Credit Union Times Magazine January-23, 2008
News
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WOCCU Revamps Web Site for 2008
World Council of Credit Unions has launched its redesigned Web site, www.woccu.org, which offers a more integrated look at the international credit union system and WOCCU's work around the world. The site also provides various resources on research and best practices in credit union development.
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First CU Makes Best Place to Work Cut
CHANDLER, Ariz. -- First Credit Union has been named one of the "Best Places to Work" in the Valley by the Phoenix Business Journal for the second year in a row.
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Arizona FCU To Open First-in-City YMCA Branch
Embarking on what it said is an "exclusive" and historic agreement, the $1.8 billion Arizona Federal Credit Union teamed up with the city's YMCA organization last week to open the charity's first on-premise branch combined with an anti-payday education venture.
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US FCU Gets the Kids Vote Out
US Federal Credit Union is helping prepare future voters.
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Mid-Atlantic Corporate Promotes, Realigns Senior Staff
There has been a few senior staff moves at Mid-Atlantic Corporate Federal Credit Union.
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Loan Delinquencies Fueled by Subprime Mortgages, AACUC Poll Shows
Subprime mortgage loans are the primary cause of delinquencies in loan portfolios, according to a snapshot online survey comprised by the African-American Credit Union Coalition.
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Visa Sweepstakes Could Send CU Employee To Beijing
An employee of a CU which manages to increase its members Visa credit card usage will win a trip to this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.
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Meeting Baby Boomers Half Way Could Help Credit Unions Accommodate Those Working Past Retirement
MADISON, Wis. -- Even though the first wave of Baby Boomers is set to retire this year, there are many others in that 44-to-62-year-old age bracket who still have to work up to--or past--the traditional retirement age.
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Small Investors May Like ShareBuilder, Wall Street Journal Says
The Wall Street Journal recently suggested ShareBuilder Corp., which has a heavy credit union clientele, as one alternative for those looking to invest a couple hundred dollars.
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Good News When a Member Complains?
A member storms into the office, strides up to the teller line, and announces loudly and bitterly he can't balance his checkbook because he didn't receive his monthly statement.
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Iowa Small CUs Get a Helping Hand From Iowa CUF
The Iowa Credit Union Foundation provided nine grants to small credit unions across Iowa through its annual small credit union grant program.
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Web-Based Checking Program Produces Results for LAFCU
Los Angeles Firemen's Credit Union is among the first to see results from the use of CUBUS Solutions' new Web-based checking program.
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CUNA Mutual Warns on Costly HELOC Scam
CUNA Mutual is warning credit unions about a costly new attack by fraudsters on members with home equity lines of credit.
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Community First Breaking "Green" Ground In Jacksonville
When it comes to living green, Community First Credit Union is hoping to lead by example by breaking ground on the city's first green-certified branch.
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Clayco Says "Green" Building Just Business as Usual
Building "green" is easy when you've been doing it as long as design/build firm Clayco Inc.
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Simpson Spares No Expense Lobbying In Utah
The banking industry in Utah may have more lobbyists but the Utah League of Credit Unions President/CEO Scott Simpson got singled out last week as the top spender treating lawmakers during 2007, according to a state report.
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Navy Federal's Worldwide Footprint Expands
For Navy Federal Credit Union, branching out has been essential to enhancing its first-class member service and providing more member convenience.
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Several Large CUs Sign Up Individually with NCBA Highlighting CUs' Identity as Cooperatives
Over the course of the last year, three of the largest credit unions in the country have joined the National Cooperative Business Association as individual credit unions, a move which they have characterized as a step toward emphasizing their organizations' identity as financial cooperatives.
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Exploring the Route to CU Subprime Auto Lending
The credit union auto loan portfolio is down "fractionally" over the last several months, according to CUNA Mutual Group's January CU Trends Report.
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Credit Union Industry Loses Longtime CU Veteran Anthony Bax
The New York State Credit Union League is mourning the loss of New York State Credit Union Hall of Famer Anthony P. Bax, who died at the age of 90.
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DFCU Uses Web to Highlight Big Payout
With credit unions everywhere making the most of large dividend payouts, Michigan' s largest credit union--the $1.8 billion DFCU Financial CU--used the occasion of its $17 million distribution last week to remind the public via the Internet of its special economic role and to sharpen the CU "difference with banks."
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Credit Unions, ALM First Form Alliance
ALM First Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm, has signed on four new credit union clients.
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Achieva CU Appoints Interim CEO
Achieva Credit Union has named Chief Financial Officer Debbie Rogers interim president/CEO.
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Picatinny FCU Names Chief Executive Officer
Picatinny Federal Credit Union has named Bill Darling as their Chief Executive Officer.
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HarborOne CU Offers Loans To New Citizens
The $1.5 billion HarborOne Credit Union has launched a loan program aimed at helping members who need financial support to take their citizenship examinations.
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Homeowners Struggling With Loans Have Hotline Resource, Johnson Says
NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson has added the Hope Now hotline to the MyMoney.gov Web site. The hotline gives consumers access to HUD-approved credit counselors who provide important resources for struggling homeowners, Johnson explained when making the announcement.
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Small Business Owners: 80 Regs in Need of Reform
More than 80 existing regulations are in need of review and reform, small business owners and others including NAFCU said in response to the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy's Regulatory Review and Reform (r3) initiative.
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Utah League Eyes Ballot Referendum On CU Restrictions
Frustrated by the state's restrictive state law on business lending and field of membership expansion, the Utah League of Credit Unions is now looking at a ballot initiative perhaps this fall to provide relief.
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Sound CU Takes 'Proactive' Approach to Consumer Lending, Team Effort Strives to Make Members Lives Easier
Going "green" and using pricing structures modeled after grocery stores and gas stations are just a few of the quivers in Sound Credit Union's lending arsenal that have helped it anticipate a member's loan needs well before an application is even filled out.
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The perception may be evident that credit union mergers are on the upswing, but NCUA statistics show a significant decline from a year ago based on several factors, according to David Bartoo, head of a merger consulting firm here.
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Pre-Merger Numbers Exceed Projections for Partners FCU
Members are taking advantage of reductions, loan rate improvements, and deposit rate enhancements as a result of a November merger, according to Partners Federal Credit Union.
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Riverset CU, Duke FCU May Merge
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Riverset Credit Union has filed an application to merge with Duke Federal Credit Union.
Front Page News
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TDECU Uses Mapping, Demographics Software to Site Branches
Texas Dow Employees Credit Union is relying on an old name in office gear for the latest tools in deciding when and where to place new branches.
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Man Bites Dog? - CUNA Asks for Subprime Work-Out Guidance As NCUA Stresses Importance of Flexibility
An interesting conversation about how credit unions can or can not help members resolve ongoing mortgage problems seems to put CUs on the side of more regulatory guidance and NCUA in favor of greater regulatory flexibility.
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Bank of America Buys a Troubled Countrywide For $4.1 Billion
Countrywide, the largest provider of home loans in the country, will be acquired by Bank of America for a reported price tag of $4.1 billion.
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Meeting Goliath - Wisconsin CU, Backed By Industry, Challenges IRS Take on CUs' Core Mission
The $916 million Community First Credit Union has decided to take on the Internal Revenue Service in court over whether it should be required to pay unrelated business income tax on some of its products.
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Campaign Season - First Member-To-Member Letters Inaugurate New Era In CU-Bank Conversion Fight
For the first time ever, members whose credit unions are seeking to convert to bank charters have been given the chance to hear from the credit union leadership that backs the conversion and other CU members who oppose it.
News Briefs
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As the elections are heating up, CUNA has beefed up the political section of its Web site (www.cuna.org).
As the elections are heating up, CUNA has beefed up the political section of its Web site (www.cuna.org).
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NCUA Announces Third-Party Vendor Relationships To Lead Virtual Meeting
NCUA announced Jan. 15 that Board Member Gigi Hyland will host a Jan. 29 Webinar focused on credit unions' relationships with third-party vendors.
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Florida's VyStar CU to Open Real Estate CUSO
Another credit union has blazed a trail with the launch of its own real estate CUSO.
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Elevations CU Offers 'FlexTier' Money Market Account
Members of Elevations Credit Union have another "flexible" option through a new money market account.
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CUSO Financial Expands Fee-Based Account Line
As an alternative to traditional, commissioned-based relationships, CUSO Financial Services LP has launched three fee-based accounts for credit unions.
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Sunmark FCU, Assemblyman Amedore Shine Spotlight on Financial Literacy
Sunmark Federal Credit Union and Assemblyman George Amedore are helping financial education take center stage.
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Kentucky Corporate Signs With Mid-Atlantic for Bill Pay
Kentucky Corporate Federal Credit Union has turned to a fellow corporate to provide electronic bill pay to its members.
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Countrywide Exec Goes To Fiserv
Fiserv Inc. has named a 30-year technology veteran and former senior executive at Countrywide Financial Corp. to a new position as executive vice president and chief information officer.
Facilities
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SACU Branches Out Into Schertz
San Antonio Federal Credit Union has broken ground on a new high-tech branch in Schertz, Texas.
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Credit Unions Building Greater Presence in Schools
When it comes to providing in-school branches Michigan is tops.
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Redwood CU's Green Efforts Recognized
Redwood Credit Union was recently honored for producing one of the "Top Projects in Commercial Real Estate," after introducing environmentally responsible materials and energy conservation efforts in its newly remodeled corporate facility.
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LAFCU Opens Sixth Branch
Los Angeles Federal Credit Union has opened its newest full-service branch in the City of El Monte.
Regulatory/Compliance
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NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson announced today that Jeremy Carl has been appointed associate director of external affairs.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed that mutual funds and other companies seeking exemptions under the Investment Company Act of 1940 submit their applications electronically so investors can access them sooner and the commission can consider them more quickly.
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NCUA recently announced that its Community Development Revolving Loan Fund has maxed out and set a new record.
Special Report
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Michigan Educational CU Expands Open Solutions Commitment
Michigan Educational Credit Union will be converting to the flagship core processing platform offered by Open Solutions Inc.
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Passageways Reports Another Year of Growth
Passageways LLC experienced another year of growth in 2007.
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Security Information Management Tools On Upswing
IT security chiefs at big credit unions who find themselves deploying security information management tools are not alone. Software that provides visibility to IT security throughout an enterprise is a fast-growing business, according to Forrester Research.
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Young Consumers Look to Social Networking Sites for Services?
Social networking sites (SNSes) like MySpace and its more than 50 million visitors a month include many young and youngish consumers interested in interacting with providers of goods and services, according to a new report from Forrester Research. Author Charlene Li writes: "Marketers who see lots of users congregated in...
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Biller Survey Finds E-Bill Growth, Mortgage Providers Staying with Paper
redit unions might like to know that big billers, especially utilities, may be increasingly looking for payment channels other than the traditional online banking site. A recent Aite Group survey of 200 U.S. billers--ranging from those with 50,000 or more bills per month to some with fewer than 10,000--found that...
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U.S. Central Hires Brand-Protection Specialist in Wake of Phish Attacks
U.S. Central Credit Union said Monday it has been using the services of enterprise brand protection specialist MarkMonitor to knock down hack attacks from the Rock Phish organization.
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Oregon CU Uses Cruises as Conversion Prizes
Northwest Community Credit Union sent a member and a staffer on cruises for their part in helping to ensure smooth sailing for the credit union's core processing platform conversion.
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Fiserv Completes Sale of Health Businesses
Fiserv Inc.'s sale of substantially all of its health-related businesses to UnitedHealthcare has been completed, the companies announced.
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EFFCU Adds Brainware to Document Management Muscle
Like any other big credit union, Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union found itself pushing a lot of paper.
Opinions
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Responding to Changing Internet Threats in an "Always-On" Environment
Over the last two years, the number of online attacks targeting the customers of financial institutions has more than tripled. Fraud schemes have become so pervasive that most credit unions have to assume their member data will soon be targeted by criminals through various online attack vectors.
Letters to the editor
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CRA: Not on My Watch
The round-up editorial in the Jan. 9 issue of Credit Union Times offered interesting insight into your outlook for 2008.
Publisher's Column
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A Look at This and That from Across the CU Community
Take a good, hard look at the front page of Credit Union Times. Look at the items making headlines: credit union-to-mutual savings bank conversions, taxation, mortgages, and wise-use of technology.
On-Site Conference Coverage
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National Credit Union Foundation Executive Director Steve Delfin and DE Program Director Tom Decker debuted some new material during a breakout session at the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues annual meeting last week.
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California and Nevada credit unions overwhelmingly approved another year of advocacy campaign funding during the league's annual business meeting sessions. Nevada credit unions unanimously supported the 2008 campaign, with roughly 95% of California credit unions declaring aye.
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In an attempt to increase efficiency, add value to elected officials, and better represent all asset sizes and geographical locations, members of the California Credit Union League approved changes to its delegate system during its annual meeting last week.
People
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People
East, South, Midwest
In Memoriam
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HawaiiUSA FCU Mourns Death of Former President/CEO Ron Ogata
HONOLULU -- HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union is mourning the loss of former President/CEO Ron Ogata.
Voting Poll
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What's Ahead for CU Credit Card Portfolios?
With credit unions continuing to debate the merits of managing their own credit card portfolio, Credit Union Times wants to know about your credit card portfolio plans.
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CUs Expect New Year Will Bring Slight Rise In Mortgage Delinquencies
The votes are in and, in the face of the subprime debacle ravaging other for-profit lenders, Credit Union Times readers are expecting their mortgage delinquencies to slightly increase in 2008.
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