For several years, Xtend, Inc., the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based multi-owned cooperative CUSO, and CUSO Financial Services. LLP, the San Diego, California-based investment CUSO had been discussing what a collaboration between their two companies could mean for the members of the one hundred and sixty-five (165) credit unions that Xtend serves.  Those discussions culminated in a strategic marketing agreement between the two firms designed to bring investment services to members of Xtend’s mid-market customer-owners.

Xtend President Scott Collins called the new partnership “a huge opportunity for our customer-owners” during a recent web conference that introduced CUSO Financial Services to a group of more than sixty (60) credit unions.  “Many mid-market credit unions have been unable to call member investment services a core competency compared to their larger industry peers.  For many it was simply a lack of investable assets or resource limitations.  Others had dabbled with in-house or partnered programs that had moderate or little success.  But we remained convinced that offering this service to members would be a must-have for credit unions to stay relevant in tomorrow’s marketplace.”

Collins also noted that their data processing CUSO partner – CU*Answers, Inc. – was also helping drive this new initiative through integration with their CU*BASE^® core application suite.  “We believe this brings a combination of core software, member awareness machinery and professional investment brokers to the mid-market in a way that it has not been done before,” said Collins. “It will be fun to watch these programs gain traction with members.”