President's Message

Vibe Check: Credit Unions

Our financial system appears safe and sound as the smoke begins to clear from recent bank runs and resulting closures. In typical fashion, credit unions—the original Financial First Responders—stepped up in force to calm the waters and inform the American public that the financial system was not broken. That is not surprising given that the modern credit union emerged from the Great Depression – we are born for challenging times because we are born from challenging times.  

But no matter how effective credit unions are in educating, informing, and helping others, people will always ask themselves one question: Am I OK? 

But who can be sure what “OK” even means? The Boston Morning Post published the initials “O.K.” 184 years ago yesterday (March 23, 1839). OK stood for “oll korrect,” a popular slang misspelling of “all correct” at the time. We should not be surprised that “OK” quickly became standard practice in American speech. After all, in 2020s, new music and movies are no longer being “released;” now, they “drop.” Also, remember the “mixtape?” Well, cassettes went the way of the dinosaurs ages ago, so what actually are they in 2023? 

Some things never change. Just as it is today, kids of the late 19th century created their own method for communicating privately with one another without their parents understanding. The method was as elegant as it was simple: they created abbreviations from intentionally misspelled phrases. There was no rhyme or reason. Sound familiar? Today, “Cool” has become “kewl” – SMH” is written slang for “shaking my head” – a “whip” is a “car,” but “drip” is your nice clothes. IYKYK, no cap. I’m not cheugy, fam - just low-key making a point. 

So… “am I OK?” reveals itself as a far more ambiguous question than it seems at first blush. There is no objective answer. One’s age, location, race, savings, education, and family all impact a person’s sense of the world around them. And credit unions themselves should be asking themselves this same question. 

Are we OK in this current environment? Have these bank failures resulted in significant inflows of fleeing bank deposits? It does not appear so. Will this cause consumers to “open their eyes” to a credit union? Probably not. The children, as they say, are our future. They are not speaking nonsense; we don’t know their language. It is time to learn. After all, Millennials and Gen Z over 18 comprise the most significant living adult population. And they make values-aligned purchasing decisions.  

When Washington Mutual and Silicon Valley Bank said, “hold my beer” (look it up), credit unions stepped back and popped some popcorn (look it up). But what do we do now? How do we convince the largest living adult population (Millennials and Gen Z over 18) to take a serious look at the Credit Union Advantage? This is where Financial Well Being steps in. This is where the cooperative principles become a competitive strategy. This is where compassionate lending and financial counseling shine. 

Credit unions may hit differently, but if we’re finna get that guap we need a high key glow up. 

As Always,
Bruce

PS: To prove that credit unions put their money where their mouth is, look at Hartford FCU. Showing the Credit Union Advantage in action, Hartford Federal recently announced a $250,000 Community Giving Program with Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz and the initial charities selected to receive $10,000 donations from the credit union. Congratulations to Ed Danek and his team over at Hartford FCU!