Through effective branch and ATM networking, Credit Unions can provide services to members across diverse geographic locations. The challenge remains to maintain this access at the same time as generating revenue and driving growth. In this article, we have talked about some simple rules on how you should be thinking about your branch network and where should the placements be to improve access, and how it can impact the performance of your Credit Union.

We have listed out certain factors of a branch and ATM networking that influence their performance

How do you drive Retail deposit Growth?

Credit Unions want to grow retail deposits and for this, they need a large and growing consumer base. What will help create a large and growing consumer base? For a large consumer base, you ought to create a consumer base that has a lot of products. This can also help in creating cross-selling opportunities between products.

1. Convenience drives checking acquisition- The first step is to have convenient branches and ATM networks as it drives more attraction and an increased number of checking accounts.
2. Checking accounts Drive Transaction Volumes – To have increased checking accounts, transaction costs can be kept low by providing deposit-taking ATMs at all sites.
3. Transactions drive cross-sell of other products- For increased cross-sell opportunities, tellers or universal bankers must be trained to identify these cross-sell opportunities.
4. Ownership of multiple products solidifies relationships – The more accounts for products the stickier the relationship.

We will now discuss, the three important aspects of a convenient branch placement and the market conditions which can influence the selection.

1. Markets, location, and sites - Success for credit Unions is defined by serving good markets at key locations and visible sites. Markets are the demand site of the equation - Are their people constituting a potential market who will drive the demand and require your services or capabilities? This should be the driving question while narrowing down on a potential market.
   
   Location is where you want a convenient connection and proximity to popular destinations, and the site is the physical placement of the branch at the location. The site should be visible and accessible.
   
2. Market Conditions- There are many ways to measure demands. Key factors to measure demand in a market include – Residential households and growth, Impact of commutation patterns, percent of households rented, housing income, level of competition relative to demand, current competitors' performance and growth, and business concentration. Additional considerations can include- Current brand awareness in the market, Current branch/ATM network site, Consumer segment targets, Business industry targets, Product specialization, and the Product, people, process factor.
   
   When it comes to determining market conditions, here are some important considerations you should partake-

• Locations make a big difference. For example- A consumer wants to travel a shorter distance for products he needs regularly, but he is willing to travel a long distance for automobile shopping because he does that only once in a while. The greater the value of the location, the greater will be the attraction.
• Branch locations should meet the right kind of retail draws. The location should be close to retailers. For example- The best kind of alignment is with grocer-anchored centers.
• Different sites at the same location will deliver various levels of visibility and accessibility. Your site should be easy to see and access.
• Your choice of location and site impact performance. And the performance of sales can be determined through this formula

• Adjusted fair share of demand*Location/site rating = Sales/Deposit Capture

The further you move towards a lower-rated location, the smaller is the deposit base and you will lose a portion of sales volume.

CONCLUSION

Branch real estate decisions are long term commitments. To excel at retail branching, you need alignment between markets, locations, and sites. You want good markets, with high demand, with a visible and accessible site. Non-alignment will impact sales performance. A good efficiency ratio will help you give back more to the members. It is important to be patient and persistent with your branch networking strategies.