MANCHESTER, N.H.–In 2026, The CU Daily has launched aa new, ongoing initiative: The Profitability Imperative, built around a clear and unavoidable theme: “The Sustainability Reset: Mission Requires Margin.”
Throughout this year the CU Daily will be reporting and compiling resources, insights, advice and examples of how credit unions have found ways to grow and build margin so as to support their missions.
This initiative is a direct response to what the data—and our readers—are telling us.
Across the country, too many credit unions under $1 billion in assets are struggling to generate sustainable profitability. Membership growth is negative. Loan growth is slowing. And for many, mergers are increasingly viewed as the only remaining option—not because they want to merge, but because they don’t see another viable path forward.
The Profitability Imperative is designed to at the very least shine a light on that path forward. You can find a more detailed explanation of the initiative here.
Below, is an ongoing compilation of all reporting, comment and more related to the Profitability Imperative. As this is a CU community-wide effort in support of the sixth Cooperative Principle, Cooperation Among Cooperatives, we not just invite your input, we expect it. Please provide any feedback to Frank J. Diekmann at [email protected].
About the Profitability Imperative
MANCHESTER, N.H.–Reporting can be found here that provides a deeper dive into this initiatve here. This story introduced the series.
Small CUs & Profitability: How We Stopped the Bleeding
Doug Wadsworth, CEO of Tri-Community Credit Union, shares specific examples of how his small credt union eliminated many expenses and created efficiencies. The report shares how numerous small changes can stack to have much bigger results.
The Opportunities Being Overlooked to Create Sustainable Growth in Credit Unions
ATLANTA —Credit unions seeking to improve and grow have overlooked opportunities in brand awareness, risk appetite solution and talent, according to one person, who further advised it is critical to make it “more enticing to invest in credit unions than to extract from them.”
And when it comes to that latter point, the only way to build that culture is through incentivization and goal alignment at the board and senior management level, according to Ancin Cooley, whose insights are being shared here as part of the CU Daily’s “The Profitability Imperative: the Sustainability Reset—Mission Requires Margin” series.
Four Strategies for Driving Organic Growth, Including the One ‘Sexy’ Things All Credit Unions Share
SAN DIEGO–Four strategies for driving new organic growth — both large and small — at credit unions were shared by one person here, who challenged CUs to recognize that what they offer is a commodity but that there are still some “sexy” differences to be leveraged.
Sharing specific strategies for growth with the CUES Directors Conference was Cisco Malpertida Smith, a managing director with SRM, who began his career at BECU in Seattle, where he was the first person hired to identify strategies for organic growth. He then spent five years with GTE Financial CU in Tampa, was CEO of The Florist FCU, currently works as fractional CEO for one small credit union, and is working to start two de novo credit unions.
2 Things That Drive Growth at Credit Unions & Two Things That Might Need to be Removed
POIPU, Kauai–When it comes to driving growth at a credit union, it really all comes down to two things, according to one person, who also advised that removing a question from the digital sign-up process may pay dividends, while cautioning that one bias by board members may be preventing the CU from serving what can be a profitable market.
Speaking to Rochdale’s Volunteer Leadership Institute (VLI), Sam Brownell, CEO of CUCollaborate, used analysis of NCUA 5300 data to stress his point that spending money on marketing “is the biggest lever you can pull.”
Why Credit Unions Can’t Grow if They Fall Into the ‘Commodity Trap’ & Forget Their ‘Brand’
EUGENE, Ore.–Any credit union looking to grow and sustain that growth must avoid the “commodity trap,” according to one person, adding that credit unions have been “gifted” some special attributes they must leverage.
Matt Purvis, the president of Purvis Management and the former chief experience officer with Northwest Community Credit Union, has developed Animation Systems, which helps develop brands that drive organizational behavior and performance. In this article he offers his thoughts as part of the CU Daily’s Profitability Imperative series.
A Warning Over Doorways Into, Out of a CU; Plus a Free Resource to Use
POIPU, Kauai—Credit union board members gathered here were warned about just how many “doorways” there are into CU systems, how they are opened and how they can be locked, while also being pointed toward a free security tool every CU should be using.
Speaking to Rochdale’s Volunteer Leadership Institute (VLI), Randy Romes, a principal with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, shared with attendees a graphic showing all of the devices in their homes and lives—from routers to refrigerators—that are part of the Internet of Things, and said the same applies to credit unions, which are much juicier targets for bad actors.
Romes recommended that even the smallest credit unions turn to CIS Critical Security Controls, version 8, which include resources such as checklists, benchmarks, reporting and tracking tools, and other guidance.
3 Areas Where CUs Want to Improve, and 3 Questions to Be Asking About All Those Silos of Data
SAN DIEGO—There are three areas where most credit unions are seeking to improve, and three questions to be asking when it comes to creating efficiencies, according to one person who has partnered with CUs on not just those issues, but on better leveraging their data.
Anne Legg, who has worked with more than 600 leaders in credit unions, leads THRIVE Strategic Services, which specializes in helping CUs to simplify their data transformation, identify new revenue sources, lessen member friction, and increase talent productivity, has shared her perspective in some of the lessons she has learned as part of the CU Daily’s Profitability Imperative series.
Why Growth Isn’t a Strategy, And What a Credit Union Must Have, Instead
SEATTLE–Growth is the goal of any credit union, but in and of itself it simply isn’t actionable, according to one person, who has shared some experiences, lessons learned and insights into how growth can be turned into an actionable strategy.
As part of the CU Daily’s 2026 initiative “The Growth Imperative,” Ben Strangland, president/COO and principle with Strum, discusses what is necessary for any credit union to see and maintain sustainable growth.
Force Multipliers and the Discipline of Great Vendors
Ed Speed, the former CEO of TDECU, discusses the concept of ‘force multipliers’ and how the right vendors can quickly multiply the effectiveness of a credit union. Speed said he had one rule that was enforced publicly: A good vendor is useless when the client lacks transparency.
“That question reshaped relationships. Great vendors know what enables success and what quietly undermines it. By asking it openly, we created mutual accountability. Vendor performance is not something you demand, it is something you enable,” he stated.
TIGARD, Ore.–Unitus Community Credit Union said it has successfully completed its “Build and Save Matched Savings Program,” matching $169,905 in savings to help small business owners strengthen savings and help grow their businesses.
Launched on July 1, 2025, in partnership with the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber (HMC) through an Inclusiv Build and Save Matched Savings Initiative grant, the Unitus Build and Save program combined matched savings, financial education, and personalized coaching to support entrepreneurs, the CU said.
Where One Small CU Has Literally Found a Channel That’s Been a Difference-Maker
RIDGECREST, Calif.–A small credit union that has actively turned to video—for messages both serious and humorous, educational and entertaining—is encouraging other credit unions to look to it as a case study of what’s possible when different thinking takes place.
The $90-million Desert Valleys Credit Union, approximately 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles, has turned what was meant to be a one-time video into hundreds of videos over the last seven years, and it has plans for more. It credits the videos for humanizing the organization, building its brand, highlighting members and the community, building trust and more.
Getting Flexible: Where UCCU Found a Strategy That Has Boosted Loan Volume
QUNICY, ILL. – With a field of membership serving mostly rural areas with limited access to services and infrastructure in Missouri and Illinois, the $125-million United Community Credit Union has identified a strategy that has significantly boosted lending volume.
In fact, by mid-2025 UCCU was reporting loan volume had increased over one year earlier by 48.2%.
“We had big loan growth in January (2025) and it has never stopped,” CEO Sarah Distin said in a statement. “That’s very unusual.”
The Decisions One CU Made to Put More Certainty in its Future: A CU Daily Series
FAYETTESVILLE, N.C.- When Steve Foley took the reins at Bragg Mutual FCU, what was then a $55-million credit union faced an uncertain future. Four years later, Bragg Mutual has more than doubled its assets, achieved 20%+ annual loan growth, and earned national recognition.
“We needed to reorganize how we did business, and we needed to keep it logical,” Foley said.
Over his four years with Bragg Mutual, the credit union made significant changes by focusing on growing the auto and real estate portfolio, increasing training to improve member service, introducing cross-selling, and diversifying its product and service offerings.
Some Tips on How to Make Trust, Transparency & Education Competitive Differentiators for Your CU
Adam Stewart of PSECU shares advice on what his credit union has learned about making trust, transparency and education competitive differentiators for the credit union.
“Credit unions have always prided themselves on serving members, not shareholders. The distinction shapes everything from how we price products to how we measure success. It’s why credit unions consistently rank high in member satisfaction surveys and why many members stay with their credit union for decades,” Stewart wrote. “But in a financial services environment where every institution claims to put customers first, that advantage only matters if members can see and feel the difference in practice. Trust and transparency used to be assumed, and now the stakes for getting them right have never been higher.”
Nearly 2,000 Loans Refinanced: One CU’s Strategy is Paying Off. Part of a CU Daily Series
SODUS, N.Y.–Reliant Credit Union is reporting it helped 1,829 of its refinance refinance higher rate auto loans during 2025 for a collective savings of more than $10 million.
The $742-million Reliant CU said the average member will save $5,501 in interest over the life of their auto loans.
The credit unions said in 2020 it set a goal for the year of saving its members $1 million in auto loan interest by refinancing auto loans that had been made by other lenders. It said it surpassed that benchmark in 2020, and by 2024 it had saved its members over $3.5 million in auto loan interest. During 2025 it noted it exceeded that $1 million goal by a factor of 10.
