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Articles by Guy A. Messick
Ignore or Engage With Digital Currency? The Question for CUs
By Guy A. Messick Owning digital currencies can be a wild ride. The increase in value can be staggering and the drop in value can be devastating. Despite the high profile losses in digital currency recently, more and more people are buying digital currencies. It is eye opening for a credit union to review the payments of their members to see how many transactions are going to digital currency exchanges.
Guy Messick: Why Architects Need To Be Thinking About Designing Metaverses
The evolution of architecture and design has always been impacted by the zeitgeist. Whether it was Modernism, globalization, or tech-firm culture, design has responded to reflect and at times define societal influences. Now, due in part to a mass exodus from the traditional workplace, we once again have an opportunity to reimagine the nature of space and place in design. A global pandemic in conjunction with web-based meeting tech has fueled a transformation in how and where we work.
Credit Union Contraction Is Not Inevitable
Letter to the Editor There are alternatives to CUs following banks’ M&A playbook – viable ones to retain CUs’ independence, relevance and member relationships. Source: Shutterstock There seems to be an almost inevitable acceptance that the smaller guys, facing the headwinds of a changing industry and the crippling strains it places on them, will have to contemplate throwing in the towel and marrying up.
Empowering entrepreneurs – building communities - CUInsight
In my 35 years serving credit unions and CUSOs, I have come into contact with many credit union collaborations, mostly through the use of CUSOs. However, there are examples where credit unions have collaborated with organizations that are not CUSOs and have yielded results that need to be shared and honored. The stories are emblematic of the credit union difference and why we love them. This is one of those stories. Who has not dreamed about starting a successful business?
Finding a Way Forward in the Fintech Forest
By Guy Messick Consumer expectations of service levels are rapidly changing. Small-dollar unsecured loans are applied for and funded within minutes from a mobile device. Mortgage loan underwriting is done in a day or two. Person-to-person payments can be made while on a camping trip in the woods. COVID has made virtual service delivery systems a “must have.” Where does a credit union go to find service solutions that will enable the credit union to remain competitive?
Forming the Perfect Collaboration
Expert Opinion Learn the steps you can take to optimize the benefits of a collaboration. CUSOs foster collaboration among CUs. Is there such a thing as a perfect collaboration? Maybe not, but there are steps you can take to optimize the benefits of a collaboration. In my over 30 years of working with credit union collaborations, I have learned what works and does not work. Credit unions do not collaborate because they want to. Credit unions collaborate because they have to.
Getting the credit union mojo back
In the last century, credit unions were formed with the concept of “people helping people.” Credit unions filled a niche in the financial marketplace that banks did not serve well. Credit unions competed on price, service and convenience. With volunteers, simple financial services and donated space from sponsoring companies and churches, the cost savings were passed along to the members. Credit unions served small tight knit groups and offered highly personalized services.
Do CUSOs really make a difference?
Forming and operating a CUSO takes time and effort. CUSOs tend to help credit unions reduce costs and make revenue from other sources but are CUSOs really worth the effort? It is a legitimate question. How can we measure the effectiveness of CUSOs?
Lessons Learned in 35 Years as the 'CUSO Guru'
By Guy Messick Over the past 35 years, I have served credit unions and CUSOs in several capacities, including lawyer, consultant, presenter, mentor, regulatory advocate and CUSO board member. Effective Jan. 1, 2021, I am retiring from the practice of law. I will retain my association with Messick Lauer & Smith in an emeritus capacity and I will be available to the firm as an internal advisor, but will not represent clients.
Our members need a cookie jar
Our world outlook will be forever shaped by our COVID experience. COVID has exposed personal and financial weaknesses. We feel more vulnerable, less secure, and less in control. This lack of control causes fear and anxiety at levels many members have never before experienced. These feelings will not disappear completely when the COVID threat lessens. The threat of COVID-20 and other unknowns will be in the back of our minds.
Credit union response to COVID-19
This new normal is very stressful. People are concerned about their health and their finances. The government is advising and, in some areas, requiring people stay home. Businesses are being closed. Workers are being laid-off. There will be well-underwritten credit union loans to members that will default. How should credit unions respond? If there was ever a time to demonstrate value to members, it is now. If a credit union has the capital to take some risk, it is time to deploy the capital.
Keep the focus on the member
Ed Callahan used to say that the answer to all credit union strategic questions can be determined by first asking “What is best for the members?” It was excellent advice then and it is now. We, in the credit union world, often look at problems from the credit union’s perspective. How does the credit union make more net income? How do we grow the credit union? The answers to those questions are important but let’s start at the core question.
Avoiding a Blockbuster future
I have been around credit unions a long time. I work with really smart and forward thinking credit union colleagues. But there are a lot of credit union folks, including examiners and regulators who think that credit unions can just operate as they did in the last century and all will be fine.
Design Intelligence: Shaping Reality, Virtual and Actual
By Guy Messick, AIA |Director of Design Intelligence March 1, 2019 The Design Intelligence Group was formed at IA over six years ago to meet the challenges of our rapidly evolving industry. By bridging tactical and strategic processes with innovative technologies we continue to fulfill our mission for our clients, whether locally or globally. The center point of these innovations is our use of Revit in the creation of virtual prototypes for all projects.
Never burn a bridge with former girlfriends - CUInsight
Never burn a bridge with former girlfriends. It can jump start a career. I stayed friendly with my high school girlfriend Maryanne who married John Unangst the President of Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union. John formed one of the first CUSOs in 1988. The CUSO provided mortgage services and data processing services to multiple credit unions. As a result of meeting John through Maryanne, I formed John’s CUSO.
Taking a breath at year end and peering over the cliff - CUInsight
This change thing is exhausting. In 2017 our capacity to adjust to change has been challenged. Every day we wake up to see what the Tweeter in Chief said in the middle of the night and who he offended. We wake to discover which TV or political icon acted inappropriately in his past. We hold our breath with every North Korean missile launch to see what terrifying threats are going to be tossed about by leaders with fingers on buttons.
Artificial Intelligence: The Ultimate Disrupter
We are at the dawn of driverless cars, and that means car ride services will soon replace many cars and their associated car loans. Lending services such as Rocket Mortgage, which says it can approve a mortgage loan in eight minutes, have forever changed consumer expectations on convenience and speed in the lending process. The rise of the importance of mobile platforms means any credit union that is behind that curve will lose members.
What credit union directors need to know about CUSOs - CUInsight
Whatever your credit union’s past experience with and impressions of CUSOs, credit union boards cannot afford to ignore the benefits CUSOs bring to credit unions today. Successfully using CUSOs requires change, and while change is difficult, it is essential to meet the challenges posed by today’s world. CUSOs help credit unions solve problems and leverage opportunities. CUSOs are essential competitive tools for credit unions.
The need for and the impact of CUSOs - CUInsight
There are numerous examples of companies that did not adjust to the changes in their industries that are no longer with us. Kodak, Border Books and Blockbuster come to mind. One disruptor has been so effective, their name is now used as a verb in describing the effect, getting “Uber-ed” referring to losing your market to a disruptor with little capital investment. In hindsight, the disruption to these business models was obvious yet companies did not act in time.
What should be disclosed to credit union members in mergers? - CUInsight
There has been a flurry of news articles and opinion pieces about what a credit union should disclose to its members when members are asked to vote on a merger of their credit union. It is a worthwhile question to ask but there are legitimate privacy interests of credit union management that we should be mindful of and respect. The key is to determine where the line is. If a Merger Information Disclosure was created, it might have the seven questions below.
Will your credit union be like Netflix? - CUInsight
Numerous companies that did not adjust to the changes in their industries are no longer with us. Kodak, Borders and Blockbuster come to mind. In hindsight, the disruption to their business model was obvious, yet they did not act in time. It is human nature to be in denial when dramatic change is required, but change is often required to survive. In contrast, Netflix changed from a DVD delivery model to an online streaming model and the company has flourished.
Looking to the Future: It's All About the Member
As they look to carve out future success and beat their competitors, credit unions must remember their purpose. Credit unions exist solely for the benefit of the members. It is a pure alignment of interest between the owners and users. The only purpose of the credit union is to serve the best interests of the member. For those who are entrusted to govern credit unions, they are charged with making decisions that are focused on that principle.
Save the Frog: Collaborating to Survive and Thrive
Most of us know the analogy of the frog in the warming water. As the water warms gradually, the frog becomes more uncomfortable but continues to survive and stay in the water, until one day the water reaches a boil and the frog dies. The trends were clear – the frog should have known that the heat would eventually be deadly – but it remained in the water, willfully ignorant of the adverse trends, or aware of the trends but delaying the decision to act.
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