BALANCE
VS. BANKRUPTCY
Do
your members know where to turn for help when faced with
financial difficulties? Or do they call a bankruptcy attorney
at the first sign of hard times?
BALANCE
is instrumental in helping credit unions reduce losses,
prevent bankruptcies and reach members headed for problems
before they actually fall delinquent. And because BALANCE
includes financial fitness components geared toward helping
all of your members achieve their financial goals, the program
is not only a partnership with your loss prevention staff
but also a membership enhancement.
Our
monthly status reports mean you'll never lose track
of a referral-your collectors can react to activity immediately,
before a bankruptcy attorney gets involved.
MARKETING
ASSISTANCE THAT WORKS
So
your members know how to access us before crisis strikes,
our marketing team will work with yours to promote the BALANCE
partnership to your members. We can provide newsletter articles,
designs for statement inserts and brochures, posters for branches,
sample letters for targeting mailings and a link to our member
site, www.balancepro.net.
MAKE
THE MOST OF YOUR STAFF
Providing a reputable source for the resolution of your members’
financial issues can help improve your staff productivity.
Lenders often find themselves bogged down in explaining the
intricacies of credit reports and credit scoring, collectors
may get involved in explaining money management principles
and member service representatives spend time working with
members who struggle with returned checks, lack of credit
worthiness and general challenges with financial management.
Your staff could refer many of these issues to BALANCE, freeing
their time to make loans, collect accounts, and cross-sell
credit union products and services, thus meeting their goals
and the goals of the credit union.
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PROGRAMS
THAT STRENGTHEN MEMBERSHIP
Helping
members avoid bankruptcy is just one of the many
services BALANCE offers credit unions.
We
build members into better future credit risks by providing
the very best money management education.
Our
member website, www.balancepro.net,
(available in English and Spanish) provides resources and
information that your members will use on a regular basis.
Included is a full range of financial calculators, an extensive
library of consumer education articles, quarterly newsletters,
and online issues of Home and Family Finance magazine –
all designed to keep your members on track and continue them
on the path to financial wellness.
When
you provide
your members with BALANCE financial counseling and education,
you are truly a full service credit union – giving you
the competitive edge when marketing to Select Employee Groups
for future membership.
LONG-TERM
RESULTS SURVEY
How
do we know that BALANCE is a program that will greatly benefit
your credit union? Because empirical data supports our claims.
We
surveyed 1000 credit union members counseled by BALANCE 18
to 36 months prior to the survey date.
We
received a 12% response overall, 17% for clients using a DMP,
10% for clients who had been counseled only.
We
asked in the survey what, if any, significant financial changes
have taken place since the time of the counseling session.
Of
the members who began a DMP:
- 14%
purchased or refinanced a home
- 18%
purchased, refinanced or leased an automobile
- 72%
significantly reduced their debt
- 40%
began or increased a savings or investment plan
Of
the members who used the service only for counseling and education:
- 40%
purchased or refinanced a home
- 21%
purchased, refinanced or leased an automobile
- 49%
significantly reduced their debt
- 40%
began or increased a savings or investment plan
BALANCE
is the only financial counseling service that maintains a
database of the products and services offered by partnering
credit unions. When your member is ready to take steps toward
reaching his financial goals, we refer him back to your credit
union for the product or service he needs.
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