Are your members budgeting for retirement? If not, one of your products could help. Your membership forms package facilitates sign-up for checking and savings accounts, but after that, what are they doing? A little planning and strategy now, can yield huge dividends later. Here are some great things to keep in mind as you talk to your members about retirement planning. Know your expenses. In order to know how much they will need for retirement, your members need to know how much it costs them to live. There are a few simple things they can do. Bank Statements. Gathering up the ...

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Content is king in the digital world! Sometimes it is completely overwhelming to keep up with the current posts! Getting your content to your members will have its ups and downs through the process of getting into the flow of the streams of content. One thing that will be a life saver is developing a content strategy! Not only will the following steps help you gain more understanding of your field of membership, it will provide valuable informative trends to adjust and expand in your strategy! Define your goal What is your goal for growth? Membership, auto loans, and/or home equity? ...

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As dry subjects go, there aren’t many topics more arid than regulatory compliance. It’s virtually the Mojave Desert of subject matter. Just like a real desert, though, it isn’t wise to try to navigate the compliance landscape without knowing what you’re doing or where you’re going. The unprecedented volume of regulatory changes that were generated during the past decade has financial institutions of all types looking for a break in the action, for a chance to get their bearings. So, when serious talk of regulatory relief holds out hope that help may be forthcoming, it’s only natural for those shouldering ...

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Have you heard the good news? Credit union lending is on the rise. In 2018, many credit unions outsold banks. That’s right. According to the latest Federal Reserve report, credit unions passed banks by securing more loans for credit cards and automobiles. That’s great news! In light of this, we thought it would be a good idea to walk through a lending checklist with you. We know you’ll want to position yourself to take advantage of the momentum. Awareness. Are your members aware of the different types of loans you offer? Each member has the potential to become a new ...

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In a recent Credit Union Times Expert Opinion Column, ITIN Lending & Compliance: Cutting Through the Fog, Oak Tree`s CEO talks about ITIN Lending, and how it represents growth opportunities for credit unions. Here is an excerpt from the article:  " ITIN lending represents a solid marketing demographic for credit unions. Is your credit union taking full advantage of it? If not, you should be. Here’s why. The Filene Research Institute recently concluded its incubator loan project in December 2017, with ITIN lending being the most popular segment of the experiment. The program introduced the following five loan packages to immigrants/minorities: Automobile refinance loans QCash ...

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Due diligence is the number one most important step any C-level executive has to complete in order to move forward with an agreement or contract with a third-party vendor. This process is crucial to any company, but one must be wise when going over all the legal obligations. Think of due diligence as a domino effect. If something goes wrong with any third-party vendor, what precautions should the company take to keep true of the due diligence? Or if a data breach happens, what would be the proper steps a CU must take in order to complete all the ...

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In a recemt article, Oak Tree's CEO discusses the fundamentals of risk-based lending. The best way to know how to steer away from this tricky topic, is to follow these steps accordingly. Another topic needing to be discussed is the difference between Compliance and the Letter of Law. A piece of the article states, "It is illegal for any credit union to use the aforementioned reasons as a basis to refuse a loan to any member, discourage members from applying for loans, provide different credit terms for members with similar creditworthiness situations, or close member accounts. The best way to avoid a ...

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In an article written by Richard Gallagher, CEO of Oak Tree Business Systems, Inc. exemplifies the true fundamentals of form integrations and credit union mergers. Ever wonder what the key is to surviving the credit union industry or what to do when any document changes occurs? Find out more by reading the full article on CEO Advisory.  "When credit unions merge, forms and disclosures integrate from under the umbrella of the surviving credit union. Even if the non-surviving credit union keeps the same name, forms will need to be addressed as they will now be a member of the surviving credit ...

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The classic saying, “Any press is good press” continues to become more and more false with the reliance on online reviews to influence patrons. With the emergence of more and more review sites, blogs, comment sections, etc., it is impossible to ignore online opinion when considering SEO and potential members. There are great benefits of reading reviews as a consumer. One can learn from real experience by verified customers about what to expect. The ultimate negative for businesses comes with the misuse of internet speech to express anger, which unfortunately occurs more often than good experience reviews (without review incentive). ...

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A fascinating topic that we all love to talk about is disclosures. Disclosure regulations do change every so often, so credit unions must make sure that their small print is up to date. Making sure to follow along with which disclosure forms go with which account or making sure that all your staff is aware about the updates is imperative to the company. Mind that that compliance examiners are always monitoring which forms each credit unions are using. "And remember, this is but one of many examples. Involve yourself with the credit union industry long enough and you find ...

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