Credit Unions Are Facing a Double

Tools and Resources for Credit Unions • DECEMBER 2012

Trends and Topics Ce n t r a l 1 An n o u n c e s inNOVa t i o n Aw a r d s of the Month The annual Central 1 InNOVAtion “Cr e d i t Un i o n s Ar e Fac i n g Awards, celebrating the spirit of innovation that thrives within the A Do u b l e -Ed g e d Sw o r d . credit union system in B.C. and It’s Ca l l e d No n -In t e r e s t In c o m e ” Ontario, were recently presented as part of Central 1‘s Fall Conference Non-interest income can be like a double-edged sword. in Vancouver. In total, 12 submis- A new Filene report on non-interest income sions were considered from nine (October 10, 2012) explains that “the goal is credit unions — five from B.C. and four from Ontario. to balance two Credit Union imperatives.” “In Search of “We are pleased to recognize The first is the need for fees to help Member-Friendly these winners for their innovative support the operating cost of the Noninterest Income” efforts,” said Fred Wagner, Senior Vice President, Trade Services, for Credit Union. The report states, Central 1. “These projects highlight “If there’s not enough non-interest the creativity and devotion to cus- income, needed profitability will tomer service that are hallmarks of dissipate.” the credit union systems in B.C. and Ontario.” Awards were presented in The second imperative is this: If a Credit Union has “too many three categories: Product or ill-advised fees, it runs the risk of alienating Members and Innovation, Service Innovation, and losing the CUs cooperative difference.” Operational Innovation. Product Innovation. The winner Consequently, many Credit Unions — and some banks — for Product Innovation was Coastal are making changes that address this dilemma. Community Credit Union of This month’s AIL Blue Paper is titled “Cr e d i t Un i o n s Nanaimo, B.C., for myCoastal Retirement Plan, a retirement savings Ar e Fac i n g A Do u b l e -Ed g e d Sw o r d . It’s Ca l l e d product that allows members with No n -In t e r e s t In c o m e .” less than $50,000 in deposits to have access to the services of top money This issue analyzes how Credit Union fees are inching closer to managers at a low cost. those charged by banks and also describes how one CU dropped Service Innovation. The Service more than half of all fees and reduced most of the rest of them in Innovation award was presented to an effort to stop the uproar from Members about fee increases. ◆

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CU Trends and Topics continued from front page Community Credit Coast Capital Savings of Surrey, B.C., for the Where You’re Union Ltd. of Windsor, At Money Chat service that provides members with Ontario, for its Enhanced AGM and Member Voting access to professional advice and a proprietary iPad app program. The program developed a tool to make it to help them manage, grow, save, and protect their easier to vote for directors while transforming the money, based on their personal priorities. credit union’s annual meeting from a “business meeting” Operational Innovation. The winner of the to a “community event” that included involvement from Operational Innovation category was Motor City credit union business members and local artists. ◆

n Establishing internal and community stakeholder Va n c i t y Supp o r t s Wo m e n En t r e p r e n e u r s project advisory groups. With financial support from Status of Women Canada, n Surveying the landscape of existing supports the Vancity Foundation is the administrator for the (financial and advisory) Women Entrepreneurs, Financing Opportunities for for entrepreneurs to Growth (WE-FOG) project. The project is designed to grow their businesses. reach women entrepreneurs, particularly newcomer n Collecting data (recent immigrant) women and Aboriginal women, who from service providers and entrepreneurs (interviews have the entrepreneurial talent and enthusiasm to scale and focus groups) concerning how women and men up and grow businesses, but may not have access to operate as entrepreneurs. financial and technical supports and services to achieve The next set of project activities is centered on a pilot that growth. The work is intended to inform a review of project in which 10 to 15 women entrepreneurs go Vancity Credit Union’s own lending and business support through a supported process to develop a business practices, to raise awareness about the barriers within growth plan. At the end of six months, all entrepreneurs the credit union, and to share learnings with other credit will make a business plan presentation/pitch for financ- unions so as to better serve women entrepreneurs. ing to a panel of Vancity and other financiers. The WE-FOG project was officially launched in All costs August 2011 and will run until May 2013. The first set associated of project activities, which have been completed, with the initiative are being covered through financial include: support from Status of Women Canada. ◆

r o g r a m r a c k s Serving the Community P T contributions. With this Cr e d i t Un i o n s ’ volume of contributions Co l l e c t i v e Ge n e r o s i t y and more than 36,000 hours of credit union Credit Unions are Helping Here aims to volunteer work promote credit union giving collectively. logged, it’s clear that The program includes a website where credit unions play an credit unions can keep track of their integral role in their contributions, a signage program to communities, supporting programs and display at branches and community events, and various events that enrich people’s lives. marketing and branding resources. Credit unions in Credit Unions are Helping Here won a British Columbia and Ontario are actively participating Marketing Association for Credit Unions (MACU) in this initiative. award for Image Enhancement at the annual spring Since its launch in October 2011, Credit Unions are Achievement in Marketing Excellence (AIME) awards Helping Here has tracked more than $15 million in ceremony, as well as two Golden Mirror awards from the Credit Union Executive Society (CUES). The program is offered to Central 1’s member credit unions and is flexible to accommodate varying needs. ◆