Credit Union Times Magazine March-22, 2006
In Other News
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DONATIONS
Greater Minnesota Credit Union, Milaca, raised more than $1,000 for Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare through its Chain of Hearts campaign, a fundraiser coordinated by the Credit Unions for Kids program. The campaign raised funds through the sale of paper links and hearts that were personalized and linked together to form...
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DONATIONS
USA Federal Credit Union, San Diego, in partnership with the Armed Forces Financial Network, has donated $1,000 to the Fisher House at Naval Medical Center. The donation will be used for gift cards redeemable at any Department of Defense commissary for military families staying at the Fisher House. The Fisher...
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BRANCHING OUT
Delta Community Credit Union, Atlanta, celebrated the grand opening of its newest branch in Fayetteville at Summit Point. Special events were held each day of the six-day celebration, but the ribbon cutting ceremony was held on March 2. Delta Community recently received approval from the Georgia Department of Banking and...
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MILESTONES
Sandy Smith, president/CEO of Texas Federal Credit Union in Dallas, will be honored by her board and staff for her 20th anniversary with the credit union at its 59th annual meeting on March 29. Lacamas Community Credit Union, Camas, Wash., will have a yearlong celebration in observance of its 70th...
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AWARDS
SAFE Federal Credit Union, Sumter, S.C., honored outstanding employees at its annual employee awards luncheon on February 20. The employees were honored for their dedication and professionalism by nominations from peers or supervisors and became the CU's employees of the year: Rita Cody, volunteer of the year; Wendy Ballentine, teller...
News
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Serving Hispanic Market Requires Asking Difficult Questions
MONTEREY, Calif. - Credit unions that want to serve the Hispanic market should be prepared to ask themselves difficult questions, like whether or not their current members will feel comfortable standing in teller lines with large numbers of newly arrived immigrants, said CES Credit Union Vice President Kelly Schermerhorn, who...
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Florida CU Takes Security Firm Up on Free Anti-Phishing Toolbar Offer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - When fraudsters started spear phishing at board members themselves, Jeff Bond figured it was time to get even more proactive. That hack attack and others like it were reasons the IT director at $250 million Florida Commerce Credit Union took TraceSecurity up on its offer for a...
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Sandia Lab FCU Serves as Live Lab for New Passageways Module
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Perhaps befitting a credit union whose founding SEG is one of the nation's high-tech pioneers, Sandia Laboratory FCU has stepped forward and become more than just a beta for Passageways - it's the alpha beta. The $986 million CU is beta testing the Indiana-based credit union intranet...
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New Zealand Credit Union Members Buck Savings Trend
AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Like the Americans, New Zealanders are not great savers according to the media. Not so fast, says Doug McLaren, CEO of the Association of New Zealand Credit Unions. He is frustrated with those newspaper and television stories decrying the spendthrift ways of citizens, because credit union...
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Dollar Defines Six Key Issues That Will Shape Industry's Future
MONTEREY, Calif. - Credit unions must address six key issues that will determine the future of the industry, said former NCUA Chairman turned consultant Dennis Dollar at the California Credit Union League's Big Valley Educational Conference. Dollar's six key issues include capital modernization, marketplace competition, cooperation among credit unions, the...
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IntegraSys Wants to Give CUs a 360 Look at its Members
FRISCO, Texas - Most credit unions have some sort of member relationship management system in place. And most are doing less with the data within it than they could, and thus missing opportunities to push new products and services out to their members. This was the rationale behind IntegraSys's recent...
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March is Canadian Fraud Prevention Month
TORONTO, Ontario - Credit unions, private sector firms, consumer and volunteer groups have banded together in Canada to highlight Fraud Prevention Month. Credit Union Central is working with the Fraud Prevention Forum, which is chaired by the Competition Bureau, an independent law-enforcement agency. Working on the belief that an aware...
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Technology is an Art, Not a Science, Internet Expert Says
MONTEREY, Calif. - Credit union executives need to start thinking of technology as an art rather than a science, said Internet entrepreneur Scott Klososky. Klososky shared his views on technology trends and how credit unions can use them to increase youth market share during the general session of the California...
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Keesler Details Katrina Lessons
BILOXI, Miss. - The Katrina property damage at the $1.4 billion Keesler Federal Credit Union could have been a lot worse and so could have loan write-offs, but there are plenty of lessons learned when it comes to disaster preparedness. "You know when the power went out, our backup generators...
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S1 Targets Credit Union Industry, Says it Can Save Credit Unions Money on Internet Banking Costs
ATLANTA - S1, traditionally a banking technology vendor, has its sights on the credit union market. The company has created a new credit union team to increase its penetration in the industry. The team attended CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference and a recent Symitar users' conference to try and get the...
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Advanced Content Management Systems Bring Enterprise Functionality to Credit Unions
WASHINGTON - Like most credit unions, Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union is awash in paper, from multi-page member account statements to mortgage loan applications. But if most credit unions find that managing paper files is at best a hassle, at Bank-Fund, it was a nightmare. Bank-Fund has $2 billion in...
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Credit Union Gains From Bankruptcy Reform Not a Done Deal, Attorney Says
MONTEREY, Calif. - Much was gained in recent bankruptcy reform legislation, but those gains will be lost unless credit unions fight local court interpretations that don't reflect Congress' intentions, says industry attorney Eric North. North, a San Jose-based attorney who provides educational Webinars for the California Credit Union League, addressed...
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Cheney Cautions NCUA About Data Methodology During League Management Report
MONTEREY, Calif. - The NCUA must take into account the different types of credit union charters during its data collecting initiative, said new California Credit Union League President Bill Cheney during the opening session of the league's Big Valley Educational Conference. Cheney covered a number of topics during the session,...
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There Are Real People Behind Vantis CU's ATMs
WINNIPEG, Manitoba - ATMs have often been blamed for decreasing human contact with bank personnel, making transactions cold and unfriendly. However, Vantis Credit Union is planning to change all that with video kiosks at its ATM sites. Live VCU representatives will respond to any of the 22,000 members asking questions...
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ACB Acknowledges CU Political Fund-Raising Prowess; Urges Bankers to Mimic
WASHINGTON-America's Community Bankers President and CEO Diane Casey-Landry highlighted the fund-raising ability of the Credit Union Legislative Action Council of CUNA and urged the bankers to compete. To illustrate her point, Casey-Landry held up a copy of a Credit Union Times article regarding CULAC's size and breadth of contributions both...
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Just Like 2005, But Slightly Worse: CUNA Economist Predicts Even Lower ROA
MONTEREY, Calif. - The economic forecast for 2006 means further tightening of the belt for credit unions, but a bleak rate environment doesn't necessarily mean an impending recession, said Chief CUNA Economist Bill Hampel, as he spoke at the California Credit Union League's Big Valley Educational Conference. Overall, Hampel predicted...
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Corillian Chief Cites Focus on In-House Solutions, Smaller CUs
PORTLAND, Ore. - Already dominant in the online banking space for big credit unions, Corillian Corp. is now adding a new focus down market while working to help all its clients, big and small, reach out to the millions of consumers who still eschew the online channel, its CEO says....
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Dejardins Credit Union to Expand Services
QUEBEC, Canada - One of Canada's first credit unions, named for one of the founders of the credit union movement, Desjardins Group, is looking to expand its business outside Quebec by opening a brokerage unit in Toronto and to sell insurance in Ontario if legislative approval is granted. Some provinces...
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Open Solutions Closes BISYS Deal, Launches Two-Factor Authentication
GLASTONBURY, Conn. - There has been a flurry of news coming from Open Solutions Inc. of late. The company recently announced its plan to handle two-factor authentication for online systems access. Vendors have been tackling two-factor authentication in a variety of ways; some relying on deeper questions to end users,...
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NCUA In Action
Turn to page 30 for complete coverage of NCUA's March meeting where it ruled on two community charter applications and an interim rule on share insurance coverage. It also reviewed its annual budget and its five-year strategic plan.
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Symitar, OSI Lead the Pack in Top 50 CU Clients
The nation's three largest credit unions still choose to do their data processing on their own in-house. In fact, seven of the top 50 CUs go that route. Putting them aside, Symitar Systems has the largest slice of the big credit union market with 14 clients. They are followed by...
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Member Verification Service for UK Credit Unions
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom - British credit unions have a new tool to fight money laundering while complying with Verification and ID Solution regulations required by the Financial Services Authority, the regulatory agency for all United Kingdom financial institutions. The first requirement of Verification & ID Solutions is to have sufficient...
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NACHA to Test Bank-Provided Online Authentication And Private Payments
HERNDON, Va. - NACHA, The Electronic Payments Association, will test online transactions in a pilot that requires consumers to authenticate their own financial institutions, and initiate private, secure electronic payments via their financial institutions' online banking Web sites. "As a result of the recent FFIEC guidance on authentication, financial institutions...
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ACB Boosts Talk on CU Charter Choice, Charges NCUA with Stall Tactics
WASHINGTON-America's Community Bankers listed among its priority issues for 2006 the Credit Union Charter Choice Act (H.R. 3206) and clearing obstacles to further conversions of credit unions to mutual savings banks. ACB First Vice Chairman Mark Macomber, president and CEO of Litchfield Bancorp in Litchfield, Conn., taunted NCUA as a...
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Adjustable Rate Mortgages and Rising Interest Rates: A Mixed Verdict on Effects on CUs, Homeowners
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Credit unions like most mortgage lenders have been keeping a watchful eye on rising interest rates, realizing that any continuing increase will likely slow the pace of their originations. But what about the effect of rate increases on adjustable rate mortgages that have been so...
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Adams Appears on Senator's Show About DFCU Financial Conversion
DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. - Despite a lawsuit from the $1.8 billion DFCU Financial FCU which is aimed at keeping the Michigan Credit Union League quiet on the topic of its proposed conversion to a mutual bank, David Adams, CEO of the league, has taken the league's concerns about the coming...
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NAFCU Flash Analyzes BSA Compliance Burden, Cost
ARLINGTON, Va.-Nearly half of federal credit unions surveyed for NAFCU's monthly Flash Report said they either hired staff or a third-party vendor to help with Bank Secrecy Act compliance issues. "The increased focus on the Bank Secrecy Act by NCUA and FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) has increased the...
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North Carolina's SECU Announces Sponsorship of Cherry Blossom Run
RALEIGH, N.C.-Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc. is beginning to see the fruits of its labor to bring in more credit union support from outside the Capital Beltway for the 2006 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run. State Employees Credit Union (N.C.) recently announced its sponsorship of the event, which benefits...
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Treasury Rolls out Online Tool for Social Security Direct Deposit
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Banks, as part of their Go Direct campaign, have launched a new online enrollment system for credit unions and banks that process direct deposit for federal benefit payments, including Social Security and Supplemental Security Income. The online sign-up...
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Liquidity, Margins Tighten in 2005, NCUA Reports; Not Getting Much Better in 2006
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA's 2005 financial trends report for federally insured credit unions underscored what the industry already knows: liquidity is shrinking and margins are tightening for the nation's credit unions. According to the report, loans were up $4.0 billion or 10.60% in 2005. Nearly 48% of credit union lending came from...
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MEMBERS: Marketing is Often Not Enough to Boost Membership Numbers in Some States
WASHINGTON - Credit union membership penetration figures vary widely from state to state, from 81% in the District of Columbia to 10% in Arkansas. Although reasons vary as widely as the numbers, they have one thing in common: they're more often the result of circumstance than strategy. The states with...
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Michigan CU League Report Documents Credit Unions' Social Impact - Represents Fruit of Long Labor
NORTHVILLE, TOWNSHIP, Mich. - The Michigan Credit Union League has drafted a report which seeks to document the beneficial impact credit unions in the state have had on their communities. The 2005 Community Reinvestment Initiative Aggregate Report is its first "social mission report," the league said. The league drew data...
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Retiring Chatfield Honored - and Roasted - by Colleagues
MONTEREY, Calif. - The California Credit Union League's Big Valley Educational Conference kicked off with a dinner honoring David Chatfield that was not only a toast to his esteemed career, but also a lighthearted roast by some of the industry's best known leaders. The tributes included an international address from...
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NCUA Approves Deposit Insurance Modernizing Reg, Community Charters
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA dealt with a handful of key issues during last week's board meeting, including deposit insurance updates, two community charter conversions, and strategic planning. In line with the FDIC and accordance with the Deposit Insurance Reform Act, the NCUA Board unanimously approved an interim final rule to modernize deposit...
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Leadership Turmoil Continues at Polish and Slavic FCU
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The turmoil in leadership continues at the $1 billion Polish and Slavic FCU, headquartered in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn. The credit union has been involved in a series of lawsuits over the past two years but had been able to reduce them from six to two...
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Labor Problems, Hurricanes and Plastic Card Fraud Losses Didn't Stop CUNA Mutual from Posting Strong Financials in '05
MADISON, Wis. - At CUNA Mutual, 2005 might best be remembered for its problems with its union.or maybe the challenge it faced with the hurricanes.or possibly the flood of plastic card losses it had to contend with. None of those are positive developments, but they didn't derail the company financially...
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Credit Reporting Companies Jointly Develop Uniform Scoring System
ATLANTA, CHICAGO and COSTA MESA, Calif. - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion announced last week they have jointly developed and introduced a new uniform credit score - VantageScore - they say delivers an "unprecedented" more consistent, objective and highly predictive methodology to the credit scoring process across the three companies. At...
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Corporates Submit Risk-Based Capital Study To NCUA; Sign of Change for All CUs?
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Last week, representatives of the Association of Corporate Credit Unions visited NCUA's headquarters to personally deliver the ACCU's risk-based capital study for corporate credit unions. This project has been almost two years in the making for the ACCU, said Mike Canning, its executive director. Some 15 corporates...
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DFCU Financial Charges Member Opposition Group is a Front for League
DEARBORN, Mich. - In court papers filed Feb. 28 in Wayne County Circuit Court, the $1.8 billion DFCU Financial FCU alleged that the DFCU Owners United group is nothing more than a front for the Michigan Credit Union League and that a former CU executive, now a league executive, defamed...
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From Economy to Industry, State Membership Penetration Dependent on Array of Factors
WASHINGTON - Credit union membership penetration figures vary widely from state to state, from 81% in the District of Columbia to 10% in Arkansas. Although reasons vary as widely as the numbers, they have one thing in common: they're more often the result of circumstance than strategy. The states with...
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House Financial Services Holds Markup of Data Security, Bills of CU Interest
WASHINGTON-The House Financial Services Committee marked up a number of bills of interest to credit unions last week from data security to flood insurance. The Financial Data Protection Act (H.R. 3997) would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to set national standards for data security. While the language was in...
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America's Community Bankers Has Many Similar Concerns of CU Associations
WASHINGTON-It comes as no surprise that despite their battles, credit unions and banks are concerned about many of the same issues. As members of America's Community Bankers made their way to Washington, D.C. last week during their Government Affairs Conference, issues like regulatory relief and data security were at the...
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Bob the Credit Union Guy Advocacy Ads Resume in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY - There's still plenty of buzz here about that front-page Wall Street Journal article on the bank vs. credit union wars, but that hasn't impeded the Utah League of Credit Unions from resuming its popular "You/Bob the Credit Union Guy" TV ads. A new group of the...
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ICBA Names 2006-2007 Executive Committee
LAS VEGAS-Terry J. Jorde, president and CEO of CountryBank USA of Cando, N.D., was recently named as the new chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America. The other 2006-2007 Executive Committee members announced during ICBA's National Convention and Techworld in Las Vegas were: *Chairman-elect-Jim Ghiglieri Jr., president and CEO,...
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Ent Partners with Denver Management Advisors in Employee Benefits Venture
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Ent has partnered with Denver Management Advisors to offer area businesses employee benefit packages backed by local service through a joint venture - Ent Benefit Services. Organized as part of the recently announced Ent Insurance Group, Ent Benefit Services offers a range of employee benefit programs...
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New Voting Poll: What Will NCUA's Data Collection Show?
SHREWSBURY, N.J. - Last month NCUA announced that it would begin collecting data from 481 credit unions in an effort to assess how credit unions are serving members of modest means. Some credit union leaders are very wary of this initiative, concerned that the data won't reflect all the good...
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Tropical Financial CU Courts Biz Owners With New Campaign
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. - Business owners are a sought after group by Tropical Financial Credit Union. Members who refer business owners to the $669 million CU will receive a $50 American Express Gift Cheque when the new business account is opened. Members can obtain a maximum of 10 referrals for...
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Strategies for Member Retention Starts With Putting Efforts on To-Do List
MADISON, Wis. - While new members continue to join credit unions at a steady clip, industry experts say retaining those relationships is the critical next step. Several key components of an effective member retention program do a number of things, according to The Point for Credit Union Research and Advice,...
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AACUC Raises $37,000 for Small, Katrina-Impacted Credit Unions
ST. LOUIS - The African-American Credit Union Coalition continues to assist small credit unions still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. So far, the group has raised more than $37,000 in grant money to provide equipment and other items to impacted credit unions. AACUC's mentorship committee has used the grant money to...
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HUD Grants Available for CUs Through April 7, Foundation Says
WASHINGTON - Credit unions interested in obtaining money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide counseling to first-time, moderate income homebuyers have until April 7 to apply, according to the National Credit Union Foundation. "Our Foundation will apply for a larger HUD grant to help credit unions...
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CU Direct to Offer TitleGuard Vehicle Title Insurance
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - CU Direct has partnered with Vehicle Title, LLC to make that company's TitleGuard Vehicle Title Insurance on title histories available to Credit Union Direct Lending credit unions and their members on financed pre-owned vehicles. Vehicle Title LLC is a joint venture between The First American Corporation...
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New Firm Launches to Provide Commercial Credit Analysis
HALIFAX, Pa. - Lending Edge Consulting, Inc. has launched to provide commercial credit analysis services to credit unions and banks. The firm opened for business this month and was formed by Molly Snody, who has more than 15 years of experience working with both CUs and banks in loan operations...
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Callahan Score Measures Service to Members
WASHINGTON - Callahan & Associates' Return of the Member is a proprietary scoring model, developed by Callahan, that evaluates a credit union's service levels and gauges member satisfaction. The below chart shows the ROM scores for credit unions over $1 billion in assets. Callahan claims that the higher the ROM...
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Data Breach Prompts Financial Partners CU, nuVision Financial CU to Offer ID Theft Education
DOWNEY, Calif. -Financial Partners Credit Union and nuVision Financial FCU couldn't do anything to avert the recent data breach at a Southern California Boeing site, but the two credit unions jointly offered Boeing employees a series of educational seminars on ID theft to address victims' concerns and questions. Financial Partners'...
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Addison Avenue FCU Cements Acquisition of Essex National Securities
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Through its subsidiary, Addison Avenue Financial Partners, LLC, Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union has finalized the purchase of Essex National Securities, Inc. an investment services broker/dealer. Napa, Calif.-based ENSI was founded more than 15 years ago by Essex Corp., and provides investment products and services to...
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CUNA's Vice President of State Government Affairs Leaving Association
WASHINGTON - Colleen Kelly, a 17-year employee of CUNA and currently vice president of state government affairs, is leaving the association, sources reported. Her immediate plans are to stay at CUNA through the end of March, adding that she'll do "whatever is best for CUNA." Kelly intends to be a...
News Briefs
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CUNA Chairman Fires Back on Banks' United Front Against CURIA
WASHINGTON-In response to a recent letter to Congress sent jointly from the three major national banking trade associations in opposition to CURIA, CUNA Chairman Juri Valdov, CEO of Northwest Federal Credit Union, urged Congress to reject the bankers' rhetoric. Valdov's letter to lawmakers came after the American Bankers Association, America's...
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Minnesota CUs Continue Strong Fundraising Tradition, Raise $13,350 for CULAC
WASHINGTON - Minnesota credit unions upheld their reputation of being strong fundraisers at CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference held Feb. 26-March 1. Sixty-three Minnesotans joined the Minnesota Credit Union Network's Capital Club, contributing $13,350 to CULAC. In total, $56,560 was raised at the GAC for CULAC, the CU political action committee...
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NCUA-FDIC Host Deposit Insurance Coverage Change Update
WASHINGTON-NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood and FDIC Acting Chairman Martin Gruenberg held a meeting last week to update consumer and financial services organizations on the upcoming changes to federal deposit insurance coverage. "I was pleased that the NCUA and FDIC joined together for such an important forum to discuss the...
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More than 300 Credit Unions Jumped into Business Lending Arena in 2005
WASHINGTON - In 2005, 310 credit unions launched business lending programs contributing to the 1,484 credit unions that were currently offering members such programs, according to Callahan & Associates, Inc. The rising number of credit unions offering business loans made the lending category the fastest growing lending area in 2005....
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Siler Named CEO of Knoxville TVA Employees CU
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Glenn Siler has taken over the reins as CEO of Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union, replacing Bob Stone, who retired two weeks ago after 24 years as CEO. Siler has been with the CU even longer than Stone - 32 years. He started in the accounting department,...
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Kansas Regulator Places Credit Union Group CU Under Conservatorship
TOPEKA, Kan. - The Kansas Department of Credit Unions has placed The Credit Union Group Credit Union located in Lawrence, Kansas under conservatorship effective March 14. According to a release issued by John Smith, administrator, Kansas Department of Credit Unions, the day-to-day management and operations of The Credit Union Group...
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North Dakota League CEO Larson Announces Retirement
BISMARCK, N.D. - Capping a 37-year career serving the industry, Kermit Larson, the president/CEO of the North Dakota Credit Union League, is retiring from full-time work at the end of the month. Larson, 63, who joined the North Dakota trade group as a consultant in 1989 and in 2002 was...
Marketing
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US FCU Sets Up "Ship" at Local Event
BURNSVILLE, Minn. - Deciding to "be onboard" as title sponsor of a local fundraising event took on a new meaning when US Federal Credit Union created an eye-catching marketing installation. The credit union, participating in the local Burnsville Chamber of Commerce's major fundraising event - the Bite of Burnsville -...
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Wescom Rolls Out the Welcome Wagon
PASADENA, Calif. - In a tribute to its humble beginnings in 1934 as the Telephone Employees Credit Union, Wescom CU recently unveiled a restored 1934 Ford stake bed pickup truck and welcome wagon trailer. It debuted at the 2006 Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure of Breast Cancer. The...
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Nothing Like a Harley to Raise Funds to Protect the Tax-Exemption
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - On display at First Financial Credit Union is the 2006 Screamin Eagle Fat Boy Harley Davidson that the Credit Union Association of New Mexico will raffle. Tickets are $100 each and can be purchased at most CUs statewide, but the association will only sell 1,000 tickets. Ticket...
Regulatory/Compliance
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NCUA Releases 2006 Regulatory Review
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA recently posted to its Web site (www.ncua.gov) the regulations it plans to look at this year as part of its regular one-third review of its rules. NCUA goes through all of its rules every three years in an effort to keep them up-to-date and eliminate unnecessary burden. The...
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Hood: Open Lines of Communications with Other Regulators on CUs and Business Services
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood recently said he's willing and able to do what is necessary to be sure credit unions have the support they need to have vital business service programs. Hood spoke with members of CUNA's Business/SEG Services Task Force, at a meeting held in...
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CUNA Makes Recommendations to OFAC on Enforcement Interim Final Rule
WASHINGTON-While generally supporting the Office of Foreign Asset Control's interim final rule regarding economic sanctions enforcement procedures, CUNA did request a few adjustments. "CUNA supports OFAC's separate enforcement process for credit unions and other financial institutions, which is designed to take into consideration the role of such institutions, the nature...
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Regulatory Flexibility a Top Priority for NCUA Vice Chairman
BOSTON-NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood told a group of 50 Massachusetts credit union CEOs in Boston that regulatory flexibility is a top priority for 2006. He explained to the Massachusetts Credit Union League's CEO Roundtable that the recent final rule would bring another 413 federal credit unions under RegFlex by...
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NCUA Investigates Wallingford Municipal FCU
WALLINGFORD, Conn.-NCUA is looking into Wallingford Municipal Federal Credit Union for violations of suspicious activity reporting regulations, according to a report from the Record-Journal of Connecticut. The news source reported that a former employee of the credit union was to be arraigned for stealing about $27,000. According to an arrest...
Special Report
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Research Says Unbanked Still Use Credit Cards
NEW YORK - A leading market research firm says that its surveys are showing that people without bank accounts are often still users of some sort of credit card, whether from a retail store, oil company or financial institution. Scarborough Research said its surveys of 200,000 adult consumers in 75...
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Elan Picks Up Another One
BOSTON - Elan Financial Services, a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, has purchased another CU credit card portfolio, according to the Kessler Group, the firm which brokered the sale. The $156 million 1st Pacific Credit Union, headquartered in Vallejo, California, sold its card program to Elan and entered into an agent...
People
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VENDOR
PSB, The Marketing SuperSource, a full-service, end-to-end marketing solutions provider, has named Christy Ortiz West Coast account manager and Natalie Taylor senior account representative. D. Hilton Associates, The Woodlands, Texas, has appointed Rosanna Russell as an account manager to join their marketing and advertising practice.
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EAST
Service Credit Union, Portsmouth, N.H., welcomes Rachel Hynes as a contact center representative I at its Rochester branch and Crystal Hammond as a member service representative I at its Pease branch. Anna Stone was promoted to member service representative III at the CU's Keene location. Leominster Credit Union, Leominster, Mass.,...
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MIDWEST
Home Town Federal Credit Union, Owatonna, Minn., has named Mitch Myre, vice president of operations. Community Financial Credit Union, Plymouth, Mich., recently hired Dawn Beswick as the Lewiston branch manager.
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SOUTH
SAFE Federal Credit Union, Sumter, S.C., welcomes Amy Wilson as the manager of mortgage services. Founders Federal Credit Union, Lancaster, S.C., promoted Al McIntosh to senior vice president, internal audit. Vystar Credit Union, Jacksonville, Fla., elected to its board of directors, P.E. (Ted) Hewitt, chairman; George R. Berry, vice chairman;...
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WEST
HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union, Honolulu, elected Richard Sagawa, vice chairman; Maxine Joe, secretary; and Ronald Ogata, board member. Security Service Federal Credit Union, Colorado Springs, Colo., has promoted Melissa Grier to service center manager at its Briargate location. Wauna Federal Credit Union, Clatskanie, Ore., welcomes Carl Schmele, the CU's new...
Publisher's Column
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Credit Unions Have to be Ready for Good, Bad or Ugly Publicity
In Hollywood, all publicity may be good publicity, but that entertainment tenet certainly doesn't hold up in the financial services sector. Credit unions have to be careful to shape their perception in the press as consumer-friendly institutions that exist to advance the financial standing of their members. That's not an...
Opinions
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How Can Technology Improve Your Credit Union's ROI?
Strategic business decisions are either enabled or hampered by the available technology. Return on Investment is hampered if the technology investments that stem from the business decisions are not aligned. From configuring product and service offerings with the core system to extending those offerings through the integration of third-party applications,...
Tech Bytes
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Jack Henry Selects RSA Cyota for Online Banking Authentication
MONET, Mo. - Jack Henry & Associates has selected RSA Cyota Consumer Solutions to provide authentication for its online banking clients. Jack Henry will offer it to its 1,500 financial institution clients using its Internet banking systems. RSA's Adaptive Authentication technology analyzes online transactions and scores their potential fraud risk...
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Empire Chooses VSoft Branch Capture Solution
ATLANTA - Empire Corporate said it will implement VSoft's eDesk Capture, Image Archive, Research, Image Exchange products. Empire will also offer VSoft's Branch Item Capture solution to their member credit unions to help facilitate image exchange. VSoft's Branch Item Capture provides full-featured, image-enabled data capture functions. Through Empire's Internet-based cash...
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USERS Chooses Andera for Online Account Opening
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. - Credit union data processor USERS has partnered with Andera, Inc. to help USERS' credit union clients open and fund new accounts for their members online. Andera's popular New Accounts Online solution has been integrated with DataSafe, USERS' core processing system. USERS said New Accounts Online interfaces...
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RSA Fraud Survey Indicates Consumers Want More Online Security
BEDFORD, Mass. - RSA Security released key findings of its annual Financial Institution Consumer Online Fraud Survey, which surveyed over 400 U.S. adults about online banking authentication and e-mail fraud. The findings include the following: * 73% of account holders believe that financial institutions should replace username-and-password log-in with stronger...
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Credit Unions Go Interactive
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - While the number of credit unions with Web sites was up only slightly from 5,369 as of year-end 2004 to 5,523 as of year-end 2005, the number of interactive CU Web sites jumped dramatically. According to Callahan & Associates, NCUA year-end data show the number of interactive...
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Cavion Partners with Andera for Automated Online Account Opening
MOUNDS VIEW, Minn. - Cavion Plus has entered into a strategic alliance with Andera to add automated online account opening functionality for its credit union clients. Andera's New Accounts Online allows members to open new accounts, add products and shares to existing accounts, and fund those accounts online. Andera's product...
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eCU Technologies Branches Out to Summit Users
HARRISBURG, Pa. - eCU Technologies' online deposit system, UPost, now interfaces with the Summit core processing system. The interface is currently being tested at $505 million Purdue Employees' Federal Credit Union. This is a groundbreaking announcement for eCU Technologies as previously it has only worked with Symitar clients. eCU Technologies...
Letters to the editor
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Blaine is Colorful and Quirky, But You Can't Question His Heart
I just wanted to congratulate you on the selection of my favorite credit union zealot, Jim Blaine, as the Credit Union Times' CEO of the Year! Jim certainly "bleeds" credit union, and you couldn't have picked a finer man to honor, especially at a time of such unrest in the...
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Don't Let Bankers Drive Our Business
Wescom Credit Union and PSCU have proposed a new CUSO to buy and manage credit card portfolios. It is a service credit unions are by regulation allowed to undertake. The idea is brilliant. It keeps the credit card business within the movement. Of course it meets with great consternation by...
Quotes Worth Quoting
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Quotes Worth Quoting
"The issue isn't how home prices have increased in value which is often talked about, but that we've gotten there through questionable lending practices." - Dwight Johnston, WesCorp, vice president economic and market research, commenting on the possible effects rising interest rates may have on ARM borrowers' ability to afford...
In Memoriam
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Longtime Credit Union Volunteer Eugene Ball Dies
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The credit union industry has lost one of its most respected volunteers. Eugene Ball, 88, passed away on Feb. 28. A military service was held on March 13 at Arlington National Cemetery. Ball, who spent 50 years in the military, joined the board of Pentagon FCU in...
Voting Poll
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Voting Poll Results: Majority Believe Bankers Joining CU CEO Ranks is Bad for Industry
SHREWSBURY, N.J. - Results of Credit Union Times' just-expired voting poll show a majority of respondents believe bankers joining the credit union CEO ranks is not good for the industry. The question and results of the unscientific poll are as follows: What kind of effect will there be on the...
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