Resources Blog

Compliance is a recognized safety and soundness issue influencing the direction of examinations and the perception of management’s effectiveness in the organization. The nature of compliance has become a landscape of almost constant change. Those credit unions who wish to weather the onslaught of regulatory upheaval have come to recognize that an effective and robust compliance program will protect the credit union in these challenging times.

How many systems, both digital and manual, do your borrowers and employees have to navigate before booking a loan? The answer may surprise you and provide some critical insight if you aren’t surpassing your loan growth goals.

In Greek mythology, Achilles was the greatest of all Greek warriors. But despite his overall strength, one small, unprotected area on his heel led to his ultimate downfall. As warriors against fraud, credit unions vigilantly establish safeguards to protect their institutions, but one small vulnerability – email – can be the Achilles heel that cripples financially and reputationally.

Cornerstone’s ALM Key Ratio Analysis Report includes an Expense Analysis, which can provide insights for your credit union. The Expense Analysis, found on page 11 of the report, gives you another perspective to consider when looking at the costs to run your credit union as they relate to offering loans and share drafts—the products and services you offer your members to make their lives better.

Despite supply issues and higher prices across the auto industry, car sales have continued to remain strong. As new and used vehicles continue to sell, financial institutions have had plenty of opportunities to make car loans and increase their share of the auto-lending market, but it hasn’t been easy for credit unions attempting to do so.

Conversation around interest rate derivatives has gained more traction within the credit union industry over the last year. And recently, the NCUA Board approved a final rule that modernizes the proposed derivatives rule. Here’s what you need to know.

We are living in fast-changing times. Lenders that fail to meet the changing demands of their borrowers will be ill-equipped to compete for their business. While other industries have learned to deliver high levels of customer engagement and satisfaction online, many lenders are still originating loans much as they were 20 years ago.

Credit union asset growth remained strong in the first quarter. However, these days, describing asset growth as “strong” is an understatement. After increasing 16.2 percent in 2020, assets grew at an annualized rate of 17.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021.

Today, millions of consumers will make shopping decisions about cereal, chicken, tomatoes, and potatoes. And for many, those decisions will be based on one key factor: convenience.

There’s a lot of confusion for consumers about their credit scores, which is to be expected when borrowers receive ‘educational’ scores from various services does not often match lenders see in the FICO score. Most consumers, and Ser Tech, believe it’s important to see the scores lenders use during the loan approval process when making borrowing decisions.