cuEngage Live saw 150+ attendees from the Credit Union sector come together to network, collaborate and unlock the Next Generation Credit Union. One of the key tools to unlocking the next generation Credit Union is the use of data and how Business Intelligence can bolster personalised offerings to members.
ILCU Lending Stats
David Hewson, Data Analytics at ILCU kicked off the session by highlighting some key trends and stats within the Credit Union sector, particularly around lending.
Credit Unions are seeing a record loan growth coupled with close to record low arrears.
Further positive news is that 53% of personal loans were delivered by Credit Unions, compared to 47% through other lenders, and ILCU house loans and mortgages are up 71% for the year (until March 2024).
David concluded his presentation noting that despite the success Credit Unions have achieved, the fact remains that they are under-lent. The current lending limits in place are not fit for purpose, with some Credit Unions ceasing offering mortgages due to these limits.
This has significant, potential reputational damage for the Credit Union industry; that they are may have to “turn away” their members for mortgages.
Common bond data analysis with RW Pierce
Pat Corcoran, Director at Holmes RW Pierce, was up next, presenting the art of the possible with common bond data analysis. RW Pierce can provide your Credit Union with membership penetration, membership demographics, loans issued, loan demographics, savings, arrears, consumer behaviours, and much much more.
The integration between RW Pierce and Wellington IT will facilitate an automated monthly data extract from SCION to ensure that Holmes is kept up to date with essential member and loan data. This automated process, monitored by Wellington IT Shared Services, guarantees timely data extraction and delivery to RW Pierce for processing. Credit Unions will not be required to engage in ongoing involvement as Wellington IT and RW Pierce will handle automated file processing queries.
Pros and Cons of Banks vs Credit Unions
Pat Corcoran also brought up great points in terms of the current position of Credit Unions vs the Banks.
The weaknesses of the banks is that they use “big data”, that’s not personalised and have a “one size fits all” approach when it comes to offering products and services. There is no local connection and very little trust.
The strengths of the Credit Union include their local knowledge, their personalised offerings, product agility, community presence and the trust their members have in them (winning the CXi award for 9 years running!).
The key strength of the banks is that they are one large entity or brand, thus having centralised decision-making. The key weakness of Credit Unions is that they act like separate “islands” or silos and as a result, have fragmented decision making.
The importance of industry events like cuEngage Live!
Following this, one of the key strengths of the Credit Union sector is their willingness to collaborate. There is little to no competition and there’s a lot to be said in the power of numbers. Industry events like cuEngage Live facilitate a platform whereby Credit Union leaders can come together and share knowledge to help the sector succeed.
Pat and David both encouraged the audience to continue to attending industry events such as cuEngage Live!
Pat Corcoran said “Wellington have organised a fantastic forum to facilitate Credit Unios to collaborate together, share tips and knowledge and surface key insights and trends. One of the differentiators of cuEngage Live for me was that they were all incredibly practical sessions, with lists of takeaways and actions for Credit Unions. I’d encourage all Credit Union staff to attend cuEngage Live in future; the only negative I have about the day is that it went by far too quickly!”
Conclusion
The ILCU are doing a fantastic job at gathering regular statistics around lending patterns in the country. David Hewson regularly shares these stats via email and on podcasts – please connect with him on LinkedIn here to keep up-to-date with current trends!
With these stats widely available, it’s crucial to look into your own personal common bonds; RW Pierce is a fantastic tool to unearth key data about YOUR members. You can’t get more personal than that.
These fantastic stats, coupled with Scion’s Account Monitoring tool, can help really boost your loan book.
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