WASHINGTON–Advice on how to really spur effective activism, both on Capitol Hill and in the C Suite, especially when many consumers don’t really know or care about the difference between credit unions and banks—has been shared by several diverse leaders.
Offering their insights on that issue and others during a quick-moving session at Mitchell Stankovic’s Underground Conference were George Estrada, founder, Orion Financial Digital Services (who acted as moderator); Andrea Heger, president and CEO of Franklin Madison; Jason Stverak, chief advocacy officer with DCUC, and Manolo Morales, US VP, state and local government affairs with Visa.
Here is some of what was discussed:
Estrada: I’ve been hearing this for a while and we keep talking about the threat to credit unions, that we’re shrinking and consolidating. How can we coordinate? What are some of the challenges to a consistent movement?
Stverak: Time. People are busy. I’m paid to defend you. We get paid to be there to advocate. But the most important people are you and the members of credit unions. It’s three yards and a cloud of dust; that’s going to win the national championship. It’s how you were treated when you applied for your mortgage. Those are the most important things.
it’s important to be active and tell your stories. The biggest thing we face up on Capitol Hill right now, and I hear this from members of Congress, I hear from their staffs, and that is you’re no different than a bank to me…They say I don’t see you as any different than Chase. They say is ‘Maybe, your small ones are a little different, but one billion and above aren’t and my boss (member of Congress) asked me to investigate, ‘Should we tax you?’
They don’t have that connection anymore as we’ve grown bigger and consolidated. Let’s be honest about that. We don’t tell those stories enough about why we’re different. How are we continually telling those. There’s no connection from the district from the state to the (congressional) member’s office, and those are the problems we’re facing.
Estrada: What’s the challenge you see in representing groups like a credit union
Moreno: The merchants have a very, very clear talking point and we have to sit down for 15 minutes (to tell our story). Hopefully, you’re seated before you try to explain interchange, because people don’t understand. They don’t want to understand it. They really don’t want to hear from us about it and translating that to a 30-second sound bite or something on the Hill that’s going to resonate is difficult. How can we distill that message into something that not only can policymakers understand but regular people, too, because that’s what we’re talking about. Everything Jason said I completely agree with, but it can be difficult and it can be risky even to engage grassroots because you don’t control the message.
Estrada: From the executive suite, what are the challenge you see in activating your organization?
Heger: I will say urgency on the industries we work in. My company is not only financial services. but also, insurance. They are way too slow for what consumers expect today it’s important to drive that urgency within your executive team. We have to act quickly. We need to change; we need to transform.
Consumers don’t really care if you’re a bank or a credit union. They may have a bank and a credit union account, and they want different services at different companies when they want them, how they want them, and they want you to be acting with urgency regardless. We see that time and time again. How we interact with consumers and bring that forward needs to be the conversation. That’s what you need to be talking about executive team–when a consumer comes to us, they expect something. How do we act with urgency and serve that need? We are still just way too slow as an industry.
