By Mary Arnold
Fortunately for the economy, the saying "as GM goes, so goes the nation" is not quite as true as it once was. Yet, the automotive industry as a whole still represents a significant portion of the U.S. economy. So would it be right to say that as automotive credit unions go, so goes the movement? You tell me.
CUES President/CEO Fred Johnson recently spoke at a meeting of the Combined Council of America's Credit Unions (which is made up of councils of Ford, GM and Chrysler CUs among others), where he surveyed attendees on a number of issues. How do their thoughts compare to what you are seeing/doing at your own CU?
28th Annual CCACU Conference Survey Results
1. Does your credit union plan to remain loyal to your corporate, despite the continuing assessment increases and added impairment fees?
Yes 93% No 7%
2. Can CUs continue to grow in size and still maintain the personal touch of “people helping people” mantra?
Yes 91% No 9%
3. Are Merger & Acquisition discussions part of your strategic plans?
Yes 62% No 38%
4. Do you believe there should be a standard CU board member national certification requirement (e.g. board orientation and number of continuing education hours)?
Yes 89% No 11%
5. Should the FDIC and NCUA merge into one regulatory agency?
Yes 4% No 96%
6. Have you, or are you planning to, discuss with your board the pros/cons of changing to a mutual bank?
Yes 2% No 98%
7. Would you be in favor of taxing CUs if it opened up FOM, allowed for alternative (supplemental) capital, and increased the current 12.25% cap on business lending?
Yes 6% No 94%
8. Would you consider accepting government funding, like TARP, if it were available?
Yes 18% No 82%
9. How important would a national CU branding campaign be to you?
Essential 20% Very important 47% Somewhat important 20% Not so important 11% It will never happen 2%
10. How confident are you that the economy has hit bottom and will begin to recover by 2010?
No doubt it will recover 10% Very confident 13% Somewhat confident 50% Not very confident 27%
Share your own observations in the comments box, below.
Mary Arnold is VP/publications for CUES and editor of Credit Union Management.
