Cues Podcast

Many mainstream credit unions have long thought that community development financial institution status wasn’t something they could or should consider. Our guest, Jamie Strayer, ICUDE, would beg to differ.Founder of CU Strategic Planning, Tacoma, Washington, Strayer says CDFI status is a great thing for CUs’ ROA, members and communities, as well as for U.S. taxpayers. Strayer knows a lot about it because she has helped CUs get $103 million in CDFI funding in the last 10 years.“That funding produced $5 billion in loans that the credit unions otherwise would not have done,” she explains. “High-yield lending with every penny covered by loan loss reserves drives ROA. “And this is where is gets really good,” she adds. “That ROA allows them to grow faster. They can accept more deposits while preserving their net worth. When they approve those loans, people tell their friends and family, ‘That credit union gave me a loan. You should go there.’ The organic growth occurs without spending more money on marketing. This