LifeNotes Strategy Use Cases: How Credit Unions Can Add Flexibility to Life Insurance-Based Executive Benefits 

In a previous “C.U. on the Show” episode, Jay Rogers, senior executive consultant and director of business development at Stearns Financial, shared the firm’s groundbreaking LifeNotes Strategy. For over 40 years, Stearns Financial has worked with credit unions in succession and yield planning, retention, and balance sheet optimization. Its proprietary method involves credit unions and […]

How Higher Interest Rates May Affect Your Credit Union’s Sub-Debt Strategy

Recently, the economic environment has been turned on its head, and the effects present new challenges to credit unions. As a result, credit unions must proactively and strategically plan to navigate issues such as decreased deposits, dips in lending, and higher interest rates. During periods like this, “just-in-time” capital may provide the peace of mind […]

How to Scale Your Charitable Giving: Key Decisions for Credit Unions

With a philosophy of “people helping people,” community outreach and charitable giving play critical roles in a credit union’s overall strategy. Credit unions of all sizes strive to engage their members and community through various initiatives and events, with some being more effective than others. So what does it take for your credit union’s charitable […]

How Treasury Management Services Can Give Credit Unions a Competitive Advantage

From scalability to increased fee revenue to capturing more non-interest-bearing deposits, there are several reasons credit unions would want to expand their offerings to business members. However, until recently, big banks have generally cornered the business services area of the market. Many credit unions have lacked the resources, expertise, or scalable capabilities to offer full-scale […]

I Bonds: What to Know Before You Invest

Our clients have been asking a lot of questions about I Bonds recently. In this video, Doug English, CFP® and Wes Johnson, CFP® discuss I Bonds including when they may be a good fit for your investment strategy and what to know before you invest.

How Fintech Can Help Credit Unions Stay Competitive

JPMorgan Chase currently invests $12 billion in technology annually, which is twice as much as the IT budget of credit unions nationwide—combined. For this reason, it’s becoming increasingly challenging for credit unions to keep pace with the technology, research, and development of larger financial institutions. To stay relevant and continue improving client experiences and offerings, […]

How Credit Unions Can Develop “Ready-Now” CEO Candidates

Executive succession planning and finding someone to step into a CEO position is a critical role of your credit union’s board. When done strategically, an active approach to succession planning can help organizations develop internal candidates into “ready-now” executives and position them for a CEO role years before a current leader leaves their position. While […]

Fortify Your Credit Union Exit

If you haven’t built a legacy plan, you could be missing unexpected opportunities and insight that could benefit your organization today, even before you leave. Maurice Smith, CEO of Local Government Federal Credit Union, shares the many lessons he learned from his legacy planning coaching and how he’s using his experience in his current role […]

Is the Design of Your Credit Union’s Split-Dollar Plan Sustainable?

Collateral assignment split-dollar plans are a powerful executive benefit with favorable tax treatment that can incentivize retention and offer credit union leaders a long-term income stream in retirement. However, while many credit unions have collateral assignment split-dollar plans as part of their executive benefits mix, it is no secret that these tools are more complex […]