify key points in the member journey where embedded offers are most likely to drive loan growth. 2. Partner with your marketing leader: A key strategy of loan-growth leaders, APIs are the simplest way to achieve seamless integration, which is key to building embedded lending capabilities. However, the real driver of success is collaborating closely with your marketing leader to focus on personalized, multi-touch marketing strategies throughout the consumer loan journey. By aligning efforts, you can help ensure marketing campaigns are tailored to the unique needs and preferences of members, delivering the right messages at the right times. 3. Think beyond the loan: Integrating loan applications into the consumer journey is only one of the many possibilities of embedded lending. Credit unions can enhance the borrower experience by also embedding things like debt management education and payment protection insurance into the experience. Credit unions that offer TruStage payment protection products, for instance, use their MeridianLink Portal to provide educational content directly within the loan application. 4. Supercharge marketing: High-performing credit unions ranked digital marketing as a top three most essential capabilities. Especially when combined with dynamic content, strategic digital marketing plans may significantly boost member engagement. TruStage has found that leveraging marketing to increase member education and awareness of protection products leads to a 13% increase in loans being protected. This highlights the importance of building strong multi-channel experiences that deliver the right products and messages at the right times throughout a member’s application process to help improve product adoption rates. Strategic digital marketing plans may also help solidify trust by showing members that their credit union knows them, understands their preferences and is there when needed. Maintaining a presence with modern borrowers |