Credit Union Times Magazine August-29, 2007
In Other News
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In Other News
Awawrd, Branching Out, Donations, Milestones
News
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TopLine Issues Lower My Rate! Challenge
TopLine Federal Credit Union is challenging local consumers to get better rates on credit.
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Credit Union ONE Taps TRC Interactive for Training
Credit Union ONE has turned to TRC Interactive, Inc., to deliver online instruction through CreditUnionTrainingOnline for its training needs.
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CFS Helping CUs Stand Out From Competition with College Planning Services
Collegiate Funding Solutions is helping credit unions bridge the gap between baby boomers and the young adult market by redefining "college planning."
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Revenue Figures Slightly Up for CUSO Financial Services
Year-to-date total revenue figures are slightly above those of the first six months of 2006 for CUSO Financial Services, LP, a broker dealer and registered investment adviser to credit unions.
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Pentegra Retirement Services Adds Target Retirement Date Funds
NAFCU Preferred Partner Pentegra Retirement Services has teamed up with State Street Global Advisors to offer target retirement date funds to defined contribution plan participants.
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Bankruptcy Filings Continue to Creep Upward
Bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007 increased from the 12-month periods ending in March 2007 and December 2006.
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New York League Launches Big Awareness Campaign Starting in October
Relying on a new branding message to emphasize membership eligibility and a grassroots focus, the New York State Credit Union League said last week it is launching an aggressive and broad-based media campaign Oct. 1 under the slogan, "Credit Unions, Open to You, True To You."
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Fed Moves to Correct Market Could Further Strain Spreads
In a move to restore order to the financial markets, the Federal Reserve Board approved a temporary 50-basis point decrease in discount window borrowing.
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'Member Appreciation' Gets CURIA Spin as Champion CU Sponsors Appreciation Day
For years the $106 million Champion Credit Union has sponsored a "Member Appreciation Day" complete with free lunch and drinks usually held on International Credit Union Day, but it never got much local attention.
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Billion-Dollar FCU Execs Duke it Out in Callahan's Report on CUNA-NAFCU Merger
One prominent credit union leader has said that NAFCU is past its prime while another values the unique voice that represents solely federal credit unions.
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With Merger Complete, MDDCCUA Restructures Senior Staff
Maryland & District of Columbia Credit Union Association CEO Mike Beall recently announced some clarification of senior staff duties to help focus the organization on its four prime areas of focus: advocacy, services, membership and finance.
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Credit Unions Get Presidential Recognition for Operation Best Wishes
President George W. Bush sent a letter recognizing several credit unions that were active in Operation Best Wishes, a program that helped military families send messages to their family members on active duty via Webcast.
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ACIG Sells $65 Million in Centrix Auto Paper; Launches CAPex Secondary Market Program
Access Capital Investment Group reached a milestone with the August sale of two more Centrix CU portfolios, bringing the total to $65 million for the last 12 months, said Seth Meyer, ACIG's secondary market manager. He predicted reaching the $100 million mark by year's end.
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Across the Country, CUs/CUSOs Push 'Pro-Active' Line in Mortgage Crisis
Amidst the mortgage turmoil, credit unions and their CUSOs continued again last week to rev up e-mail and letter campaigns to calm jittery members by pushing re-fi products and counseling services for those hardest hit by housing troubles.
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CUNA Takes Stand for Choice in Private Insurance Debate in Washington State
While CUNA generally leaves state regulatory issues for the leagues to battle out, "fundamental issues" raised in Washington State's consideration of private primary deposit insurance have drawn the national trade association into the fray.
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Risk of Subprime-Backed Investments Low for Credit Unions, But Liquidity May Be an Issue
While much discussion regarding subprime lending has focused on direct loan portfolio risk, little has been said about another type of balance sheet exposure: mortgage-backed investments, which gained in popularity during the real estate boom.
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Latest Member Growth Fueled by Deposit Relationships; Investment Portfolios Vital with Current Squeeze
It appears that stronger deposit relationships are fueling membership growth these days as credit unions continue to come off the indirect lending wave that brought in new members a few years ago.
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Credit Union Resources Expands Service Umbrella, Purchases Stake in Texas Business Lenders Group
In a move that aims to further reach the growing number of member-owned small businesses in Texas, Credit Union Resources, Inc., an affiliate of the Texas Credit Union League, has purchased an interest in the Texas Business Lenders Group, a credit union-owned business lending CUSO.
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NCUA Figures Show Little of the Mortgage Market Volatility
Federally insured credit unions reported solid asset and share growth through the first half of the year, according to NCUA.
Front Page News
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Credit Unions Might Take Unexpected Subprime Hit Even Though Direct Exposure is Low
Although credit unions originated very few subprime mortgage loans comparatively with other mortgage lenders, the non-profits might still take an indirect hit as a result of the mortgage industry's woes.
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Is the Proposed Cure Worse than the Ill? Commenters Mixed on Re-Incorporating FCU Bylaws
The credit union community and other interested parties are divided on how federal credit union bylaws should be enforced following an NCUA proposal to re-incorporate them by reference into regulation.
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Former Centrix CEO Robert Sutton Still a Believer
In the first in-person interview he has granted to the credit union press since the bankruptcy of Centrix Financial, Robert Sutton called the taking down of the Centrix Portfolio Management Program, the subsequent fallout for credit unions and bankruptcy of Centrix Financial a tragedy that didn't have to happen. He...
News Briefs
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Enterprise Funds SCMS Scholarships
Enterprise Car Sales raised $1,000 for scholarships for Southwest CUNA Management School by donating a five-day cruise for two as part of the SCMS Class of 2008 Fundraising Auction. The auction was held during the summer session of Southwest CUNA Management School at Texas Christian University.
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News Briefs
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Representative Gary Miller (R-Calif.) are calling on the Senate to increase the conforming loan limit proposed in the House-passed GSE bill as more of the problems in the mortgage market come to light.
Data Processing/Tech
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Concept to Reality:Affinity FCU Strings Together Software, Savings in Check 21 Solution
Bringing the benefits of 21st century imaging technology to the home front at Affinity Federal Credit Union has made it from the white board to the teller line.
Marketing
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Vantage CU Gives Teen VIP Treatment
Teenage Vantage Credit Union member Kyle Coggins recently had the chance to be a VIP for a day.
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Texoma Educators FCU Wins Brandwear Makeover
Texoma Educators Federal Credit Union staffers will soon be sporting a new look.
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Apple FCU Takes Mentoring Back to School
It is back-to-school for Apple Federal Credit Union staffers too as they gear up to mentor students.
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Rogue Federal CU Scores with Kids Unlimited Sponsorship
Rogue Federal Credit Union is scoring big with area kids.
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Founders FCU Sponsors H.S. Football Season
Founders Federal Credit Union is making sure the high school football season kicks off to a great start.
Regulatory/Compliance
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Regulatory and Compliance
Federal credit unions located in Hawaii must comply with the requirements of the Hawaii Financial Abuse Act that requires federal credit unions to report suspected financial abuse of an elder, according to an NCUA legal opinion.
Tech Bytes
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PSCU Commits To New B2B Platform
PSCU Financial Services is deploying a new business-to-business platform that will allow the nation's largest CUSO to use one centralized platform to handle multiple management credit and bill payment services in a variety of file formats and protocols.
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Fiserv Touts Adoption of Wisdom Management Tools
Fiserv Inc. might like to say it's spreading a lot of Wisdom around credit union land.
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CUDL Announces Interface with Summit Core
The CUDL loan processing platform now interfaces seamlessly with the Summit Information Systems core processing system used by hundreds of credit unions nationwide, the company and CUSO said.
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Online Resources, Fair Isaac Combine On Collections Offering
The automated collection tools of Online Resources Corp. are being combined with Fair Isaac's own network in a new offering to collection agencies and debt buyers, the companies say.
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RSA Security Places CUs Back Atop Fraudsters' Hit List
Credit unions have regained the dubious honor of being atop the menu of targets for online fraudsters going after financial institutions, according to the July report from RSA Security.
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Symitar Claims Another Billion-Dollar CU for Episys
Western Federal Credit Union will be converting to the Episys core processing platform, adding another billion-dollar credit union to Symitar's portfolio.
Special Report
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MasterCard Contactless Arrives in New York Cabs
MasterCard has announced that New York City taxis are accepting MasterCard's contactless cards beginning this month.
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Another Surcharge-Free Alternative: STAR Signs with Allpoint for Surcharge Free Option; Aims for Nationwide Network
Credit unions seeking to diversify and tailor their ATM strategies were offered yet another possible alternative last week as two industry players announced a new surcharge free initiative.
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ABA Survey Finds Over Half of Account Holders Pay No ATM Fees
A survey by the American Bankers Association has found that 65% of consumers spend $3 or less in monthly fees for bank services such as checking account maintenance and ATM access.
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ABA Rolls Out Guide to Credit Cards
In a move which some have criticized as too little, too late and self-serving, the American Bankers Association has rolled out a guide that it hopes will help consumers better understand their credit cards and better evaluate credit card offers.
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Air Force FCU Comes to PSCU
PSCU Financial Services, the card processing CUSO that serves over 500 credit unions that use the First Data card platform, continues to grow its processing business.
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FIS Facing Suit Over Data Breach
Fidelity National Information Services faces a lawsuit stemming from a data breach that was alleged to have been caused by a former employee in its Certegy check verification division.
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Gift Cards Becoming Pervasive
A new survey out from a gift card issuer suggests that credit unions cannot afford to not offer their members some sort of gift cards, particularly if the members are younger or have teenagers.
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Most CU Card Portfolios Continue to Grow
The increased attention credit unions have begun to pay to their credit card portfolios has continued to yield results as NCUA records show that 69% of CU card portfolios grew in the 12 months between March 2006 and March 2007, while 31% declined in value.
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Visa Warns Merchants of Approaching Deadline
Visa USA has warned its tier I and tier II merchants that they have until Oct. 1 to proof their compliance with the industry's card security data standards or lose their most favorable interchange rates.
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Skimmer Takes His Own Picture
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. -- A man seeking to install a camera on an ATM in a way that would let him skim or collect cardholders' personal identification numbers apparently forgot the camera was on and left the police with his own picture.
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TNB Hires Executive From Citigroup
TNB Card Services, the credit card processing arm of credit union-owned Town North Bank, has looked to a major bank for its latest executive. The organization, announced it has hired Phil Davis, most recently a senior vice president with Citigroup's Credit Services Division, as senior vice president with TNB.
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Small Businesses Want More Cash, Gasoline, Rewards on Their Cards
Credit unions seeking to market their credit cards more effectively to their entrepreneurial members or credit card issuers looking for a competitive boost for the small business cards should consider offering one with a cash back and/or gasoline discount reward structure.
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Restaurant in Oregon Decides Cash Is Too Much Trouble
The battle over whether cash or cards will rule the payment world has almost always gone to cash, but here and there some restaurants have begun to turn away from the bills and coins.
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Corporate One Says New Imaging Technology Cuts Imaging Price Significantly
Corporate One Credit Union, in conjunction with ATM manufacturers NCR and Diebold, has announced the development of another piece in the complex technical highway that will make the promise of check imaging a reality.
Opinions
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Don't Wait for PCI-DSS to Protect You--Take Responsibility for your Credit Union's Fight Against Fraud
There is no shortage of opinions within the payments industry regarding PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards), and these opinions are largely driven by perspective.
Letters to the editor
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Subprime Lending Mess a Shame, But Not Surprising
It did not surprise me to read stories on Wescom and Patelco and their subprime woes in the Aug. 16 issue of Credit Union Times. That's not intended to be a criticism of the management there, but having been in credit unions for 19 years after spending five years in...
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Paying Volunteers Might Worsen Micromanagement
I disagree with Paul Gentile's idea of paying directors (CU Times, Aug. 8).
Opinion
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After Months of Hovering, 'Helicopter Ben' Changes Spin
After 18 months of inertia, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has finally done something: succumb to pressure from Wall Street. On August 17, the Fed cut the discount rate 50 basis points (b.p.), to 5.75%, in the first inter-meeting move since 9/11, after the $33 billion excess it pumped into the...
Publisher's Column
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Private Insurance: Cut Out the Politics and Look at The Real Issue
I must be a boring guy. I have spent the last two months examining private insurance. I have studied the history, evaluated the rules and regs, and delved into more numbers than I care to mention. I have never spent as much time researching any topic for a column as...
People
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People
East, West, Vendor
People Feature
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CU Newbie Fills Newly Created Position at Bronco
Bronco Federal Credit Union recently appointed Brian Hedgepeth as the CU's new director of Retail Services.
Resource Center
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