The New York Credit Union Association’s 2019 Lending School concluded yesterday at the Association’s headquarters in Albany. The two-day session was led by popular instructor Brett Christensen, owner of CU Lending Advice.

Christensen guided the group through an array of lending topics, strategies and marketing initiatives that have been proven to increase quality loan opportunities, profitability and membership growth. Notably, Christensen encouraged the attendees to become more comfortable with taking calculated lending risks.

“Many credit unions are too conservative in lending,” said Christensen, who also encouraged attendees to focus more on the sales aspect of lending. “We grew up in our industry of being great at service, not great at sales. If credit unions want to maximize lending, it is important to have a good sales team and combine that with aggressive but smart underwriting.”

More than 40 credit union professionals from throughout the state attended the Lending School.

“Brett was very engaging throughout the session,” said Stan Bienkowski, loan officer at Parks Heritage FCU. “I learned that credit unions can be more comfortable lending at Community Development Entities with low yields.”

Tiffany Enright, loan officer at School Systems FCU, echoed Bienkowski’s observations: “Brett’s presentations were very engaging and informative,” she said. “He genuinely believes in the importance of targeting high-risk members. His entertaining style was both captivating and educational.”

Christensen is taking his message to credit union professionals in Western New York today and tomorrow for the Buffalo Lending School, which will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn Buffalo Airport in Cheektowaga.

For a full list of upcoming events, visit the Association’s events calendar.