How Do Bank Mergers Benefit My Credit Union?
The credit union landscape constantly changes, with new regulations, challenges, members, boards, and mergers. As credit unions prepare for the new year, it is important to be aware of the potential benefits for your credit unions and bank mergers. This is a hot topic, and even as we write this it is on the heels of Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation, writing an opinion piece for the WSJ about how he feels that credit unions should not be buying up the banks that fail to help their community, this sparked a response by Jim Nussle, President and CEO of CUNA, that showed how the credit union movement is continuing in their mission to help their community when they purchase these failing banks.
How Bank Mergers Affect Credit Unions
Bank mergers can affect credit unions in a number of ways. First, they can reduce the competitive field and give consumers fewer choices for their banking needs. This can benefit credit unions by increasing their visibility and market share.
Second, bank mergers can lead to attrition of brainpower and qualified employees. These employees can be a valuable asset to credit unions, especially in a tight job market.
Third, bank mergers can allow credit unions to expand their membership field and offer new products and services. This can be done by acquiring branches or merging with banks that have complementary strengths.
Benefits of Bank Mergers for Credit Unions
Here are some of the specific benefits that credit unions can experience as a result of bank mergers:
- Increased membership: Bank mergers often lead to losing members for the banks involved. Credit unions can capitalize on this by targeting these potential members with marketing and outreach efforts.
- Expanded field of membership: By merging with banks, credit unions can expand their field of membership to include new groups of people, such as employees of the acquired bank or residents of new geographic areas.
- New products and services: Credit unions can also gain access to new products and services by merging with banks. For example, a credit union that does not offer commercial lending may be able to start offering this service after merging with a bank that does.
- Qualified employees: Bank mergers can also lead to the loss of jobs. Credit unions can take advantage of this by hiring qualified employees from merging banks.
- Stronger community ties: By merging with banks, credit unions can strengthen their ties to the community. This can be done by maintaining branches in the communities that the banks serve and by supporting local businesses and organizations.
Bank mergers can provide a number of benefits for credit unions. By being aware of these potential benefits and taking steps to capitalize on them, credit unions can position themselves for success in the ever-changing credit union landscape. When your credit union is looking to expand it will need the best forms on the market and that is where Oak Tree comes in.
