Case Study: A treasure map for loan officers
In this case study, we demonstrate how Golden 1 Credit Union, the 7th largest credit union in the U.S.:
- Utilized Market Intelligence to scale its home loan production team.
- Streamlined recruitment in the Bay Area and Southern California
- Improved LMI mission alignment, and empowered managers as strategic coaches.
- Achieved a 50% increase in team productivity by cutting research time from hours to minutes.
How Golden 1 Credit Union is ditching manual processes to achieve efficiency and growth
About Golden 1 Credit Union
Golden 1 Credit Union is the 7th largest credit union in the United States and the 2nd largest in California. With a legacy spanning over 90 years, the institution serves 1.2 million members across a network of 62 branches, with approximately $21.1 billion in total assets.
As a designated low-to-moderate income (LMI) provider, Golden 1 is committed to making credit available to underserved communities while maintaining a competitive edge in one of the most volatile real estate markets in the world.
The Challenge: Scaling a Modern Production Team
Jonathan Engler, Director of Home Loans, manages a high-output production team of approximately 85, including 7 managers and over 70 loan originators.
While Golden 1 has a dominant presence in Sacramento and the Central Valley, its primary growth strategy over the last several years has focused on expanding into the Bay Area and Southern California. To succeed in these markets, Engler needed a way to move beyond "old school" word-of-mouth recruiting and manual realtor research.
From Clunky to Clear
Before fully adopting the current solution, Golden 1 had experience with other vendors that provide data intelligence. But he noted that he found the UX and UI on other platforms disjointed and complicated, costing time and causing headaches. For Engler, the transition was driven by a need for a tool that his managers would actually want to use.
This shift from a clunky interface to an intuitive flow allowed the platform to move from a back-office research tool to a daily asset for Engler and his managers, ensuring that data stayed at the center of every strategic decision.
1. Recruitment: Strategic Expansion into SoCal and the Bay Area
Expanding into new territories like Southern California requires hiring "self-sourced" loan officers who already have deep local roots. However, assessing talent in new markets is historically difficult.
Beyond the "Social Media Mirage": Before using Market Intelligence by Cotality™, Engler found that many candidates appeared successful online or during interviews but lacked the funding volume to back it up. With Market Intelligence, he could easily search loan officers and analyze their loan history, including volume, product mix, geographic location, and more, to help determine how their experience aligns with Golden1’s specific needs.
Engler spoke candidly about the manual processes that go into hiring. He acknowledged that the “old school” way of calling around to try to determine a LO’s success wasn't always fruitful.
Risk-Mitigation: Because California law prohibits inquiries into salary history, Golden 1 uses Market Intelligence to analyze objective loan production data. Engler explained that having access to transparent market data at his fingertips allows for the design of competitive, performance-based compensation structures that align with industry standards.
Mission Fit: In addition, Golden 1 uses Market Intelligence to analyze a candidate’s experience in LMI and majority-minority census tracts, to help ensure that expansion aligns with the credit union’s charter.
2. Coaching: Driving "Share of Wallet"
Golden 1 treats data as a leadership tool. Engler and his managers use Market Intelligence as a high-value coaching mechanism.
Strategic Partnership Reviews: Managers utilize quarterly market insights to identify growth opportunities between LOs and their real estate partners. “By reviewing overall market activity, they can help an originator identify where a partnership might have untapped potential, turning the manager into a value-add growth partner,” Engler explains.
Community Impact Mapping: Managers help LOs identify market activity across the 62-branch footprint to help ensure the credit union is lending in the same communities where it takes deposits.
Replicating What Works: Sitting down with LOs and identifying successful partnership strategies allows Engler’s team to scale the sales process and lean into what works. Instead of hoping they land deals, LOs are empowered to build repeatable sales strategies with the right data.
3. Real Estate Partners: Engaging with Right Market Professionals
Identifying the Right Professionals: Identifying the right professional partners is the engine of Golden 1’s growth. Market Intelligence provides a "treasure map" of agents who are actively closing the types of loans that Golden 1 wants to fund.
Strategic Alignment: This data-driven approach ensures that LOs in the Bay Area and SoCal are connecting with high-volume partners who can help Golden 1 meet its aggressive expansion goals.
Engler emphasizes the need to align with the charter. "If we’re taking in deposits in Fresno, but we’re only doing loans in San Francisco, that doesn’t jive well with the charter,” Engler says. “We use these insights to identify activity within our specific branch footprint. It gives my originators a treasure map: 'There are 20 houses for sale in this LMI tract—get out there and serve that community.'"
The ROI: A New Standard for Productivity
By replacing manual research and anecdotal evidence with objective market data, Golden 1 has transformed its operational efficiency:
The Results
Since adopting this data-driven approach, Jonathan Engler estimates that team productivity has increased by approximately 50%. While he attributes this to a broader focus on "digital leadership," he cites Market Intelligence as a foundational tool in that evolution.
