The latest from Sam Brownell

Dec 30, 2022 - by Sam Brownell, CUCollaborate

How to improve your credit union’s advocacy

The new year is upon us and, as ever, it presents both challenges and opportunities for credit unions. Chief among these is the process of annual reporting, which, although at ...

Aug 26, 2022 - by Sam Brownell, CUCollaborate

Measuring true credit union success

Success at credit unions is often defined as achieving 10% asset growth and 1% return on assets, while maintaining an 8% net worth. But I firmly believe those figures do ...

May 4, 2022 - by Sam Brownell, CUCollaborate

How to save your small credit union (without merging)

To best serve their members, credit unions must offer a broad range of well-priced services, grow along with their communities, and remain financially sustainable. For many institutions, accomplishing all these ...

Sep 10, 2021 - by Sam Brownell, CUCollaborate

A guide to measuring your credit union’s community impact

In the 21st century, it’s no longer sufficient to be known simply as a financial institution. Credit unions and other financial institutions must actively demonstrate how they give back ...

Jul 28, 2021 - by Sam Brownell, CUCollaborate

They grow ‘em big down in Texas – FOMs that is

Jeremy Garza has been the CEO at Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union for eight years; he’s worked at the credit union for a total of 18 years. Now, the ...

May 14, 2021 - by Sam Brownell, CUCollaborate

The question credit unions can’t afford to have consumers ask

Congress passed the Federal Credit Union Act in 1934. Since then, credit unions have consistently provided their members better pricing and service than banks. So why is credit union market ...

Jun 12, 2020 - by Sam Brownell, CUCollaborate

6 business development tips for the COVID-19 era

The current business development market has changed over the last few months. It may feel impossible at times to reach new potential SEGs and their employees. Below are a few ...

Apr 28, 2020 - by Sam Brownell, CUCollaborate

Community charters are dead, long live community charters!

I am going to tell you a secret I recently discovered about credit union chartering that (almost) no one else knows. Federal SEG based credit unions can serve larger communities ...