By welcoming nine new credit unions to its network of owners, MEMBERS Development Company reached its planned maximum number of owners, with 65 Class A shareholders for a total of 69owners. Following its summer owner meeting in Chicago, many guest credit unions and credit union organizations realized the benefits of joining the collaboration-driven CUSO.Any credit unions seeking to join MDC in the future will be placed on a wait list.
MDC’s newestowners are:Allegacy Federal Credit Union in Winston-Salem, N.C. ($1.4 billion in assets under management, 145K members); CFCU in Ithaca, N.Y.($ 1 billion, 71K members); Deere Employees Credit Union in Moline, Ill. ($968 million, 36,000); Ent Credit Union in Colorado Springs. ($5.3 billion, 323K members); Mission Federal Credit Union in San Diego ($3.4 billion, 231K members); Mountain America Credit Union in West Jordan, Utah ($7.8 billion, 754K members); Sound Credit Union in Tacoma, Wash. ($1.5 billion, 123K members);USE Credit Union in San Diego ($967 million, 63K members) and Vystar Credit Union in Jacksonville, Fla. ($7.7 billion, 616K members).
MEMBERS Development Company’s CEO, Jeff Kline, says the company is delighted with the recent influx of owners, all of which meet its specific criteria; that is, those willing to share their time, talent and financial resources to develop needed products and services.
“MDC’s business model is a case study in the cooperative philosophy at the heart of the credit union industry,”Kline said. “MDC draws strength fromowners’experience and creative intuition, as well as their vision for meeting members’ needs and wants in the digital age.”
A total of 20 new owners joined MDC in 2018, with eight joining in the weeks following the Summer Owner meeting in Chicago. Owner meetings draw top-tier credit unions from across the country to focus on issues facing the industry. The latest meeting drew more than 200 participants, setting a record for the most people attending from each institution. MDC staff, subject-matter experts and project partners shared insights with participants about future challenges, as well as project results and research on a range of topics, including robotic process automation, the student loan debt crisis, and cybersecurity.
Rick Page, CEO of CFCU Insurance Services and CFCU Technology Partners, says attending the summer’s meeting as a guest was a determining factor in CFCU’s decision to become an owner.
“MDC’s collaborative approach is unique and based on the credit union industry’s founding principle of sharing,” Page said. “This forum would not work that well for banks, based on their competitive nature.”
Steve Ewers, CIO of USE Credit Union, agrees, adding that positive references from existing owners sparked USE’s interest in joining MDC as a way to increase benefits to its members.
“Our association with MDC will enable us to do more, improve the time to market for additional services and save on expenses,” said Ewers. “Not only will we have access to previous research and historical lessons learned, the networking and collaboration opportunities with leading organizations will help us keep a finger on the pulse of emerging trends, products, services and innovations.”
One example of MDC’s work with owners to help their members throughout the phases of their lives centers on studentloans. With U.S. student-loan debt now reaching above $1.5 trillion,credit unions can play an important role in making debt manageable through automated repayment tools and other ways to make payments less painful.
President and CEO of Sound Credit Union Don Clark says his credit union’s mission is to stand with members through all waves of life, which fits with MDC’s work to help their members through various financial phases. A big issue today is U.S. student-loan debt, which has surpassed $1.5 trillion. Credit unions can play an important role in making debt less painful through creative solutions MDC is looking at, like automated repayment tools and lump-sum payments to members when they take out a mortgage.
“The opportunity to provide more value to members was a strong factor in Sound CU’s decision to become an MDCowner,” Clark said.“The purpose, vision and networking offered through MDC with like-minded financial institutions were of interest to us. We believe our members will benefit from our increased ability to identify and provide cutting-edge products and services.”
Examples of those types of innovations were apparent at the summer owner meeting, which featured considerable discussion onnew digital tools. For example, IoTand Voice Commerce can decrease expenses while boosting member service, whileRobotic Process Automation (RPA)can lower costs and increase staff satisfaction by turning overrepetitive tasks to “white-collar” robots.
Owner feedback also highlights the value received from experts’ presentations and networking with their peers, says Sarah Lietz, MDC’s Vice President of Owner Engagement. “Our owners say they appreciate MDC’s focus on big issues relevant to our industry, like student-loan debt, which has topped $1.5 trillion and continues to grow,” said Lietz. “By sharing the costs of R&D, as well as the experience and knowledge needed to develop workable solutions, we help credit unions increase their relevancy by keeping on top of technology and trends.”
To ensure all owners’ voices are heard, MDChas taken a planned approach to the number of owners it would accept, which includes the wait list. Anyone interested in finding out more about the benefits of ownership is encouraged to contact Jeff Kline.
Jeff Kline
Sarah Lietz