CU2.0 Podcast Episode 37 Cliff Rosenthal on CDFIs

You want to know about community development financial institutions? Cliff Rosenthal is the man you want to talk to.  He literally wrote the book on CDFIs and also the longstanding credit union initiative to serve the unbanked: Democratizing Finance: Origins of the Community Development Financial Institutions Movement.

Have CDFIs lived up to their potential?

Have credit unions changed the shape of financial services in America?

Rosenthal has opinions and he shares them in this podcast.

Along the way he talks about his stint at the CFPB - and the ingrained credit union executive distrust of that institution. Which may not be entirely warranted.

Rosenthal pulls no punches. He said, "It dismays me that 100 years after the birth of credit unions we still have a significant problem of the underbanked and unbanked." And, note, about 25% of households falls into the category.

 Rosenthal also said that in 1990 there were around 13,500 banks and thrifts and a like number of credit unions.  There now are about 5500 of each.  "The number of credit unions falls by 200 to 300 each year.  Ten years from now there will be 3000, 3500 credit unions."

That math is flawless. And it has to scare you.

In this podcast, you'll hear a discussion of the successes of a Mississippi credit union executive Bill Bynum.  He told his own story in this podcast.

You'll also hear about Jim Blaine, the charismatic, longtime CEO of State Employees' Credit Union in North Carolina, one of the country's biggest.

And you'll also hear Rosental insist that many credit unions that focus on serving the underserved do better financially than those that focus on fighting with banks for more affluent consumers.

If you enjoy this podcast, listen in to the podcast with Cathie Mahon, CEO of Inclusive, a trade group for institutions that focus on community development.

Listen, too, to this podcast with Bill Bynum of Hope.



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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

CU2.0 Podcast Episode 34 Ben Premo TrueFees on Fee Transparency

Quick now, how much did financial institutions collect in overdraft fees in 2017?  The answer is $34.3 billion. That's right, billion.

A lot of us are getting soaked by high bank fees and thus TrueFees, founded by Ben Premo whose intent is to shine a light on the actual fees charged by financial institutions.

Premo told me that maybe one in two FIs are opaque about their fees. That is, the info isn't clearly and readily available online.

But this is a fight credit unions are primed to win. Thousands of credit unions offer free checking and many also have low costs for other common bank charges.

Premo's intent at TrueFees is to let consumers easily find which institutions in their region charge low fees.

TrueFees is looking for the right credit unions to partner with and this is a fight credit unions ought to win.

He tells what it's all about in this podcast.







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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

CU2.0 Podcast Episode 36 Millennials Talk Credit Unions

You want more Millennial members. You need them. Born between 1981 and 1996, Millennials are a prime age cohort for financial services - they are getting mortgages, buying cars, taking vacations. And yet many of them know squat about credit unions and do not belong to them even though in many respects credit unions line up perfectly with what Millennials want: free checking, non profit status, they are local businesses, and they put people and community first, not shareholders.

So why don't more Millennials belong to credit unions? That's why we brought together three to talk about credit unions, what their friends think about credit unions, and why they use them (or don't).

This podcast is a companion to the Gen Z podcast which explored the same issues with a younger cohort.

It's also a companion podcast to the podcast with Teresa Freeborn on the CUNA awareness campaign.

A takeaway from this talk is that credit unions have a lot of work to do. A lot. They are doing a wretched job of communicating their differences and why they are the better choice over a bank.

But the messages are there, they are strong, and credit unions can win. If they do the hard work.

It's a tough fight. But a winnable fight.

Listen here.







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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

CU2.0 Podcast Episode 35 Gen Z Talks Up About Credit Unions

Do you want the good news first or the bad?

In this podcast we bring together three Gen Zers to tell the good, the bad, and the ugly about credit unions.

The ugliest news: the woeful job credit unions have done in communicating their profound and manifold advantages.

Do Gen Zs know about the free checking, the vast shared ATM network,  that CUs are non profit?

Nope.

There are cures for these ills however and the Gen Zs tell what.

It's a lively podcast.

Listen up.



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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

CU2.0 Podcast Episode 33 Erin Coleman Filene on Thinking Big and Better

How long does it takes your credit union to respond to a mortgage application with a verdict?  Anything longer than 10 minutes just may be too long. Are you still in the game?

At Filene, Erin Coleman, senior impact director, mulls just that kind of question as she hunts for ways for credit unions to stay competitive in a landscape that is ever more perilous.

She also discusses the need for credit unions to involve more young people - as members, sure, but also as employees and as volunteers, even board members.

Then there's the question of how far in the future you are thinking. A year or two isn't good enough. Can you think five years out? Ten? Okay, what impacts do you think autonomous cars will have on credit unions - and know they are coming and they will impact you. Are you ready? Coleman talks about exactly that question here.

This is a wide ranging podcast but it just may help light a path to a successful tomorrow. Listen up!






Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto