Why is Business Continuity Planning Important for Credit Unions?

Credit union business impact analysis ongoing operations

Let’s just start with the basics: credit union business continuity plans are important for credit unions. Talk to any disaster recovery expert and they’ll tell you as much. But if you’re not a disaster recovery expert, you may want to know why it’s important.

Business continuity planning foryour credit union is important for three major reasons. We’ll briefly exploreeach pillar of importance below.

Why Credit Union BCP Plans Matter

Three Reasons why Business Continuity Planning is Important for Credit Unions

We didn’t just decide to list three reasons because things sound good in threes. We just got lucky with this one. Each reason we list here is related to the other two reasons, and in fact, many dovetail into one another. So, without further ado, the list:

1.   NCUA Regulations

This is the most important reason to develop a stable and comprehensive business continuity plan: because you have to.

It’s not glamorous, but NCUA examiners and auditors will check for your business continuity plan. Initially, credit unions were a little behind the rest of the financial industry with respect to business continuity plans. As a result, the credit union industry began putting in rules and regulations requiring better planning.

Unless you’re prepared to look down the wrong end of an NCUA examiner’s notepad, you’ll need to develop a strong business continuity plan. If you don’t, then repeat visits and regulatory action may not be far away.

2.   Serving Your Members

The second reason why your credit union should develop and maintain good business continuity plans is because it benefits your members.

During disasters and emergencies, your credit union isn’t the only entity out there that goes into crisis mode. You members may also be struggling with disruptions to their daily lives. They’ll need continued access to their accounts and your credit union’s member services.

(What manner of calamity may befall your credit union that affects your members as well? THIS PIECE lists a few potential events that could impact both your credit union and its members.)

A good business continuity plan will allow you to keep your doors open even when things are going wrong. It may mean running in a limited capacity with reduced member services or running in offline mode, but the show goes on.

3.   Weathering the Storm

If it weren’t for the NCUA and your members, you might not need a business continuity plan. Your responsibility to those outside parties necessitates good business practices.

But even if you didn’t need a business continuity plan, you should have one. That’s because it will help your credit union weather whatever storms come your way (yes, pun intended). If you’re at all concerned about what you might do in a disaster scenario or during any setback that would hamper your ability to function, then a good business continuity plan can address that worry.

In order to continue running as a business, your credit union should planoperations and recovery strategies to get you back on your feet.

How to Begin Business Continuity Planning

Ongoing Operations has a few resources to help you develop, test, and refine your business continuity plan. We recommend checking out our BCP checklist here. You may also be interested in the following related content:

How To Select A Credit Union Business Continuity Solution

How Do I Prepare For An Audit of My DR/BCP Plan?

Afraid Your Credit Union Technology Team Won’t Survive A Disaster?

Want to learn more about the Business Continuity Planning solutions Ongoing Operations offers? Fill out the short form below and a member of our team will be in touch shortly!

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