Credit Union Times Magazine November-10, 2010

Political Role Charged on CDCI

By David Morrison

The U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Capital Initiative drew a charge of political tampering last week from an economist who has often been critical of programs related to the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Mixed Election Results For CUs

By Claude R. Marx

CUNA and NAFCU's PACs supported more winners than losers in the midterm elections, yet CUs still lost some key allies.

Restructuring Spurs Debate

The question of how fast and what means and methods credit unions, particularly those which have relied on the corporates for

Panel Maps Plan for Southwest

Kerry Parker, president/CEO of A+ Federal Credit Union in Austin, Texas, is one of many credit union executives helping newly conserved corporates plan for the future of corporate services.

Mazuma CU Worked With IRS to Expose Securities Scam

By Michelle A. Samaad

The owner of an oil field acquisition company was charged last week with securities fraud for allegedly bilking more than $7 million from 9,000 investors to fund a lifestyle that included cars, boats, furs, vacations and houses.

Calling Claims Baseless, Texans Credit Union Vows to Fight Off Another CRE Suit

By Michelle A. Samaad

Green Hills Development Company LLC and Heartland Development Company LLC filed suit against CU Liquidity Services LLC, formerly known as Texans Commercial Capital LLC.

California, Nevada CUs' Feedback Helps Form New CUSO

By Michelle A. Samaad

Saddled with pressures to reduce operating expenses, California and Nevada credit unions had been seeking an outlet to help minimize costs through a collaborative network.

Another CU Opts to Start Offering FHA-Backed Mortgages

By David Morrison

The $341 million Consumers Credit Union, headquartered in Kalamazoo, Mich., has become the latest CU to start offering its members mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

Efficiency: Simplicity And Tech Can Help

By David Morrison

Credit unions needing to serve more members with fewer staff during these hard economic times might consider simplifying their products, increasing their use of technology and cooperating with other CUs.

S. F. CU Focuses on Service

By Myriam DiGiovanni

For the past four years San Francisco Fire Credit Union's approach to deepening member relationships has been to listen and make changes.

Corporates' Market Share Plunges to 30-Year Low

By Joyce Moed

The corporate credit union market share in 2007 was about 20%. As of July 2010, it was down to 7.7%.

Heavy Tech Presence Is a Feature of American Airlines FCU's New Investment Program

By Michelle A. Samaad

Members who are tech savvy, highly mobile and rarely visit branches were those the $5.2 billion American Airlines Federal

Pepperdine Graduates Offer Solutions

By Michelle A. Samaad

After a year of studies that including coming up with projects that could actually be used at credit unions, executives recently

Telesis-Financed Mall Files for Bankruptcy

By Michelle A. Samaad

A year after Telesis Community Credit Union filed a breach of contract claim against an Orlando shopping center, the owners of the property have filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.

Inspector General Takes Treasury to Task

By David Morrison

Neal Barofsky, the special inspector general for the troubled asset relief program, has written a highly critical evaluation of the U.S. Treasury's administration of efforts meant to help home owners remain in their homes.

CUDL in Pact With PAR

By Joyce Moed

Credit Union Direct Lending, an indirect and point-of-purchase auto lending solutions CUSO, has entered into an agreement with PAR North America to help credit unions advance their vehicle recovery efforts and processes.

Nominations for Crear Award

Nominations are now being accepted for the Pete Crear Lifetime Achievement award by the African-American Credit Union Coalition.

Michigan CUSO Finds Niche as Hybrid Service Bureau

By Marc Rapport

If a core processor salesperson comes calling unannounced to your credit union, it's not courtesy of Member Driven Technologies.

Houston CU Turns to SaaS Tool After Robbery

By Marc Rapport

A low-tech armed robbery prompted a Houston credit union to deploy some high-tech policy monitoring to help prevent future such occurrences while keeping within the limits of the law itself.

New CUSO Gathers Teammates to Tackle Lending Crunch

By Marc Rapport

When practice fields across the land filled in August with players prepping for the upcoming new school year, a lending CUSO had already hit the field with a team of its own.

Smart Phones Boost Mobile Bill Pay but Snail Mail Still Rules

By Marc Rapport

There's little choice about whether to pay bills but lots on how to pay them. And while the mobile channel gets the hype, the leader is still snail mail.

There's little choice about whether to pay bills but lots on how to pay them. And while the mobile channel gets the hype, the leader is still snail mail.

By Marc Rapport

For one Massachusetts credit union, studying ways to go paperless while improving its business processes overall was not just an academic exercise.

CUNA Tech Council Honor

The CUNA Technology Council has presented its annual Best of Show award from the BAI Retail Delivery expo to Bluepoint Solutions of Vista, Calif.

Boulder CU Wins Award

Elevations Credit Union was one of two Colorado organizations to win this year's award for organizational performance presented by a statewide group as part of the effort to win a national honor.

Delta Gains Users

Delta Community Credit Union in Atlanta said more than 10,000 of its 205,000 members have signed up to use its mobile banking service since the service was rolled out in June.

Social Media Protections

NAFCU Services Corp. is now offering social media site protection services from a major provider of Internet security services to financial institutions.

Bluepoint Offers RDC for Androids

What's billed as the first mobile remote-deposit capture solution for Android-powered smart phones has been introduced by Bluepoint Solutions Inc.

Jack Henry Lands Eight New CUs

Jack Henry & Associates said it has signed eight credit unions as new users of its Symitar Cruise core processing platform in the past two months.

Much Adieu About Nothing?

By Sarah Snell Cooke

Credit unions lost a close ally when Congressman Paul Kanjorski conceded the race to Hazelton Mayor Lou Barletta.

CUs Are Proactive On Corporates

The most immediate issue facing our industry is the continued access to services provided traditionally by corporate credit unions.

Pox on Robo Lending

As treasurer/CEO of a small ($1.8 million assets, 500 members) credit union, I can wholeheartedly endorse many of the excellent

Are CU Members Not Taxpayers?

I'm a volunteer and official of a large credit union in Maryland. Our association held a multistate leadership conference in Ocean City several weeks ago.

FICO Article and Scores Flop

I started reading the Focus Report [Oct. 13 issue] guest opinion article entitled "How to Use the Best Predictive Tools to Revive Mortgage Lending" by Joanne

Collaboration Brings Benefits to CUs

It's no secret that credit unions are experiencing unprecedented challenges. And to address them most effectively, several credit unions are finding there is strength in numbers.

Marketing Expert Shares Recipe for Ad Success

FISHERS, Ind. -- There is a science to creating an effective credit union ad, and some of the elements might be surprising.

FISHERS, Ind. -- Giving younger people ownership of projects and opportunities to develop are key to retaining them as employees, according to a panel of experts speaking at the CU Water Cooler Symposium.

FISHERS, Ind. -- Credit unions are wasting their time and resources chatting about insignificant topics on Twitter and other social media outlets when they should be rallying around issues like secondary capital and member business lending.

Ex-Nike CFO Delivers Strategic Pointers

FcISHERS, Ind. -- Credit unions are going through a defining moment and have an opportunity to figure out what they stand for and come up with a strategic plan to get where they want to be.

Retaining Young Talent

FISHERS, Ind. -- Giving younger people ownership of projects and opportunities to develop are key to retaining them as employees, according to a panel of experts speaking at the CU Water Cooler Symposium.

Relaxed Atmosphere

FISHERS, Ind. -- The CU Water Cooler Symposium held Oct. 27-28 at FORUM Credit Union was not your average industry conference.

When to Seek Help to Solve Board, Chief Executive Conflicts

It may be a reflection of today's tense times, but there seem to be more sharp disagreements between CEOs and boards.

The Marketing Challenges of 2010 May Help Foster Innovative Solutions in 2011

By Myriam DiGiovanni

When it comes to the trends in marketing, the challenge this year has been doing more with less.

Wow Factor Not Enough, CEOs Want Analysis

By Eileen Courter

Marketers presenting a new campaign today might think they're dealing with Clara Peller in the Wendy's television spots from the 1980s.

Small CUs Can Be More Nimble

By Myriam DiGiovanni

"The biggest thing is all of us need to abandon that old way thinking," said Kelley Parks, who specializes in helping small credit unions with her firm gira{ph}.

Detroit CU Marketer Tweets the Love

By Myriam DiGiovanni

Marketing Director Amy McGraw of Public Service Credit Union is firmly entrenched in the camp of marketers who have found success using social media and traditional marketing strategies.

Marketers Focus on Budgets and ROI

By Myriam DiGiovanni

EverythingCU.com's first webinar round table revealed a few of the concerns on the minds of credit union marketers.

Fearing Retirement More Than Death

By Eileen Courter

Boomers aren't exactly optimistic about their retirement prospects. In fact, most of them are downright scared.

People

People

Calendar of Meetings and Events

Events Calendar

Donations

Advance Financial Federal Credit Union, Schererville, Ind., invites its members and neighbors to help reduce hunger in the community and enhance the holidays for

Branching

America First Credit Union, Riverdale, Utah, opened a new branch in Henderson on Sept. 13. Grand opening events included drawings for $100 Visa gift cards and a flat-screen TV

Awards

Allied Solutions, Carmel, Ind., representative Amy Skeptaris received a "Special Teams Player" award from Credit Union West of St. Paul, Minn. The award

Navy Federal Outlines Merger

Now set to complete its merger of the $605 million USA Federal Credit Union of San Diego, the $43 billion Navy

Genisys Expands Ties

Genisys Credit Union of Auburn Hills, Mich., recently expanded its relationship with Cleary University by offering Genisys membership to students and employees.

Bland Settles Into Corner Office

The Golden 1 Credit Union has removed interim from Donna Bland's title and has officially named her president/CEO.

Shared Branching Helps KONE CU

A single-sponsor credit union with members spread all over the world has started to offer shared branching to help its members meet their financial needs.

Members More Confident

By David Morrison

Credit union members feel better about their personal finances than consumers generally and tend to have more money left over after paying monthly bills.

CUs Warned Again About Walmart Threat

By David Morrison

Credit unions act at their peril by ignoring Walmart's competitive threat, warned a newly issued Filene Research Institute report.