In 2017 The Utah Credit Union Association was the first state league to offer CUCollaborate’s web-based FOM evaluation tool, Expand CU, to its member credit unions.

The partnership provides the Association’s staff and its member credit unions with access to the innovative software, first launched in February 2017. It’s available to both leagues and credit unions through CUCollaborate’s website: www.cucollaborate.com.

Since new NCUA FOM rules went into effect on February 6, 2017, more credit unions are modifying their FOMs, but many do not understand the impact that the new rules have on their credit union and the potential opportunities available to them. CUCollaborate’s proprietary software enables users to visualize, experiment, and test numerous plans to identify the best path toward growing their field of membership—all within a few clicks. The software allows users to:

• See if a selection would be approved by the NCUA as a community charter, underserved area, or rural area;
• Search for employers by their characteristics, such as employer industry, number of employees, proximity to credit union branches, and whether the employer is already a Select Employer Group (SEG) of another credit union;
• Review other credit unions’ FOMs to support a user’s own FOM amendments, to conduct competitive analysis, or to identify merger opportunities;
• Pinpoint ideal locations for new branches by quickly considering the FOMs of other credit unions, consumer demographics, competitive financial institutions, and more; and
• Enjoy access to research tools that draw on CUCollaborate’s proprietary database and data provided by the NCUA, FDIC, Census Bureau, CDFI, and CFPB.

CUCollaborate also provides support and training for league and credit union staffs, including one-on-one calls with credit unions to help identify the best opportunities available to them.