A Note from Chris
As we approach the end of 2023, we would like to express our deepest gratitude and heartfelt appreciation to each and every one of you involved in this incredible credit union movement. Your tireless efforts and unwavering commitment to the credit union philosophy has had a significant and positive impact on the lives of so many members. We hope this festive season brings you, and your family, moments filled with joy, laughter, and togetherness. May this time also afford you the opportunity for rest and rejuvenation, allowing you to enter the new year with a refreshed sense of energy and enthusiasm. From all of us at Corporate Central, we extend our warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with success, happiness, and good health.
Sincerely,
Chris Felton
President/CEO
Did You Know?
Corporate Central is embracing change; shifting newsletter schedule in 2024.
As we continuously strive to enhance our communication strategy, we are excited to share a shift in our newsletter schedule. Starting January 2024, we will be transitioning from a monthly newsletter to a quarterly newsletter format. Additionally, InterLutions and QuantyPhi will branch off to publish their own newsletters on a quarterly basis. This decision was made after careful consideration and feedback from our valued readers like you. We believe this change will allow us to deliver even more impactful and enriching content, while ensuring that each edition is filled with the high-quality information you have come to expect from us. Our commitment to providing you with valuable insights, updates, and engaging content remains unwavering. However, we believe that consolidating our efforts into a quarterly release from each organization will allow us to delve deeper into topics and present you with well-curated content that truly adds value to your experience.
Our new quarterly release schedule will be as follows:
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January, April, July, October – Corporate Central – The Corporate Connection
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February, May, August, November – InterLutions – TBD
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March, June, September, December – QuantyPhi – The QuantyPhi Quarterly
If you receive this email, you will automatically receive each of these quarterly newsletters. You always have the option to unsubscribe if you wish. If you would like to receive other communications from InterLutions or QuantyPhi, please be sure to subscribe below.
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Thank you for being part of our community, and here's to a future filled with enriching content and meaningful connections!
Employee Benefit Resources
Introducing a new strategy for employee health plans in 2024.
Many employer health plans experienced the highest rate increase in over a decade. Inflation, prescription drugs, and higher labor costs are three primary drivers in the rising rate of medical insurance premiums. Low unemployment numbers make it challenging for employers to pass along high increases to their employees. These market factors all pose risks to the credit union movement that is known for delivering richer benefits than our competitors.
How can credit unions deliver both quality and affordable employee benefits in 2024 and beyond?
Join the InterLutions team on Tuesday, January 23 to explore meaningful strategies that increase employee recruitment, retention, and engagement. In this webinar, we will dive into the primary challenges we are facing as an industry, examine new options available to credit unions, and highlight case studies that have proven to lower medical insurance costs. The webinar is complimentary for credit union professionals.
Here's what to expect from our discussion:
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Leveraging claims data to decrease pharmacy utilization expenses with minimal employee disruption
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Developing a long-term Employee Benefits Strategy focused on growth, technology, and network optimization
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Mitigating high-cost claims risk through cost containment tools and proactive management strategies
Register Today
We need to change the trajectory of medical insurance costs and chart a new path, starting now. Our employees are the most important asset to the credit union movement, and they deserve better!
Financial Services Consulting
Pay close attention to the yield curve.
The bond market turned in its best monthly performance since 2008 last month. The economic releases showed inflation trending closer to the Fed’s targets while consumers continued to spend, but at a slower pace. Analysts spoke of a “Goldilocks” scenario opening the door for the Fed to end their quantitative tightening policy before the economy is pushed into recession.
The bond rally pushed Treasury yields 33 basis points lower in the 1-year maturity, 45 basis points in the 2-year, while maturities 5-years and out shed about 65 basis points for the month. The Fed fund futures market pricing implied the Fed is done raising rates and expects them to cut rates in May 2024. The January 2025 settlement fell to 4.00% indicating a probability of five rate cuts by that time. The forward yield curve echoed that sentiment projecting one-month Treasuries will fall 125 basis points in the next 12 months. It implies a 100-basis point fall in the 1-year rate, 64 basis points in the 2-year, 15 basis points in the 5-year, and 4 basis points for the 10-to-30-year sector.
Despite the growing confidence of market sentiment that the Fed will pivot into a very accommodative policy in the first half of 2024, that interest rate path is far from certain. Keep liquidity front and center as any hiccups will lead to the “higher for longer” rate path embraced in recent months. This path could mean liquidity gets worse before it gets better. Also pay close attention to the yield curve going forward. The inverted yield curve we currently have dictates careful navigation which needs to be guided by your balance sheet composition. If the projected rate path plays out, the yield curve will flatten significantly. Looking at the balance sheet using parallel rate shifts will not properly measure the impact on earnings or NEV. On the investment front, a flatter yield curve will affect the risk/reward profiles of varying maturities and should be examined before selecting any additions to the portfolio.
If you need some help navigating these waters let us know. We’re here for you.
Contact Us
QuantyPhi wrapped up its Investment 101 webinar series in November. The eight-part series covered topics ranging from product overviews, basic portfolio strategies, and bond analytics, culminating with a review of the Balance Sheet optimization process. If you missed any of the sessions or would like to dive deeper into any of the topics, contact us. We can answer any questions and provide replays for you or your staff.
We are currently planning 2024 webinar topics. Please let us know if there are any specific subjects you would like to see covered. Our goal is to provide what you want most so your input is appreciated.
Technology Solutions
When was your last IT audit?
Since your last IT audit, have you addressed all the findings and issues that were flagged? Do you have any lingering Documents of Resolution (DORs)? Think|Stack can help. Our team of seasoned credit union IT professionals are here to help you tackle your most pressing IT issues. As a bonus, we are offering our strategic IT Planning Services when you purchase a discounted block of hours for 2024. You don’t have to decide the projects now. Simply get your Technology Roadmap done now to help with 2024 planning, and you can work with our team to prioritize your most important projects later. If it helps with budgeting, you can pay half with your 2023 budget, half with 2024 when the work is completed.
What’s included in your free 2024 technology roadmap session?
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Top level review and documentation of your current state: network, cybersecurity stance, cloud readiness, and NCUA compliance.
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Creation of a three-year technology roadmap prioritizing immediate threats/opportunities, and highlighting areas for long-term investment.
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Collaborative creation of a 2024 IT budget planner that combines your business objectives, available resources, and your technology roadmap to create an actionable plan you can share internally and use as a guide in the year ahead.
Advisory Services:
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Disaster recovery planning: creating, testing, and training key staff
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Creating alignment: getting your board, C-suite, and IT staff on the same page
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Silo busting IT: how to create a well-oiled machine when it comes to IT
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Budget planning: the three IT budgets you need for 2024 (business support; IT excellence; innovation)
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VCISO
Strategic Projects:
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Application review – what are you using, are you using the apps full potential, how much overlap do you have
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Resource review – aligning needs, projects, support, maintenance, with technical resources
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Organizational chart review and creation to deal with modern needs of IT, cyber risk, strategy
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Cyber policy review and update
We are here to help! Give us a call at (410) 560-5601 and let's have a conversation about your end-of-year IT goals and how we can help your credit union grow.
What’s Trending?
Bulk emails: new requirements for your credit union.
Your credit union is a bulk email sender. Consider all the types of emails that are sent from your credit union directly, or on behalf of your credit union including: e-statement notifications, member marketing, password reset, multi-factor authentication, rate change notifications, member-defined alerts, and many more. Even credit unions with modest active member counts can generate ten thousand emails in a month, if not more.
All these emails require active management of your email lists by your team to ensure these messages are compliant with ever-changing internet requirements, or you may soon find that email providers such as Google, Microsoft, and others may choose to actively block your ability to send any emails to recipients on their platforms, and that could be devastating to your business.
What do you need to know?
Read the Article
Our Community
Corporate Central continues to support Christmas with the Vets.
Christmas with the Vets was started by Jeff “Doc” Dentice, a Vietnam veteran, in 1988. The event is designed to provide holiday cheer to the hospitalized veterans at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center and is made possible through several fundraising efforts. Corporate Central has been a proud supporter of this event since 2016 and each year strives to do more!
This year, in addition to monetary donations by staff used to purchase items like toiletries and clothing, Corporate Central was honored to provide Doc with 350 filled Christmas stockings (a tradition that began 5 years ago) to be handed out to the veterans at the Zoblocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee on Christmas Eve. This includes those staying in the hospital as well as those residing in the dormitories on the VA grounds.
If you would like to contribute to Christmas with the Vets, donations are being accepted through December 6. Please consider shopping the registry on Amazon or by making a donation through Paypal or Venmo.
Paypal: @christmaswiththevets
Venmo: @ChristmasWith_Vets
Make a Donation
Credit Unions Connect
Stories that exemplify the movement
Improving lives through education, financial stability, and health.
The Glacier Hills Credit Union team is proud to share that they raised $5,635 for United Way of Washington County this year with the help of their community. United Way of Washington County has a mission of improving lives and community conditions in measurable and lasting ways and these funds will help to fulfill this mission.
Supporting local veterans.
Team members from Indiana Members Credit Union spent Giving Tuesday helping veterans shop for food and clothing and donated 300 pounds of food and 24 homeless care kits to Helping Veterans and Families. This organization provides housing and re-integration services for homeless veterans and programs to prevent at-risk veterans from becoming homeless.
Read More Credit Union Stories
What’s New and Who’s Who
Stephanie Schmidt has achieved her Certified Contact Center Manager (CCCM) certification.
We are proud to share that Stephanie Schmidt, AAP, CCUE, CUDE, CWCUL, CCCM, Assistant Vice President Member Services, has earned the prestigious Certified Contact Center Manager (CCCM) certification from BenchmarkPortal. The CCCM certification is a recognition of excellence in the contact center management field. Achieving this certification is a testament to Stephanie’s dedication to the highest standards of professionalism and expertise in the credit union industry. This accomplishment not only reflects positively on Stephanie but also underscores Corporate Central’s commitment to fostering a culture of continuous learning and development among employees. The CCCM certification signifies Stephanie’s expertise in various areas of contact center management, including but not limited to workforce management, quality assurance, member experience, and leadership. She has proven her ability to lead and manage a contact center effectively, ensuring that Corporate Central’s members receive exceptional service and support. Way to go, Stephanie!
Read the Press Release
Corporate Central welcomes Mary Slottke as a Business Development Executive.
Corporate Central is pleased to announce and welcome Mary Slottke as a Business Development Executive. In this role, Mary proactively evaluates the financial climate of credit unions, identifies their needs, and positions Corporate Central solutions to meet those needs. She markets the organization’s financial products and services, advises and schedules training, educational, and informational opportunities for credit unions, and assists leadership in the development of sales objectives, marketing strategies, and business plans. Mary graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. She spent 30 years at Fiserv, Inc. in various management, service, and sales roles. Most recently she worked for Innovation Refunds as a Credit Union Strategic Partner Executive. Mary, and her husband, moved from Michigan to Florida to escape the cold about 22 years ago and have taken advantage of the warm weather climate. Outside of work, Mary loves spending time outdoors swimming, hiking, biking, and golfing. She entertains at their home often, including a lot of family and friends from "up north,” so it is a good thing she enjoys cooking. She loves to travel, especially short trips to live music events. She also enjoys reading or watching a good movie when she has some downtime. Welcome to the team, Mary!
Read the Press Release
Read more about Corporate Central's team.