The $250 million Glendale Area Schools Federal Credit Union bowed to NCUA pressure Monday and discontinued what the regulator deemed an offending safety and soundness ad that put competitors in a negative light.
The suburban Los Angeles CU relied on Bauer Financial Ratings reprinted from Bankrate.Com for an ad posted on the CU's The Insider newsletter appearing on its Web site the last several weeks.
"We took a lot of heat on this from NCUA and decided to go ahead and remove the message but we do have other battles to fight," declared Stuart Perlitsh, the president/CEO.
Perlitsh said he received praise from other CU executives for his "moxie" and maintained that the NCUA now looks to be in the editing business as well.
"Not only is NCUA stepping up their examinations, but now they are editing our newsletters and will soon be editing our marketing pieces," charged Perlitsh, who said he received phone calls from an NCUA official last Friday asking the CU to remove the offending message.
