By matching NCUA 5300 Call Report data with participants’ survey responses, CUNA Mutual’s analysis examined how top performing credit unions’ responses differed. Top performers were defined on the basis of their ROA performance, membership growth or loan growth. Below are some highlights from this analysis:
Top performers tended to be much more active in expanding their addressable market, or pool of potential members, through expansion into new geographies and/or through mergers.
Some top performing credit unions also anticipated major shifts in distribution channels prior to the pandemic with mobile apps, fintech lending platforms and dealerships / indirect lending more likely to be considered Top 3 distribution channels in the pre-pandemic period. Interestingly, they are more likely to think branches & call centers will be in the Top 3 distribution channels in 2022.
Some top performers were much less likely to choose member service as a major source of competitive advantage. Instead, they tended to rely on sources of competitive advantage that are harder for competitors to copy such as organizational culture, community presence and ease of doing business and financial guidance to help members achieve their financial goals.
Some top performing credit unions tended to adopt digital capabilities earlier than other credit unions. For example, top performers were significantly more likely to have adopted digital personal loans, digital auto loans and digital mortgage loans, advanced data and analytics and APIs and robotic process automation (RPA) in the pre-pandemic timeframe.
Some top performers were more likely to expect strategic planning processes and new product development to be Top 3 non-digital capabilities in the upcoming year.
*
An examination of top performing credit unions’ survey responses suggests that growth is the result of difficult strategic choices or trade-offs that create a winning strategy and then having the internal alignment, discipline and organizational culture to execute that strategy. As you benchmark your credit union’s strategic choices against those of the study participants and, more specifically, the top performers, it’s important to ensure that your credit unions possess these “intangibles” that are so vital for successful strategy execution.
2021 CUNA Mutual Group internal data and Experian, “Auto Finance Insights: State of the Automotive Finance Market Q1 2021,” Q1, 2021
CUNA Mutual Group is the marketing name for CUNA Mutual Holding Company, a mutual insurance holding company, its subsidiaries, and affiliates. Corporate headquarters are located at 5910 Mineral Point Road, Madison WI 53705. © CUNA Mutual Group, 2021 All Rights Reserved.