The end of the year is an ideal time to reflect on the challenges and opportunities credit unions faced in 2020 and to identify the takeaways for 2021. 

CUNA Councils has compiled a vital library of resources on many of these topics, publishing 30 white papers in 2020. 

"The Councils' 2020 white paper program addressed the current challenges related to the pandemic, acknowledging the 'here and now' alongside future strategic considerations," says Natalie Sherry, CUNA Councils director of membership and member resources. 

Catch up on some of the year’s most important topics and trends as you head into the New Year: 

1. Leading Agile Adoption from the C-Suite. As credit unions have come to resemble fintechs in member service delivery and operations, a streamlined means of improving products, systems, and processes can offer a strong competitive advantage. Contributors from the CEO Council explain how executives can support structural change and embrace their roles as” lead learners.” 
2. Changing the Risk Conversation. Evaluating risk is part of every conversation about operations, strategy, marketplace changes, and more. Compliance & Risk Council leaders discuss the need to adopt an enterprise risk management (ERM) culture and begin the process of culture change.
3. Credit Risk in the Current Economic Environment. What’s a finance leader to do when facing a second tail risk or “black swan” economic event within two decades? Finance Council contributors highlight credit risk indicators to monitor.
4. Optimizing Investments in Learning: Applications and Metrics. Training leaders from the HR & Organizational Development Council examine how learning opportunities align with employee career aspirations and the need to develop long-term leadership capabilities.
5. Forecasting Credit Quality Trends in Uncertain Times. The pandemic has led credit union lending executives to examine portfolio performance and consider reshuffling priorities. Lending Council contributors share how they executed this change in strategy.
6. Everything Digital: How Tech Stacks Are Changing Marketing Operations. Specialized technologies are a growing part of the marketing channel and operations mix. Leaders from the Marketing & Business Development Council describe the modern marketing “tech stack.”
7. Designing the Contact Center of the Future. Experts predict credit unions will use contact centers more holistically in a variety of delivery channels. Operations & Member Experience Council contributors identify opportunities for providing high-quality member experiences.
8. The Data Masterplan: Developing an Enterprise Data Strategy. Data concerns in many credit unions continue to mount despite investments in data management. Leaders from the Technology Council make the case for data strategy development and share lessons learned.

View the full list of 2020 white papers from CUNA Councils, or explore related virtual roundtables.

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