Know Your Numbers: 4 Questions You Should Answer About Your Lending Experience
Interest rates may go up and interest rates may go down, but a laser focus on your member experience is essential, regardless of what interest rates do. Just about every credit union has easy access to the data needed to answer the following 4 key questions about the lending experience:
- Are we attracting enough of the right types of lending opportunities? In other words, is our appetite for credit risk aligned with our marketing efforts? Quality applications from identified target markets outweigh volume
- From the consumer’s perspective, how long does it take before they get a decision? Auto-decisioning is not being fully utilized in the industry. Remember auto-decisioning is not just saying yes. Often, credit unions that auto-decline actually fund more of the loans that they approve because they have more time to devote to the loans they want to make
- What is our look-to-book by branch and digital delivery channels? It is not uncommon to see that the digital delivery channel is not truly “owned” in the credit union. Service level agreements and processes are not clear
- What are our funding rates for applications taken outside of normal business hours? Credit unions that study this metric find huge opportunity to increase funding. The digital world increases expectations exponentially. Waiting to get a decision on Monday for a loan application submitted on Saturday will not cut it
The questions above simply scratch the surface. Credit unions have access to high-quality data. Credit unions that turn this data into easily digestible, actionable business intelligence enjoy higher funding ratios. Equally important, their member experience is truly rewarding.
You can’t control interest rates but you can control your member’s experience. Maintaining a laser focus on that experience is a key to success in every rate environment.
