Uncertain Times? Not really!

The first month of the year seems to be doom and gloom...stock market on a tumble, rates falling, high deliquency, mortgage foreclosures, sputtering economy. Does that make for uncertain times? It shouldn't! Now is the time to push even harder with your bold vision. If you have sound policies and a strong balance sheet, don't retreat because of the economy. FORUM Credit Union has always been focused on not letting the economy be a major factor in our performance. We know that during these times the best opportunities to grow, expand our delivery systems and develop new methods to serve our members present themselves. That is why you will see our efforts continue with initiatives such as ZOPA, text banking and several other new products. The easist strategy is to cut products or services that could be impacted by the economic woes. We feel the better strategy is to work very hard at making adjustments to products that could be problematic, such as home equity loans or mortgage loans. Our members still need these services in a down economy, now is not the time to pull back. This is the time when pricing on both sides of the balance sheet become critical and credit union pricing committees become very important. Uncertain times? Only if you take your eye off of doing what is best for the member as a whole which is providing a financially stable cooperative that meets their needs.