Looking toward the future at NAFCU

This has been a big year for NAFCU. Many of you have already heard about one particular bit of news that we announced at our Annual Conference and Solutions Expo in Montreal last month – opening our membership to allow federally insured, state-chartered credit unions to join us as associate members.

I know some state-chartered credit unions have been waiting a long time for this change. Before June, we often received phone calls from state-chartered credit unions asking for help at the federal level. So in that way, it’s big news.

In other ways, it’s business as usual for us. We already have federally insured, state-chartered members because NAFCU has a “once a member, always a member” policy, and federally chartered credit unions sometimes change their charters.

Even so, we think this is a big, positive step in the right direction for our members and the credit union industry. Our board of directors believes this is a natural evolution of NAFCU’s mission. All federally insured credit unions deserve the best in member service and choice, and we’re excited about the opportunity to address those needs.

We also revamped our strategic focus to center on the three things we believe credit unions need most from us: advocacy, education and compliance assistance. Our new members – whether they are federal or federally insured, state-chartered credit unions – need the same things our current members need: excellent advocacy on Capitol Hill and with federal regulatory agencies, comprehensive education on the latest issues affecting them, and fast, accurate assistance from our regulatory compliance staff. These are the things we do best, and these are the things we provide to all our members.

Our recent changes have been undertaken to make the most of what NAFCU can do for its members. But for me, it also brings to mind a word heard often in management circles these days: disruption.

The Harvard Business Review has a definition for “disruptive” innovations: they “may lack certain features or capabilities of the established goods … they are typically smaller, more convenient, and less expensive, so they appeal to new or less-demanding customers.” The HBR was referring to companies like Southwest Airlines, which became famous for offering inexpensive, “no-frills” flights. NAFCU may be viewed as a disruptor of sorts, but we know that disruptors can have a positive effect – and that is the ultimate goal: positive growth for the entire credit union industry.

In fact, we have some great stories from our member credit unions about how taking advantage of our education and advocacy has helped them to grow. We put together some videos highlighting two of those stories – from Arlington Community Federal Credit Union and San Francisco Federal Credit Union. I hope you’ll check them out and join the conversation about how we can make a better future for the credit union industry.