Patelco Credit Union, a Bay Area-based credit union dedicated to the financial wellness of its members and communities, is pleased to announce that CEO and president, Erin Mendez, has ranked in the top 10 of American Banker’s Most Powerful Women in Credit Unions 2022. Since Erin arrived at Patelco Credit Union in 2013, she has transformed the organizational culture to a focus on members, team members and the communities they serve. The Most Powerful Women in Credit Unions award, which debuted this year, celebrates the senior executives guiding the future of the credit union industry, while also examining issues of mentorship and inclusion. The award was created to share the stories of the top 25 women leading the credit union industry through times of rapid and unprecedented change. It seeks to recognize the achievements of these women and promote discussion of topics important to the advancement of the next generation of leaders. “Erin’s innovation and dedication to Patelco makes her more than deserving of this recognition,” said chairman of Patelco’s board of directors, Jesse Rivera. “In her time as CEO, she has worked tirelessly to improve the financial health and wellbeing of our members and the communities we serve.” The award reflects Mendez’s success through leadership challenges, as well as her ability to implement innovative ideas. Despite pandemic-related challenges, Mendez championed creative solutions to give back and positively impact the communities it serves in Northern California. Mendez and her team were committed to making a difference, including giving more than $500,000 to non-profit organizations driving change in affordable housing, children's health, food security and financial health and well-being. Mendez's attention to improving the financial well-being of members has led to the creation of several products that directly help members on their financial journeys. These include the Patelco Virtual Branch™, featuring services expected from an in-person branch visit but online and in real-time, as well as the ScoreUp Credit Builder Loan, a response to members needing to establish or build their credit scores.
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Trellance, a leading technology partner providing innovative analytics and talent solutions to credit unions, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Ongoing Operations, a company specializing in innovative information technology solutions for credit unions. Trellance will incorporate Ongoing Operations’ IT capabilities under the Trellance brand, which include consulting, information security, compliance, architecture, and business continuity. The acquisition is beneficial to all parties, as it allows Ongoing Operations to continue to serve clients and build on existing relationships with an expanded array of services, while also allowing existing clients for both companies to benefit from the combined strength and resources of Ongoing Operations and Trellance. Trellance will add to it’s existing product base and add to its network of credit union experts. “Ongoing Operations shares our dedication to the credit union industry and we’re glad to welcome the team into Trellance,” Tom Davis, president and CEO of Trellance, said of the acquisition. “Together we will provide best-in-class technology services that enable credit unions to keep pace with banks and fintechs. This acquisition continues our path of rapid growth and innovation to more fully meet the industry’s needs.” “Ongoing Operations has been owned by credit unions from the very beginning,” Steve Bone, Ongoing Operations CEO, said. “Trellance understands the credit union mission and has a solutions portfolio that complements our own. By joining the Trellance team, we have access to an even greater network of resources with which to support our customers.” The acquisition was finalized on November 22, 2022. The National Credit Union Foundation (the Foundation) celebrated an additional 48 graduates of its signature Development Education (DE) program last week. The fourth and final cohort of 2022 marked the end of the DE program’s 40th year. This graduating class joins more than 2,000 credit union advocates from 35 countries who have previously received their CUDETM (Credit Union Development Educator) designation. Dohnia Dorman, chief experience officer for the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC), was among the graduating class. Dorman said, “I’ve heard people describe DE as ‘transformative’ and ‘life-changing’ for many years. I can say with certainty it’s not hyperbole. “I’ve come away from DE with a deeper understanding of how multiple, seemingly unrelated global issues can compound to make financial services inaccessible to so many. More importantly, I have a clearer vision for how the AACUC can influence our domestic and international credit union ecosystem, and can partner with credit unions to address these issues and build the truly equitable, inclusive financial movement the credit union system was formed to be.” The Foundation’s Director of Programs, Tobi Weingart, added, “The needs and expectations of consumers have radically changed since DE was established in 1982. But the opportunity for credit unions to leverage the cooperative principles to meet those needs—to work with empathy to understand their communities, and develop products and services that have a positive, measurable impact on them—remains. “The DE program’s longevity is testimony to the credit union movement’s unerring commitment to improve financial well-being for all.” Registration opens for the first DE class of 2023 later this month. It is with great sadness CUES announces the passing of its President and CEO John Pembroke on Monday, November 21. A progressive and inspiring leader, John leveraged his diverse business skills, relationship-building expertise, and leadership attributes to drive organizational growth and profitability at the membership association. Under his leadership, CUES membership tripled, member loyalty increased, and new and innovative talent development offerings were created. As a mentor and advocate of a people-first philosophy, he encouraged and supported the employees at CUES, guiding the team to reach their individual and collective potential. He worked to evolve CUES into an industry thought leader, and made Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion a priority throughout the entire organization. One of John’s favorite quotes was “Change is the only constant in life.” He lived by that maxim, consistently embracing opportunities to improve himself, his life, and the lives of others. “John was an inspiring, thoughtful and caring leader, and a good friend,” said Kelly Marshall, CCE, CCD, ICD.D, CUES board chair and CEO, Summerland Credit Union. “John had been courageously battling with health challenges over the past while, and he will be deeply missed professionally and personally.” “John believed strongly in the power of financial cooperatives to make positive differences in people’s lives and inspired countless individuals to become better leaders,” CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle said. “He was a top-notch relationship-builder who was always willing to explore something new and pass along what he’d learned, especially in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space. His legacy is one of always working to reach our potential, as individuals and as a movement.” Jerry Saalsaa, CUES SVP/Chief Administrative Officer, will continue serving as interim CEO, continuing John’s legacy and assuring continuity to the organization and its membership until a replacement is identified by the CUES board. John is survived by Monica, his wife of 27 years, and other close family members. Service details are under development and will be announced. Financial institutions are mistaking multichannel account opening for omnichannel account opening, according to The Omnichannel Account Origination Report today released by MANTL, a leading provider of account origination solutions. More than one-third of banks and credit unions (35%) that claim to offer omnichannel account opening do not have the ability to start an application in one channel and resume it in another channel, revealing they have multichannel account opening instead. “This data is alarming because multichannel technology differs greatly from omnichannel technology. A multichannel account origination strategy has severe limitations, as it creates siloed customer journeys and will not grow customer satisfaction or lifetime value. Commercial and retail customers expect seamless experiences across all banking channels and only omnichannel technology will meet that demand while improving an institution’s bottom line,” said Nathaniel Harley, co-founder and CEO of MANTL. “The adoption of true omnichannel account origination technology is still early at regional and community banks and credit unions. However, the data makes one thing abundantly clear: omnichannel account origination is the future of the banking industry and banks and credit unions are prioritizing adoption.” The Omnichannel Account Origination Report, commissioned by MANTL in partnership with The Financial Brand, surveyed U.S. banks and credit unions to identify omnichannel banking priorities and explore existing consumer and commercial account opening capabilities by channel. The report findings underscore the important role omnichannel account origination technology will play in financial institutions’ ability to remain resilient and competitive. The report also revealed significant opportunities to leverage the technology to improve operational efficiency and better service commercial customers. The urgency for omnichannel Currently, only 12% of banks and credit unions offer omnichannel account opening for both businesses and consumers. The report revealed that relationship managers are still the primary driver of new account openings and financial institutions only open a small volume of deposit accounts via digital channels. Nearly half (48%) of financial institutions open less than 20% of their consumer deposit accounts online. However, there is a growing sense of urgency to implement omnichannel account origination technology in the immediate future. In the next 12 months, half of institutions (50%) plan to implement consumer omnichannel account opening and a fourth of institutions (27%) plan to implement commercial omnichannel account opening. Businesses are underserved from a digital banking perspective The majority of banks and credit unions (61%) are opening almost all of their new commercial accounts (80-100%) via a relationship manager. Two-thirds of institutions do not offer the ability to open a commercial account online (68%) or in a call center (67%). That number is even higher for a mobile app (78%) or an in-branch kiosk (90%). “Many financial institutions self-identify as commercially focused, yet they are not investing in commercial banking experiences,” said Harley. “This is especially problematic when you consider that business owners are also consumers and expect the same digital convenience across banking channels.” Branch sentiment toward digital channels Shockingly, one-fourth of banks and credit unions (25%) claim branch staff who are responsible for onboarding new customers feel threatened by online account opening channels. Currently, one in four financial institutions (22%) have no way to attribute new accounts opened digitally to a specific branch or relationship manager and 37% of banks and credit unions believe that account attribution would change how their branch staff feels about online account opening. “This disconnect signals to larger issues we are seeing industry-wide in regard to banking technology adoption and change management,” said Harley. “The benefits of modernizing must be communicated across all levels of a financial institution and bank leadership should invigorate adoption. Investing in technology that elevates the employee experience, empowering branch staff to become more data-driven and better serve their customers, will help fuel adoption.” To view the full report, please click here. For more information on MANTL or to schedule a demo, please visit: https://www.mantl.com/request-a-demo/ September is National Hunger Action Month, and this year the Alaska Credit Union League conducted the annual Cash for Cans donation drive to help raise funds for local food banks and pantries throughout Alaska. Nearly every Alaska credit union took part in this year’s promotion, making it a huge success for both the league and our communities at large. The Cash for Cans promotion, initially created and trademarked by Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, has been taking place since 2012. With the addition of the rest of the Alaska credit unions in recent years, the event has broadened its reach and facilitated an even greater collection of funds. This year, the campaign and the Alaska USA Foundation came together to donate more than $104,000 which will assist food banks and pantries across the state of Alaska. “The magnitude of generosity of the communities we serve is what makes campaigns like Cash for Cans successful,” said Dan McCue, president of the Alaska Credit Union League, “We are continually amazed by the outpouring of generosity surrounding the Cash for Cans donation drive and are blown away by the donations collected this year.” CU Direct, a leader in financial technology solutions for credit unions, announced it will rebrand the company as Origence. The change reflects the company’s vision to create the ultimate origination experience and help credit unions win in a digital-first world. “Three years ago, CU Direct launched the Origence brand to serve our credit union partners with next-generation financial technology,” said Tony Boutelle, president and CEO of Origence. “The Origence name is meaningful because it was created by combining the words ‘origination’ + ‘experience’. Origence clearly articulates our vision and the importance the origination experience plays in the success of our credit unions, especially in meeting the ever-evolving needs of modern borrowers." The company’s indirect lending solution, CUDL, will remain a sub-brand of Origence, continuing its mission to connect automotive dealers to credit union financing. Credit unions using the CUDL network continue to be the nation’s largest auto lender as an aggregate, helping dealers sell 1.5 million vehicles through credit union financing (Jan. 1 – Sept. 30, 2022). All other products, including the new Origence arc platform consisting of arc DX (digital experience portal), arc OS (formerly Lending 360 LOS), and arc MX (formerly Intuvo marketing automation), will unify under the Origence brand name. Over the next several months, the company will transition key business touchpoints to reflect the new Origence name and visual brand. This will include rebranding the company’s web properties, social media channels, and digital communications. CU Direct will remain as the holding company CUSO for shareholder and Board purposes. “Through Origence and our many products and services, we have transformed the origination journey for credit unions and their members,” stated Boutelle. “Now, we will build on that momentum under one strong, industry-recognized brand that reflects our vision of creating the ultimate origination experience.” Teachers Federal Credit Union, one of the largest credit unions in the United States with $9.2 billion assets and more than 420,000 members, is celebrating Giving Tuesday with the launch of its annual Season of Giving campaign and donating $50,000 to charity. Teachers is partnering with three community-focused organizations and giving its members, as well as the greater community, the chance to vote on the distribution of funds between Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and Wounded Warrior Project:
Season of Giving is just one of the ways Teachers gives back to the communities it serves throughout the year. With one of its guiding principles focused on being a good community partner, Teachers shares its time, energy, and resources to support causes that promote education, human services, economic development, and research. Teachers has helped countless communities through its various partnerships and is passionate about inspiring future generations to do good. Ascend Federal Credit Union today announced it has donated $10,000 to the Tennessee Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) to support Light The Night. Credit union employees and members also contributed an additional $3,508. The donations help fund cancer research and provide support services to cancer patients and their families. “Once again, we are humbled by the continued support of Ascend, its employees and its members,” said Jeff Parsley, LLS Tennessee/Alabama regional executive director. “It is donations like this that enable LLS to carry on with our investment in innovative research and therapies to help cure this dreaded disease and improve the quality of life of patients undergoing treatment.” “Each year, I am awestruck by the willingness of our members and employees to support LLS, which is truly making a difference in the fight against blood cancers,” said Caren Gabriel, Ascend president and CEO. “This donation underscores our commitment to help advance the extraordinary research and development being made by LLS to find a cure.” In addition to the Light The Night corporate donation, this Halloween employees at Ascend locations throughout Middle Tennessee participated in the LLS annual fundraiser “Costumed for a Cure,” dressing up in their most creative costumes and decorating pumpkins. Anyone who visited an Ascend branch could vote for their favorite costume or pumpkin with a contribution to LLS. Donations also were accepted through a custom fundraising website. “Costumed for a Cure” raised $3,508 from employee and member donations, bringing the 16-year total for Costumed for a Cure to $45,179. Culminating in more than 100 evening events each fall, donors in communities across North America celebrated Light The Night by carrying illuminated lanterns to take steps to end cancer – white for survivors, red for supporters, and gold in memory of loved ones lost to cancer. LLS’s Nashville event was held on Oct. 28. The funds raised through Light The Night support LLS’s mission priorities: research, education and support, and policy and advocacy. Through campaigns like Light The Night, LLS has invested more than $1.5 billion since its inception in research to advance breakthrough therapies. A new report published today by the National Credit Union Foundation (the Foundation) shows that credit unions can measurably increase their employees’ financial well-being through initiatives as simple as a prompting email. The Foundation’s Start at Home report summarizes a two-year long grant project that explored whether positive saving behaviors—primarily splitting an employee’s direct deposit so a portion goes directly into savings—could be established through basic prompts. Three credit unions participated in the project: Alabama Credit Union, Credit Human and Educational Employees Credit Union. Researchers from Duke University and the University of Southern California oversaw program design, data collection and final analysis. The project ran from June 2020 to May 2022. Employees at each credit union were randomly assigned to a control or a treatment group. The median increase for split deposits within the treatment group was 7.5 percent, compared to just 1.65 percent in the control. Additionally, while not an intended output of the study, Start at Home provides directional evidence that taking action like allocating a fixed percentage of income to savings can have a positive effect on an individual’s subjective financial health. One participating credit union saw a 20 percent positive increase in their employees’ response to savings-specific metrics. “We know credit union employees are just as financially vulnerable as the millions of members they serve, every day,” said Michelle Bonner, the Foundation’s Senior Manager for Financial Inclusion and Impact. “Credit unions are looking for ways to help their staff, and our Start at Home grant project shows that significant, measurable improvements can be made with essentially cost-neutral interventions. “This initiative is absolutely replicable at other credit unions. Our hope is the report and its findings can be the spark that catalyzes others to take similar action.” All three of the participating credit unions have confirmed their intent to continue and/or expand the current intervention. The full grant report and a webinar featuring the grant participants and research leads is now available on the Foundation’s website: www.ncuf.coop/resource-hub |
Author: Mike LawsonMarried to a most gorgeous and wonderful wife, raising 5 kiddos (including twins!), enjoy helping others tell their stories, and love surfing SoCal waves. Keep it simple. Archives
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