“The year 2020 has been filled with words like uncertainty, instability, anxiety and unprecedented. Tuesday night’s election is no different. The outcome of the presidential and congressional elections will determine the future of banking policies and impact the economy, not just on a national level, but in ways that will affect some markets more than others.

From CRA reform to CFPB leadership, there are many issues at stake for financial institutions. The theme of the Trump presidency was deregulation. We can expect status quo if he is reelected and the Republicans remain in control of the Senate. Meanwhile, a change of hands over to Biden would lead us down a path of reforms and policy adjustments, especially if the Senate goes to the Democrats. But remember, no matter who wins, change takes time. The checks and balances built into our government – not to mention the political dysfunction – will temper lofty campaign trail promises.

Contributing to the uncertainty is the pandemic as it continues to rage across the United States with tens of thousands of new cases reported each day, forcing the economic crisis to remain front and center.

As we approach an era of uncertainty and tune in to Tuesday evening’s elections, I have one point of advice for credit unions: Don’t hold back, and work with the facts.

Advanced, predictive insights happen when science and technology intersect. With data science you have useful methods to leverage otherwise hidden facts in a way that will strengthen your business strategies. Over the past few months, credit unions have shown a growing interest in leveraging data science in two key areas: Delinquency and portfolio management.

Employing data science and advanced analytics down to the member level provides not only statistical analysis, but gives you insights into unknown unknowns – risks you didn’t know you didn’t know. Gaining access to insights on a higher level will change the mindset and strategy of your organization, putting you on the path to a higher level of performance.

This shift to an enterprise-wide advanced analytics strategy creates opportunities to make smarter decisions beyond risk management and recovery. From gaining insight into exactly how some economic factors would affect your market to engagement and growth, the use cases are endless…”