Grow loans during inflation: Tips to Credit Unions

As the threat of inflation lingers on, credit unions face the challenge of managing their loan portfolios in this uncertain economic climate. It presents an occasion for credit unions to be front and center when your members need you most—during economic unrest.

Credit unions, how effectively can you help your members and continue stress-free lending during the recession?

Recessions are tough, but they can also create new opportunities for growth if credit unions are ready to step out of their comfort zones. Those who are proactive about their recession strategy can withstand the financial consequences of an economic recession and provide more comprehensive services to their members and the local community.

Five key considerations

Here are five things for credit unions to consider in their lending strategy.

Evaluate your lending policies: Evaluate the lending policies with a clear understanding of the borrower’s behavior and business needs. Implement advanced payment analytics and reporting tools to make the right decisions.
Work on retention efforts: It takes a lot of work to acquire new members during a recession, so boost your efforts to retain existing members. Frequent communication, retention visits, and leveraging their data on their members will enable credit unions to deliver personalized experiences and targeted product offerings that their members need or are interested in, boosting satisfaction rates and retention.
Update your members with the rates: Ensure consumers know your competitive rates by highlighting them in your marketing.
Offer multi-loan preapproval: Maintain a strong connection with members and build stronger relationships by providing continuous, diverse loan options that are accessible to them, such as individual loan pre-qualifications, multiple loan pre-qualifications, and offers based on certain conditions.
Expand digital presence: Digital strategy will help institutions raise awareness about their products and services with existing and prospective members while making themselves known to the younger generations.

The adoption of technology is also a strategy in a sink-or-swim environment. The competition is enormous, and only those credit unions with better loan originations systems can survive. Data and analytics play an important role in credit unions, supplying them with essential data. Channel optimization is a great way to get in touch with members conveniently. Instead
of manual documentation, credit unions should turn to digital documentation and
cloud applications for faster and more secure loan processing.

Innovate now

Success in the lending industry hinges on responding to
changes with speed. So, to make your credit union’s lending faster and
stress-free, having a proactive recession strategy plus good technology to aid
your efforts is a must-have. And here’s the good news. This capability is no
longer the exclusive right of the largest corporations. New cutting-edge
technology, wielded by capable partners on your behalf, now places the same
power in your hands.

Insight Consultants can help credit unions manage and
improve loan growth during inflation by leveraging big data and analytics,
automating loan processing, implementing online loan applications, offering
mobile solutions, and utilizing AI-powered chatbots. These solutions will make
it easier for borrowers to apply for loans and for credit unions to manage the
loan process, resulting in increased loan growth during inflation.