Credit Union Times Magazine July-30, 2008
News
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Iowa CU Foundation Inundated
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Victims of last month's floods were still pouring in last week as the Iowa Credit Union Foundation, the major industry agency processing claims, reported national contributions of $410,000.
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Education CU Bows to Goddess of Wisdom With Name Change to Athena
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- Literally taking a page of Greek mythology, the Education Credit Union has changed its name to Athena Credit Union.
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PSECU Wins a Second Chance on BJ's Card Breach Argument
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The $3.1 billion Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union has won a chance to argue its case that it deserves to be repaid for losses it suffered during a major card breach.
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Credit Unions Are a Family Affair for Financial Plus CU CEO Jack Teausant
Ottawa, Ill. -- For Jack Teausant, CEO of Financial Plus Credit Union, credit unions are a family business.
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TMG Payroll Card Headed for More CUs
DES MOINES, Iowa -- More credit unions should have access to payroll cards now that TMG has decided to roll out its payroll card product industrywide.
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Yes, We Have No Coins at People's Trust FCU
HOUSTON -- People's Trust Federal Credit Union has said no more change.
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NCUA CFO Tells Board That NCUSIF Is Bracing for Hits
WASHINGTON -- The NCUSIF has $7.6 billion in assets and a strong equity ratio, but has taken steps to ensure funds are available to help the increased number of credit unions having financial trouble, NCUA Chief Financial Officer Mary Ann Woodson told the board Thursday.
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NFCC Survey Quantifies Distress
SILVER SPRING, Md. -- During the first half of 2008, more than 10,000 consumers completed the National Foundation for Credit Counseling's Mortgage Reality Check at www.HousingHelpNow.org. The site asks participants a series of questions, and advises them regarding their foreclosure risk.
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Georgia CUs Are Offering Some Respite for Money-Squeezed Members
DULUTH, Ga. -- To help members stay afloat amid the tidal wave of high gas prices, rising food costs and other recession-like signs, some of Georgia's credit unions are offering relief.
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Hawaiian Airline Bankruptcy Provides Membership With a Silver Lining
HONOLULU -- The $31 million Aloha Airlines Federal Credit Union has seen new membership opportunities after bankrupt Aloha Airlines sold off several of its divisions.
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Virtual Set Adds Flexibility, Efficiency--and Fun--to WesCorp's Studio Operation
SAN DIMAS, Calif. -- Television weathermen have long used the "green screen" to display the graphics they use to illustrate their on-air forecasts.
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Lower Deposit Rates Could Chip Away At Member Growth, Says CUNA Mutual
MADISON, Wis. -- Credit unions have put up an impressive membership growth rate early in the year, but that could settle back down as credit unions reprice their deposit products.
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Small CUs Look Inward for Leaders
MADISON, Wis. -- The search for a credit union CEO replacement begins at home, so to speak, for small credit unions.
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A Retailer Push From Cards to Cash at the Pump Appears to Be Underway
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Despite Visa Inc.'s announcement that it will cap card interchange on gasoline purchases, some gasoline retailers around the country have begun rewarding consumers for abandoning their cards at the pump.
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Filene's Ben Rogers Blogs to Lure Gen Y and Build the Future of the CU Movement
MADISON, Wis. -- Ben Rogers is giving credit union execs a lot to think about.
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Regulators and CUs Gear Up to Assure Members on Safety of Deposits
WASHINGTON --More than a trickle, less than an onslaught.
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With Bush Veto Threat Benched, House Punts Hail-Mary Housing Bill to the Senate
WASHINGTON -- Hours after President Bush dropped his veto threat, the House on Wednesday passed a measure to help homeowners hurt by the subprime crisis and make funds available to shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, if necessary.
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Gen X and Gen Y Are Mobile, Tech Savvy and Can Be Just Plain Finicky
ST. LOUIS -- When it comes to Gen X and Gen Y, just being their primary financial institution is not the automatic "score" it once was.
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Georgia CUs Take Careful Steps With Residential Common Bond Expansions
ATLANTA -- Georgia credit unions have moved cautiously regarding residential common bond charters even though a 2005 state law change gave them the flexibility to do so.
Front Page News
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Federal Court's Pa. FOM Decision Finds NCUA Was 'Arbitrary and Capricious'
WASHINGTON -- Credit union community charter conversion approvals could be in flux as a result of last week's federal court ruling against the NCUA.
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R.I. CU Thinking of Leaving the Fold
CRANSTON, R.I. -- The $310 million Coastway Credit Union has announced that it is considering changing its charter to a state-chartered mutual bank.
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Young Homebuyers and Renters Surf Heat Maps Online Before Settling Down
WASHINGTON -- Hotpads.com may be the nation's largest rental listing, but it's also gaining a reputation as a hot new source of first-time homebuyer information.
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Texans CU Is Moving Forward to Pull Its Business Lending Out of a Downturn
RICHARDSON, Texas -- Texans Credit Union said it is now in a place to start pulling its commercial lending program out of its slump.
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Arbitrator Rules Texans Insurance President Was Fired Without Cause
DALLAS -- An arbitrator has determined that Kevin M. Curley was fired from his post as president of Texans Insurance Group without reasonable or justifiable cause and ruled that the former executive is entitled to his job back.
News Briefs
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SEFCU Insurance Buys Local Agency
ALBANY, N.Y. -- SEFCU subsidiary SEFCU Insurance Agency has recently acquired the Schoharie Valley Agencies Inc.
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Western Vista FCU Celebrates Milestone
CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Western Vista Federal Credit Union has hit a new milestone: $100 million in assets.
Lending
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Kinecta FCU Buys Take in CU Vehicles
SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. -- Kinecta Federal Credit Union made an equity purchase in CU Vehicles LLC, the holding company for Autoland Inc.
Marketing
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U.S. First CU Goes With Gumas
SAN MATEO, Calif. -- U.S. First Credit Union has tapped San Francisco-based Gumas Advertising as its agency of record.
Regulatory/Compliance
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Trade Associations Take Issue With Federal Reserve Overdraft Rules
WASHINGTON -- Consumers should be allowed to opt-out of a credit union's overdraft protection program, but proposed rules requiring extensive notification of this right would be burdensome, CUNA and NAFCU told the Federal Reserve System.
Tech Bytes
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IMM Says TotaleAtlas 4.3 Has Been Released
LINDEN, N.J. -- Integrated Media Management has released a new version of its flagship document preparation solution.
Special Report
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Prepayments Are Expected to Slow, Says Southwest Corporate White Paper
PLANO, Texas -- Three major factors--interest rates, housing economics and seasoning--are expected to slow prepayments in the short term, a white paper published by Southwest Corporate concluded.
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What Is an MBS (and Why in the World Would Corporates Invest in Them)?
First developed in the 1970s, mortgage-backed securities were created by pooling together groups of whole mortgage loans with similar characteristics to form one security. Corporates have invested in MBSs almost since their inception. Why? Because until a few years ago, MBS structures were relatively simple and risk-free. They largely consisted...
Opinions
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Closing Protection Letters Are Not Insurance Against Mortgage Fraud
You are about to wire closing funds to the table, into the hands of a lawyer or settlement company employee you have never met before, but no worries because you have a closing protection letter right? Wrong.
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The Time Is Right for You to Begin Offering FHA-Backed Mortgages
It's big, it's hot, and it's all the rage--and chances are, you don't offer it. What is it? The FHA loan. According to a 2007 study by the Government Accounting Office, 10% of home purchases in 2008 will be Federal Housing Administration loans, a number that will rise by 50%...
Editor-in-Chief's Column
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'Local' Politics Shouldn't Get in the Way of CU's Future
The credit union community prides itself on giving members and most members of Congress warm and fuzzy feelings. It is more of a community than most industries with credit unions sharing best practices and how-tos. Being part of a cooperative movement yet competing in a tight marketplace puts credit unions...
Letters to the editor
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Full Cooperation From Troubled Debtors a Must for Workouts
I read with interest your article on Filene's report about credit card holders' ability to repay. (CU Times, July 16, page 8.)
Staking Out the Stats
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NAFCU Data Shows Vehicle Sales Continue to Decrease
ARLINGTON, Va. -- NAFCU released a Macro Data Flash report on vehicle sales that showed that total vehicle sales in June 2008 decreased to the lowest level since 1993.
People
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People
EAST
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Scholarships
Langley Federal Credit Union, Newport News, Va., presented four members with the Galaxy Graduate $5,000 College Scholarship award. The four recipients were Alex Chen, Sydney Giblin, Benno Lee and Angela Zhang. Chen attended York High School and has been accepted to Stanford University where he will major in mathematics and...
In Memoriam
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Former Head of Empower FCU Passes
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The credit union industry is mourning the loss of former Empower Federal Credit Union Co-President/CEO J. Raymond Curtin, who died suddenly on July 21, 2008.
Clarifications/Corrections
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Clarification
Because of an editing error, the headline on an article in the July 16 issue about Texans Credit Union's business lending program (page 1) did not take into account a late comment from the CU and may have unintentionally implied that it was under a regulatory order. As stated in...
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