MEMBERS Development Company adds four new owner credit unions
Three credit unions and one corporate opt for collaborative R&D
COLUMBUS, OH (October 11, 2016) — MEMBERS Development Company claims four new owners with the addition of Anheuser-Busch Employees’ Credit Union, Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union, Tropical Financial Credit Union and Tulsa Federal Credit Union. Altogether, eight credit unions/CUSOs have become owners in the past 12 months.
“It’s gratifying to see more credit unions and service providers join with us, said MDC Chief Executive Officer Jeff Kline. “Credit unions are close-knit organizations; when our owners tell other leaders about MDC’s efforts together, it shows great confidence in our work and the value of collaboration.”
According to Anheuser-Busch ECU’s President/CEO, Bob McKay, partnering with MDC made sense because performing R&D with other large credit unions is both cost-effective and provides valuable insights.
“With the increase in emerging markets, new technologies and non-traditional competitors in the financial services industry, it’s essential for progressive credit unions to discover opportunities to collaborate especially in the area of research and development,” said McKay. “In addition, I view the advantage of being a partner in MDC as two-fold. It will help our individual credit union build its success while simultaneously strengthening the credit union industry as a whole.”
McKay says he believes the key to success comes from listening to members, providing financial services tailored to meet their needs, offering competitive products and exceeding member service expectations. As evidence, the St. Louis-based, $1.6 billion Credit Union launched a new, more robust mobile banking system in the past year.
Catalyst President/CEO Kathy Garner says the Corporate looks forward to working with MDC owners to find creative solutions that will enrich its own strategy and service quality. That’s not surprising, given a mission statement that highlights providing exceptional member value.
“We emphasize research and innovation at Catalyst, so much that we created a fulltime position dedicated to their pursuit,” said Garner. “But like most credit unions, the resources we can invest in R&D are limited, while the need to be forward thinking – and forward acting – is great.”
Rich Helber, President/CEO of Tropical Financial Credit Union in Pembroke Pines, Fla., says the $700 million Credit Union joined forces with MDC after an exceptional learning experience at last winter’s MDC Owner Meeting and learning about the CUSO’s work with owner credit unions on projects such as member experience and personalization.
“Ensuring that Tropical Financial Credit Union’s products and services remain high-quality – and fresh – is vitally important,” Helber said. “We’re pleased that MDC and its owners keep up with banking trends and consumers’ changing demands through research, education and ongoing projects. We look forward to enhancing our own Credit Union’s member interactions.”
Tulsa FCU President/CEO Greg Gallant says there are few (if any) other organizations in the industry that are owned and actively driven by credit unions, while being focused solely on collaborative research and product development. The $720 million Credit Union sees the key benefit as working with a forward thinking group that is like-minded for the improvement of the credit union community.
“With MDC’s primary emphasis on enhancing the member experience, Tulsa Federal sees great benefits in being able to gather insights into best practices and member preferences,” Gallant said. “On our own, we couldn’t afford this type of research and hands-on work. We also benefit from the actionable information and research available through the MDC relationship.
Kline says all four of MDC’s newest owner credit unions are clearly serious about finding new and better ways to serve members while working together to control costs.
“Our owners – including our newest partners – are original thinkers and talented leaders, yet each one brings unique perspectives to MDC,” he said.
Learn more about MEMBERS Development Company and its research and development projects at membersdevelopment.com or click on links below.
Kathy Garner
Bob McKay
Rich Helber
About MEMBERS Development Company
MDC is the credit union network’s multi-million-dollar R&D department. We scan the horizon, research the issues, and create actionable solutions to solve problems for today –and tomorrow. By pooling the resources of 83 credit union and CUSO owners, MDC is able to deliver meaningful solutions efficiently and affordably. We learn the lessons of what does and doesn’t work —without exhausting our owners budgets and resources for exploration and development. We also believe that our research must be driven by our owners, for our owners. While we do the heavy lifting, our credit union and CUSO owners both advise and participate in the work not just as investors, but as trusted partners.
