GRAND RAPIDS, MI (March 6, 2013) - For several years, Xtend, Inc., the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based multi-owned cooperative CUSO, and CUSO Financial Services. LLP, the San Diego, California-based investment CUSO had been discussing what a collaboration between their two companies could mean for the members of the one hundred and sixty-five (165) credit unions that Xtend serves. Those discussions culminated in a strategic marketing agreement between the two firms designed to bring investment services to members of Xtend’s mid-market customer-owners.
Xtend President Scott Collins called the new partnership “a huge opportunity for our customer-owners” during a recent web conference that introduced CUSO Financial Services to a group of more than sixty (60) credit unions. “Many mid-market credit unions have been unable to call member investment services a core competency compared to their larger industry peers. For many it was simply a lack of investable assets or resource limitations. Others had dabbled with in-house or partnered programs that had moderate or little success. But we remained convinced that offering this service to members would be a must-have for credit unions to stay relevant in tomorrow’s marketplace.”
Collins also noted that their data processing CUSO partner – CU*Answers, Inc. – was also helping drive this new initiative through integration with their CU*BASE® core application suite. “We believe this brings a combination of core software, member awareness machinery and professional investment brokers to the mid-market in a way that it has not been done before,” said Collins. “It will be fun to watch these programs gain traction with members.”
About Xtend (www.xtendcu.com):
Xtend, Inc. is a 100% credit union-owned CUSO formed in 2002 with headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Xtend provides a wide array of managerial, operational, marketing, technical planning and consulting services for credit unions of all sizes. In short, Xtend is an aggregation point for shared resources that allows credit unions to deliver products and services more cost-effectively. Their strategic offerings include bookkeeping services, member contact services, back-office mortgage services, partnered liquidity opportunities, shared branching, compliance monitoring, and insurance services. Xtend provides services for over 150 credit unions and is currently owned by 69 credit union partners.