New Lending Council White Paper Looks at Ways for Lending Departments to Forge Successful CUSO Relationships

CUNA Councils
June 1, 2010 | COMMENTS

A credit union-CUSO relationship can leverage expertise, innovation, economies of scale and the aggregate power to make services available to credit union members through their credit union, at reduced cost, according to a recently released white paper from the CUNA Lending Council.

But what are the elements that lead to a successful relationship? The white paper, “Finding the Right Shoe: Guidelines for A Successful CUSO Fit,” interviewed credit union lending executives as well as CUSO owners to come up with six guidelines for successful relationships.

“If all a CUSO does is underwrite a given loan, then all they're doing is filling an ‘academic' purpose as a vendor,” says Bill Beardsley, president, Michigan Business Connection LC in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the paper. “A good CUSO makes sure its work with the credit union is more than academic – its work should help fulfill the credit union's strategic and cultural objectives.”

CUNA Council members are entitled to complimentary copies of these and more than 200 white papers; non-members may purchase the white papers for a price of $50 per copy.

The paper is available online in the white paper section of each council site – select the “Lending” tab.