Credit Union Indirect Lending

Take a look at this post. Excellent point! What are you doing to ensure that your indirect members are not “one and done”?

Take a moment to read this post from Doug True and the article that he refernces. I know that this doesn’t have anything to do with CU Indirect Lending (unless you understand that without growing deposits you have no money to lend out!), but it is a threat to the CU business model.

Take a minute to read this post on “the next big idea” by Jeff Hardin the CU Communicator (LOVE the name)! Great post! Put your thinking caps on and be sure to leave some ideas!!

Does anyone know of a site for credit unions that is similar to Lending Tree? I would think that there should be a big market for a  CU lending site that lets us compete on a national or even global level. If you know of such a site that exists or is under development, please drop me a line! Thanks!

I received some more information today from my DealerTrack source. The new word is that they are planning to offer 90 days free with a 2 year contract, but they are keeping their pricing the same. Looks like the company wants to “tease” the new business but not reduce the fee income from their old business. I don’t see this working for my CU simply because of the pricing differential being too great. IMHO,  this is a “half-way” change when DealerTrack needs to suck it up and be MUCH more competitive. You know it’s bad when your companies “good news” (DealerTrack) points out how good your competitor (RouteOne) is on their pricing. I will let you know more when I hear something for sure!

I have been studying and thinking about my CU’s niche with our dealerships. What are the reasons that they send business to us instead of our competition? How can I leverage that knowledge to build a better relationship with that dealer. This link is to a CUNA article about auto loans and the importance of indirect lending as a resource. Please take the time to post a comment about what you think your credit union’s niche is in your marketplace.

Here is another great branding post! Take the time to read about Mike Wagner’s $30,000 toothbrush and put in your $.02 on the best way to resolve the situation. Great blogging from Mike!

Here is a quote that I found extremely interesting! “They [people] are looking for a relationship, whether that’s with an author, an idea, a brand, a product. If you don’t give them that, you’re certainly never going to be able to charge a premium. You’ve got to remember, brands are only invented to charge a premium. That was the purpose of a brand; it didn’t have any other. ‘Recognize me, desire me, have faith in me, trust me, pay more for me.’” by Kevin Roberts the author of Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands. You can read the full interview here. Great Stuff!