Ya gotta’ love connections made at conferences. And CRMNEXT’s own Joshua Barclay made a pretty spectacular one at the NACUSO Event this past year.
Dan Daggett, President at Daggett Enterprises USA, LLC has been in the CU Industry since 1993, and he has a wealth of wisdom to offer. Lucky for us, he graciously agreed to sit down and share some of that hard-earned wisdom—this week on CRMNEXT’s Banking on Experience.
What’s covered?
What CUs need to do to remain relevant.
To begin with, Dan recommends that each institution, “step back and do some individual analysis of what they want to be and who they want to be for their membership.”
He also emphasizes the opportunities available via Fintechs who have relationships with CUs. As he says, “They have relevant technology in place now that credit unions can plug and play. It’s not overly burdensome from a financial standpoint, and it can really help them be relevant. And CUSOs can help leverage that technology as well.”
Mission meets Profitability: how to juggle both.
According to Dan, we haven’t been in an interest-rate cycle that’s been this compressed in history. And, while he believes strongly in the CU mission, he also worries that some institutions have lost sight of it.
You’ll want to listen in for some great details here, but, again, Dan points to fintechs out there “that can help mitigate the risk and help increase the yield, which ultimately is going to drive more income to the credit union and – at the same time – divert some of the risk credit unions are trying to avoid in those lower tiers.”
Dan’s top advice for CUs.
Once again, there’s a lot to unpack here (tune in!), but one piece of advice Dan’s passionate about: “I think credit unions really need to take a look on the deposit side of how they’re applying fees, specifically with share-drafts, and what they can do to help mitigate those fees now.”
Proactive vs. Reactive: choosing the former.
Dan’s a huge fan of being proactive, and, while he recognizes that CUs are facing challenges that can make that tricky, he believes it’s key. The economy itself, old technology, minimum staffing, and not getting out to events like NACUSO can prevent CUs from getting outside perspectives on new opportunities that are available.
Maneuvering the tightrope that IS today’s economy.
When asked if CUs even can maneuver around this tightrope, Dan’s answer is a definitive yes.
His top advice here? Look to organizations that can leverage technology to limit the human resource needs that credit unions may think they need to have in order to implement new programs. “It could be automated and streamlined,” says Dan, “And they could get those dollars on the street into members’ hands at a lower cost than what they’re paying their competitors and really help these folks in an impactful way with their financial lives.”
Changing Lives: some of Dan’s personal experiences.
This element of the industry is one of the primary reasons Dan is in it. After all, as he says, “I didn’t become a credit union CEO to get rich…You find a lot of value in helping others.”
He shares some inspiring stories from his career that you’ll definitely want to hear.
Parting thoughts.
Dan brings it all back to this: “The clock is ticking, and we need to be proactive as an industry. And the technologies exist…there are solutions.”
Find this interview, and many more by subscribing to Banking on Experience Podcast on iTunes. You can also find us on Spotify, Google Podcasts, or visit our page on Casted.
