Is business lending a major (or even minor) consideration within your credit union’s lending portfolio? Scott McFarland, CEO of the $706 million Honor Credit Union, recently suggested to the Credit Union Executives Society that it should be:
“The more credit unions are doing business lending and doing it well, the better off we are as an industry. Every time a member goes into a credit union only to be told, ‘We don’t do that,’ it’s a setback for all of us,” he says. “We have to be the kind of organization that can provide the financial services members want and need, and commercial lending is one source of that value…“When the market turned south seven years ago and banks were calling loans, small businesses turned to us, and we were able to make a lot of those loans.”[1]
As a credit union, your community-oriented advantage includes membership engagement and potential opportunities to yield relationships with local businesses many larger banking entities simply don’t have the ability to develop. Contrasted against the backdrop of the fast paced world of corporate banking, ever-reliant upon automation and online transactions to meet the bottom line, the credit union finds itself in an especially unique position to serve the needs of businesses of all sizes, and particularly those operating in small and mid-sized communities.
However, engagement of business is one thing. Ensuring profitable returns and client satisfaction is another. Regardless how enticed your credit union may be to leverage these potential opportunities, successfully instituting and managing a new business lending channel (or ramping up an already existing one) takes balancing reputation, competent experience and the right internal strategy.
Mr. McFarland advised the time for credit unions to enter into business lending is now “regardless of the size of your organization” and emphasizes looking to experienced partners for guidance and support.
So what’s next?
Analytic Focus LLC helps you consider that next step.
From strategic planning to loan processing/analytics to QC/due diligence, Analytic Focus’ reputation for quality can be applied to your credit union’s commercial channel in a number of ways:
- Lower operation costs of building a business lending department
- Increased expert resources in commercial underwriting
- Identify potential risks in your portfolio
- Customized solutions for Quality Control needs, to reduce loan loss reserves
If commercial lending isn’t yet a serious segment of your offered services, Analytic Focus can build a strategic growth solution. As an expert in the commercial lending arena, Analytic Focus can help your credit union build and implement a custom strategy to pursue a profitable commercial lending channel. As a partner, rather than a competitor, we seek to optimize your credit union’s profitability; empowering you to better engage and meet the needs of your credit union’s membership base.
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[1] https://www.cues.org/article/view/id/CU-Promotes-Business-Lending-as-Good%20Neighbor