Credit Union Times Magazine June-04, 2008
Front Page News
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Strong CU Card Portfolio Performance Seen Cutting Into Card Portfolio Sales
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Improved CU credit card performance appears to be the trend, undercutting the market for CU card portfolios, according to analyses of NCUA first quarter 2008 data.
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Consultant Says CU Merger Talk Has Moved Out From the Shadows
DENVER -- Against a backdrop of economic troubles and long-term sustainability, management and boards of credit unions, both big and small, are now more open than ever about discussing consolidations, according to a top merger consultant.
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Time Has Come: Fryzel Senate Hearing On NCUA Chairmanship Is Scheduled
WASHINGTON -- While Michael Fryzel is finally going to get a confirmation hearing for his nomination as NCUA Board chairman, partisan election-year partisan politics could prevent him from actually getting on the board.
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CUs Find Participations Can Provide Them Some MBL Ceiling Wiggle Room
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Earlier this year, the $2 billion Coastal Federal Credit Union, once again, found itself nearing its member business lending cap.
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Paragon to Power Up Social Network
MONTVALE, N.J. -- Paragon Federal Credit Union, hoping that CU members will want to surf the Facebook and MySpace tide, said it will boot up a social networking site.
News Briefs
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CUNA Mutual Continues Plans to Build 401(k), Small Business Connections
MADISON, Wis. -- A marriage between 401(k) plans and credit unions with business members is one that CUNA Mutual Group is aiming to consummate.
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NCUA Picks Patelco CU to Absorb Cal State 9, Less the Bad Loans
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Nearly six months into its conservatorship, Cal State 9 Credit Union of Concord, Calif., will be absorbed by $4.2 billion Patelco Credit Union of San Francisco.
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Federal Reserve Board's Mishkin to Leave
WASHINGTON -- Citing a desire to return to his teaching position at Columbia University's Graduate School Business, Federal Reserve Board Governor Frederic S. Mishkin announced late last month that he will leave his position as of Aug. 31.
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Hoel Loses Car, Former Norlarco Branch Suffers Damage in Colorado Twister
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Robert Hoel, the retired head of the Filene Research Institute, and a former branch of the old Norlarco Credit Union turned out to be the two prime CU victims of the devastating May 22 tornado and hail storm which hit the nearby community of Windsor.
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CUs Are Quiet as Arizona Ballot Initiative Looms Over Payday Loans
PHOENIX -- Arizona voters have a say in the fight over payday lending this November. But credit unions are mostly on the sidelines, adopting an informal hands-off stance and choosing instead to push for more financial education among the public.
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Fidelity National Information Systems Teams Up With Elan Financial on ATMs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Fidelity National Information Systems has teamed up with a rival in the credit card portfolio market to offer its client credit unions another avenue to surcharge-free ATM access.
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Making CU History With ICU Day/Co-op Week Ownership Theme
MADISON, Wis.-- In a first, U.S. and Canadian credit union and cooperative officials have joined forces to select the "It Belongs to Me" tagline of International Credit Union Day on October 16 and Co-op Week Oct. 12-18.
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Members United Backs Lobbying Day
WASHINGTON -- Members of eight national and state credit union associations met with members of Congress and their staffs during Members United Corporate Federal Credit Union Hike the Hill on May 13 and 14.
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CUNA Mutual Eyes 401(k) Providers
MADISON, Wis. -- To further build its retirement planning brand, CUNA Mutual Group said it has some aggressive plans in the works to acquire businesses in the 401(k) provider space.
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NAFCU Board Gets Two New Members
WASHINGTON -- Visions FCU President/CEO Frank Berrish and Randolph-Brooks FCU President/CEO Randy Smith were elected to three-year terms on NAFCU's board in balloting that ended last month.
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Pac Service CU Streamlines Auto Loan Program and Lowers Rates
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Pacific Service Credit Union here has lowered auto rates and simplified its auto loan program, now allowing qualified borrowers to receive a rate of 5.79% APR for terms up to 66 months, and 6.79% APR for terms 67-84 months.
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Red Flags Sends SBA Community Express Program to Audit
WASHINGTON -- A loan program designed for small businesses in disadvantaged communities is being referred to the Small Business Administration's Office of Inspector General for an audit after a number of recent, relatively high credit risks were spotted.
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CUNA CFO Council Elects Exec. Committee, Officers
MADISON, Wis. -- The CUNA Chief Financial Officers Council announced its new executive committee and officers during its 14th annual conference and roundtable.
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Extreme Brand Makeover for New York State CUL
LATHAM, N.Y. -- Effective June 2, the New York State Credit Union League is leading the way for a new brand image.
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Bethpage FCU Green Efforts
BETHPAGE, N.Y. -- Bethpage Federal Credit Union, an active partner in the energy conservation campaign Green Levittown spearheaded by Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, is talking up the benefits of going green.
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Constitution Corporate FCU Adds FedReceipt Plus for Check Processing
WALLINGFORD, Conn. -- Constitution Corporate Federal Credit Union has converted its check processing operations to be 100% electronic.
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AACUC Election Underway
SHREVEPORT, La. -- The African American Credit Union Coalition has three board seats up for election and all of the incumbents are vying for reelection.
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Duvall-Serrano, Head of Largest Student CU, Retiring After 24 Years
DENVER -- A Denver math teacher, Donna Duvall-Serrano, who is nationally acclaimed for founding 24 years ago what is now the nation's largest student-run credit union, is retiring this month.
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First Integrity Mortgage Adopts Mortgage Builder Origination
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- When First Integrity Mortgage of St. Louis faced being orphaned by their sun-setting loan origination system, it went looking for a replacement whose provider reflected its personal service values in addition to helping them stay competitive by keeping costs down.
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Ohio Credit Unions Take MoneyAndStuff Literacy Initiative to Columbus
WHITEHALL, Ohio -- The Ohio Credit Union League's financial education initiative MoneyAndStuff tour recently stopped in the Columbus suburb of Whitehall.
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FORUM Credit Union Achieves Spot on Chamber's Best Place to Work List
INDIANAPOLIS -- FORUM Credit Union has been recognized by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce as one of the best places to work in the state.
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Many Mourn Dedicated CU Leader Ruth Kelly
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Longtime credit union leader Ruth Kelly has died at the age of 87 from stroke complications.
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Enterprise Approach Called Key to Dealing With Fraud
BOSTON -- Financial institutions need to get their arms around the whole issue of enterprise risk as new channels of both consumer service and criminal activity emerge and mature.
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Donations
United Educational Credit Union, Battle Creek, Mich., awarded a $400 Bright Ideas Partnership grant to Max Larsen Elementary School. The grant was in support of the fourth and fifth grader's production of "The Jungle Book." The grant was applied for by teacher Steve Ellis. The production was a collaborative effort...
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Scholarships
Security Service Federal Credit Union, San Antonio, awarded $16,000 in scholarships to high school students in the San Antonio area and Colorado. Scholarship winners were: Laura Hernandez, Noah Pierce, Bethany Fowler, Kate Wiemers, Anthony Fisher and Brandt Zook. Since the scholarship program started in 1990, Security Service has awarded more...
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Think Tank Honors Thrift Leader
NEW YORK -- The former chair of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions has been honored by a think tank that has taken on a leading role in the effort to promote thrift.
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Thompson, Former New Mexico CEO, Dies
ALBURQUEQUE, N.M. -- The credit union industry is mourning former U.S. New Mexico Federal Credit Union President/CEO John Thompson.
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Retail Sales Up For April, Auto Sales Lag
PLANO, Texas -- Retails sales were up in April, surprising analysts and economy watchers, posting a bump of 0.5% for the month. But that figure didn't include the sales of automobiles, which fell 0.2%, offsetting the 0.2% increase from March.
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Educational Community CU and MountainCrest CU to Merge
EVERETT, Wash. -- Educational Community Credit Union and MountainCrest Credit Union, formerly Snohomish County PUD Credit Union, will merge effective May 31.
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Visa Sending CU CEO to Olympics
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Visa Inc. is sending the CEO of an Illinois credit union to the summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
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California, Nevada League Partnership Offers Automated Membership Sign-Up
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. -- The California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues have created a partnership with credit union owned software provider EPL and software manufacturer MeridianLink to qualify members for membership, loans and other products using online automated processes.
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Holyoke CU Uses Products, Technology to Grow in Overbanked Market
HOLYOKE, Mass. -- A positive response to the credit crunch combined with adept technology in the back shop is helping Holyoke Credit Union compete and win in what its CEO called a very overbanked market.
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TNB Scoops Up Another Small CU Card Portfolio
DALLAS -- Another credit union with a relatively small card portfolio has opted out of independent issuing and chosen instead to sell its cards to TNB Card Services, the card processing CUSO attached to credit union-owned Town North Bank.
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Payday Lending May Be on Its Way Out in Ohio by Next September
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Barring legal challenges, payday lending will come to an end in Ohio in September of this year.
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Gila Assigned Collections Role by FAIRWINDS
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Gila Group has been selected by FAIRWINDS Credit Union in Orlando, Fla., to collect on its delinquent accounts.
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Two Senate Backers of CURIA Seem to Be Treading Down a Lonely Path
WASHINGTON -- Because of his independent streak on foreign policy issues, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) often finds himself at odds with those on both sides of aisle.
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Hyland Speaks to N.Y. State League On Possible Compensation Disclosure
WASHINGTON -- NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland said the NCUA Board is still deciding whether to require credit unions to disclose additional data on executive compensation.
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Former Auditor Links FIS Subsidiary To the Subprime Mortgage Meltdown
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A former auditor from Watterson Prime, now owned by Fidelity National Information Services, has charged her former employer with deliberately verifying subprime loans she had kicked back as being bad.
Facilities
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E1Financial Heads to East L.A.
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. -- East Los Angeles residents are learning about credit unions with the opening of the first credit union branch courtesy of E1 Financial Credit Union.
Tech Bytes
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SecureWorks Provides New Outsource Offering
ATLANTA -- SecureWorks is now offering a new service it says allows clients to collect and analyze logs and alerts in real time without having to install specialized software or hardware.
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Premier America Becomes 400th CU Client of ECM Specialist
CHATSWORTH, Calif. -- Premier America Credit Union has become the 400th credit union to sign on the provider of the OnBase enterprise content management (ECM) software suite.
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CUs Among Allegiance Award Winners
SALT LAKE CITY -- Two credit unions were among the winners of user awards from Allegiance Inc., a provider of enterprise feedback management tools.
Special Report
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Carolina Postal CU Puts Auto Loan Twist on Green
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With gas prices skyrocketing to an all-time high what better time to once again promote a Carolina Postal Credit Union hybrid auto loan.
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AAA Reluctant to Discuss CU Program
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A March story in The Daytona Beach Journal revealed that AAA, the automobile service company, provides car loans through credit unions, but AAA declined to elaborate on its CU program for Credit Union Times.
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CUDL Auto Lending Symposium Set for June
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. --The 10th Annual Auto Lending Symposium presented by CUDL, which administers the nation's largest indirect and point-of-sale lending network for credit unions, will take place at the Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on June 18-20.
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First Quarter Car Sales: Out With the New, In With the Used
First quarter 2008 data from Callahan and Associates clearly shows the downward trend in new auto sales as compared to one year ago, now sinking below 2006 levels. But the sale of used autos has steadily increased over the past three years, a trend auto industry officials expect to continue...
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NCUF Plans an Auto Lending Summit for July in Washington
WASHINGTON -- Auto loan volume is taking a plunge and the people likely more affected by narrower access to sensible credit--lower-income Americans--are also more likely to be the ones targeted by predatory lenders.
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Community Driven CU Opts for Auto-Related Name and Community Charter
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The merger of Automotive FCU here with MPG Community CU created a community-based credit union with a name that keeps its history intact while giving it mileage for future growth: Community Driven CU.
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CUDL Report Shows Managed Risk and Measured Growth
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. --Even as credit union indirect delinquencies and charge offs for auto loans increased from 2006 to 2007, CUDL's Business Intelligence Report shows that these rates were still far below those suffered by banks and other financials.
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Enterprise Car Sales Offers Members More for Trade-Ins
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Enterprise Car Sales, which works with credit unions to increase auto loan volume, is offering Kelley Blue Book trade-in value plus $500 for members' and employees' current vehicles during the month of July 2008.
Opinions
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How Credit Unions Can Continue to Thrive in the Brave New Economy
The economic news for the first quarter of 2008 is not encouraging. The subprime mortgage crisis remains prominent, home values continue to trend downward, new housing starts are down, gas prices are soaring, consumer spending is down and consumer confidence is ebbing.
Letters to the editor
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Competition Is Not the Problem
I was disappointed to read Sarah Snell Cooke's column on May 21 concerning AAFES' launch of a credit card through JPMorgan Chase.
Publisher's Column
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Conservatism in Defense of Reputation Is No Virtue
Credit unions, generally speaking, tend to be fairly conservative in most everything they do. The reasons for this are multifold. They have a fiduciary duty to the members who build the capital in the organization so it can function and continue operating for years to come; they aren't looking to...
Quotes Worth Quoting
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Verbatim
Homeowner Daniel A. Bailey Jr. recently sent an e-mail about his plight to Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo R. Mozilo among others. Apparently, instead of forwarding his response to a subordinate, Mozilo hit "reply" by mistake.05/19/2008 06:12 AMTo Angelo_Mozilo@countrywide.com Subject Re: bailey acct# XXXXXXX
On-Site Conference Coverage
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Canada's Common Wealth Credit Union Wins MACQUEE Award
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Common Wealth Credit Union of Lloydminster, Alberta, added the Marketing Association of Credit Unions' MACQUEE Award to its trophy case at MAC's annual conference award dinner May 22. The $1.6 billion Common Wealth picked up three CUES Golden Mirror awards last week.
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The Marketing Association of California
The Marketing Association of California drew more than 100 credit union professionals to Newport Beach, California for this year's annual conference and awards ceremony, held May 21-23. Credit Union Times asked attendees the following question: If you were in charge of an industrywide credit union campaign, where would you begin?
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Trend Alert: Net Promoter Score Comes to the Fore
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Credit unions that sent marketing directors to the Marketing Association of Credit Unions' annual conference last week may hear a new term come member survey time: net promoter score.
People
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People
EAST
From the Board Room
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Altier Credit Union Board Is Named
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Altier Credit Union board, which consists of seven directors, each serving three-year terms, added one new member, Joe Nowaczyk, and re-appointed incumbent Patricia Morcom as chairman.
Voting Poll
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Poll Reports Decrease of Business Loan Requests in Current Economy
HOBOKEN, N.J. -- The financial industry has seen various changes as a result of the current economy and the subprime crisis and the latest results of the Credit Union Times online voting poll aimed to see how the economy has impacted business loans in the credit union world.
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