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The Stellar Insights Blog

Newsletters, Articles, Case Studies, and More!

Marketing Solutions for Financial Institutions


The Stellar Insights Blog was created to help educate banks and credit unions on marketing solutions that drive results. We primarily focus on Member Retention & Acquisition, Direct Auto Loan Refinancing, and Overdraft Protection.

Home Equity/HELOC Case Study

Home Equity/HELOC Case Study

Background This credit union (CU) is located in the Northeast and has an asset size of roughly $900M with 70,000+ members. The CU has a community charter footprint with a potential membership of several million households. Stellar Home Equity & HELOC Proposal Our...

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Has the Auto–Refi Market Declined?

Has the Auto–Refi Market Declined?

Interest Rates Have Increased We've all noticed that interest rates have risen over the past several months. The Fed isn’t done with rate increases, and this limits the number of prospects that qualify to refinance their vehicles. In some markets, available prospects...

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Loan Volume Down? Not for us!

Loan Volume Down? Not for us!

Rate Increases Got Your Loan Volume Down? As interest rates increase and the mortgage market slows, many financial institutions are seeing a decrease in loan volume.  Our Stellar Auto Loan Recapture Program continues to perform extremely well for our clients. Since...

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Member Retention

Member Retention

Credit Union Members are Vulnerable A comprehensive growth strategy requires both an offensive and defensive approach. Member retention is essential to the financial growth and success of any credit union. Obtaining new members requires a lot of time, money, and...

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A Missed-Understood Opportunity

A Missed-Understood Opportunity

Throughout our 20+ years in business we consistently hear the question, “What’s New?” from our clients and potential prospects. For many years there really wasn’t much that I would categorize as “New”. The growth of neobanks and the Covid-19 pandemic have in our...

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First SALcares Campaign with OECU

First SALcares Campaign with OECU

Lending a Helping Hand With OECU Our first SALcares campaign has launched with Oklahoma Educators Credit Union (OECU).  The SALcares program is Stellar’s effort to support local nonprofit organizations our clients serve. OECU selected six charities/nonprofit...

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Introducing SALcares

Introducing SALcares

Introduction Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve all seen numerous restaurants, retail stores, and other small and large businesses suffer financially or ultimately close. However, it has almost gone unnoticed that nonprofit organizations are really...

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Auto Loan Recapture Best Practices

Auto Loan Recapture Best Practices

We have all seen the studies. Most consumers are living from paycheck to paycheck. Since the Great Recession, the median income has fallen by 13% from 2004 levels, while expenditures have increased by nearly 14%. In another recent study, it was determined that nearly...

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The Value of a Direct Auto Loan

The Value of a Direct Auto Loan

Overview Most institutions understand the need to grow organically and provide a stable membership base. Members that use a credit union as their Primary Financial Institution (PFI) generate dependable assets and deposits for planned future growth. Typically, the more...

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The Indirect Auto Loan Opportunity

The Indirect Auto Loan Opportunity

Credit Unions have been helping members finance vehicles since they were first established. Over many decades CUs have grown their indirect auto loan portfolio with aggressive rates and technological upgrades through dealership financing relationships. Unfortunately,...

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The Indirect Dilemma

The Indirect Dilemma

Indirect Auto Loans Have Created a Direct Dilemma   The indirect auto loan source has historically been a dilemma for bankers of financial institutions. The good news is that it provides a relatively steady source of loans. They increase the assets of an institution...

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How to Serve the “Underserved”

How to Serve the “Underserved”

Most credit unions started “life” as a SEG based institution. Many were designed to meet the banking needs specific businesses employees by financing loans, open savings accounts, and even transactional accounts through payroll deductions. 80% of all auto loans are...

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A Special Message Regarding COVID-19

A Special Message Regarding COVID-19

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDING PARTNER Dear Colleague, The COVID-19 Virus is disrupting many of the services that were part of “business as usual.” Dealerships are reporting a significant downturn in sales. Indirect loans are reaching new lows. Consumers are...

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How to Maximize Your Community Charter

How to Maximize Your Community Charter

Targeting New Members Most credit unions that have successfully gained charter approval from the NCUA have done so by providing banking to “help serve the underserved” in a specific geographic area. The Community Charter effectively makes the neighbors of your current...

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Is Your Website ADA Compliant?

Is Your Website ADA Compliant?

In the 4th quarter of 2016, an alarming number of financial institutions started to receive legal demand letters for non-compliance with the WCAG 2.0 (Level AA) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The W3C set the standards...

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Auto Loan Recapture Best Practices

Auto Loan Recapture Best Practices

We have all seen the studies. Most consumers are living from paycheck to paycheck. Since the Great Recession, median income has fallen by 13% from 2004 levels, while expenditures have increased by nearly 14%. 1 In another recent study, it was determined that almost...

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