Our approach is customized and collaborative, in which we bring to bear our understanding of the unique context and challenges of credit unions and credit union service organizations and their members. We are committed to helping build the capabilities they need to succeed in the long term.
We work with credit unions and credit union service organizations (CUSOs) to enhance performance, drive sustainable change, and help navigate the constantly evolving environment.
How we can help
Strategy
Independent review of the organization’s strategic positioning, quantification of the sources of competitive advantage, definition of renewed aspiration, identification of key gaps and relevant trends, and structuring of tangible initiatives to capture the opportunities and meet the aspiration.
Productivity transformation
Credit union–wide programs focused on dramatically improving performance, including revenue growth, cost reduction, end-to-end process improvement, and development of a scalable operating model for growth. Typical programs have improved efficiency ratio by seven to 12 percentage points while accelerating growth, improving customer experience, and building employee capabilities.
Diligence and M&A integration
M&A readiness and post-merger management across dimensions, including strategy, synergistic value capture, operating model, culture, organizational health, and overall planning.
Digital
In-depth assessment, prioritization, build out, and adoption drive of the organization’s digital capabilities, including evaluation of current capabilities against peers, development of the new digital capabilities road map, and a build-out of new capabilities co-led by McKinsey’s product managers, technical architects, software developers, and customer experience strategists in an agile format with client teams.
Retail and small- and medium-size enterprise growth
Accelerated agile war rooms approach to driving revenue growth, along with a culture change in sales and marketing, focused on prospecting growth and increased conversion powered by advanced analytics and digital marketing.
AI, gen AI and core tech
Development of an end-to-end technology-modernization strategy, which includes options and trade-offs for the core banking systems, development of target-state IT architecture, exploration of opportunities for the application of AI and gen AI, cloud strategy and migration paths, data governance, and enterprise-wide agile operating models.
Examples of our work
Promoting productivity transformation and organizational health
Supported a holistic end-to-end transformation, more than doubling net income in a year while boosting organizational health to top quartile.
Accelerating credit card penetration
Drove a double-digit percentage point increase in credit card sales focused on digital channels, redesigning the card product and value proposition, standing up a marketing war room to accelerate offers, and leaning into AI optimization for growth.
Supporting merger, diligence, and integration
Orchestrated pre-merger diligence and post-merger integration, including value capture and overall planning, resulting in a substantial improvement of financial performance, customer experience, and organizational health.
Gen AI for CX and efficiency improvement
Performed gen AI–enabled analytics on member calls to understand granular root causes and automation opportunities, and identified significant effectiveness, member experience, and efficiency opportunities.
Modernizing the core
Supported the core modernization effort end to end, spanning core banking selection, target state architecture design, product solution design, test planning, dress rehearsal, and the overall minute-by-minute plan and command center support covering the cutover weekend.
Establishing partnerships for strategy setting and road mapping
Crafted a multiyear strategy, including defining the aspiration, identifying gaps and building key initiatives, and embedding an execution mindset to capture the identified opportunity.
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Featured Report
Article
Six imperatives for credit unions to secure their future
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Credit union members are aging, and young people tend to see these institutions less favorably than their elders do. Here are six strategies for bringing in younger members to weather the years ahead.
Featured experts
Atanas Stoyanov
PartnerMiami
Serves financial institutions globally on strategy, productivity improvement, and digital and analytics transformations
Peter Noteboom
Senior PartnerSeattle
Guides financial services institutions in designing and executing high-impact strategies to maximize performance, helping firms...
Pradip Patiath
Senior PartnerMiami
Advises financial institutions on transforming their performance and achieving superior growth with digital and analytics
Kumar Kanagasabai
PartnerNew York
Helps financial institutions use digital, agile ways of working, and technology along with data and analytics to improve performance...
Marukel Nunez Maxwell
Senior PartnerNew York
Helps a diverse set of global institutions on a range of topics including strategy, revenue growth, and performance improvement...
Related capabilities
Industries Service Line
Retail & Small Business Banking
We advise retail banks on issues ranging from strategic planning to performance improvements and from operational and technological streamlining to the management of risk and regulatory compliance.
McKinsey Transformation
McKinsey Transformation powers comprehensive, rapid, and enduring organizational change.
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