Credit Union Times Magazine August 24, 2011

Yes, We Have No Tellers

By David Morrison

Another credit union announced last week that it was taking a step in the direction of removing tellers from its branches.

Is Western Bridge Falling Down?

By Robert McGarvey

It is countdown to an Aug. 31 deadline for United Resources, the new corporate that may rise out of Western Bridge, but there are plenty of signs that credit unions are looking for alternatives as the evidence mounts that the capital goal will not be reached.

CUSO Changes: Mum's the Word at CUs

By Michelle A. Samaad

With much more at stake, it is no surprise that credit union service organizations are sounding the alarm louder than credit unions regarding an NCUA proposal that would alter how CUSO relationships are regulated.

Deficit Panel to Get CU Lobbying Attention

By Claude R. Marx

They’ve given money and done other things necessary for relationship building with members of Congress’ new deficit cutting panel.

Reverse Mortgages Facing Reversed Tide?

By David Morrison

Should CUs join a retreat from reverse mortgages or continue offering the loans aimed at seniors?

Crash Network Gearing Up for Missouri-Oklahoma Convention

By Myriam DiGiovanni

The Crash Network continues to grow as young professionals gear up to crash the 2011 Missouri and Oklahoma leagues’ Convention & Exposition.

Overdraft Pricing Remains Steady

By Natasha Chilingerian

A new study conducted by Lake Bluff, Ill.-based economic research firm Moebs Services reveals that since the Federal Reserve’s August 2010 implementation of Regulation E, which requires financial institutions to receive consumer approval prior to cover debit card and ATM overdrafts, CU overdraft transaction prices have remained flat at $25.

CFPB Work Begins With Focus on Mortgage Forms

By Claude R. Marx

During its first month in existence, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has spoken softly and not carried a big stick.

Long-Term Growth Starts With School Days

By Sarah Snell Cooke

Children are your conduit to new and younger members. My kids’ school has a bank branch in it to serve them. Never fear, my children use our credit union, but this early exposure to financial services is a great means to educate young children.

Real Math For the NCUSIF

By Larry Fazio

Sarah Snell Cooke’s column, “Parsing the Possible Harm Awaiting NCUSIF” (Aug. 17 issue) presents some unfounded extrapolations about potential losses to the NCUSIF. The column simply took the assets of all CAMEL 4 and 5 credit unions, assumed they would all fail and applied the average loss ratio of 17%...

Tax Exemption a 'Security Blanket'

By Cary Anderson

We have an 11-year-old granddaughter, and I vividly remember her as an infant receiving a warm, comfortable blanket. Before long she was calling the blanket “Blanky.” Blanky gave her comfort serving as a pillow, covering her when she was cold and when something upset her, she could always depend on...

NCUA Suits Call for Cost-Benefit Analysis

By Paul Gentile

Last week, the NCUA added to its list of targets by suing Goldman Sachs for $491 million for losses corporates endured due to mortgage-backed securities. This is the fourth suit filed by the NCUA against securities firms, seeking a total of $2 billion in damages.

CUNA Mutual’s Reorganization Plan Deserves Close Look

By Faye Patzner

I’m writing in response to Brian Prunty’s letter regarding CUNA Mutual’s proposed reorganization to a mutual holding company structure. [CU Times, Aug. 17, page 10.] Like Prunty, we encourage all policyholders to read through the MHC materials thoroughly. Further, we, too, believe in the benefits of mutual ownership and in...

Corporate Capitalization: Look at the Big Picture

By Dan Mica

With weeks to go in the corporate capitalization process, it is important that every credit union make a thoughtful, well-documented decision and actively consider their involvement, if any, in a properly structured corporate as part of their fiscal strategy moving forward.

Time to Reconsider Your Dividend Rates?

By Bill Brooks

The ride that the stock market has given us over the past weeks has had all the thrills of a great theme park roller coaster. It started with the slow tick, tick, tick as our political leaders did little to resolve the debt problem. Then we had quick and furious...

Remaking Mobile Choices

By Joseph Dickerson

When it comes to providing services to members, their expectations about what they can or cannot do with the services you've given them is critical. Regardless of the channel, you must support the baseline expectations of your members.

Vermont VA FCU Makes Evergreen Permanent Fixture

By Marc Rapport

The 2,700 member Vermont VA Federal Credit Union has turned a more or less permanent evergreen tree in its lobby into a mortgage marketing vehicle.

EMV Chip-and-Pin a Go at PSCU Financial Services

By Marc Rapport

PSCU Financial Services is joining in the EMV wave, rolling out new credit cards that carry both EMV chip-and-PIN security and traditional magnetic stripes.

San Antonio FCU Gets Biometrics

By Marc Rapport

The nearly 700 employees at San Antonio Federal Credit Union now have secured, one-touch log on to their nearly 250 software applications.

Los Angeles FCU Website Gets Makeover

By Marc Rapport

The $720 million Los Angeles Federal Credit Union has bolstered its electronic presence with a makeover of its website and new mobile banking offerings.

Creditors Subpoena Guidelines Toughened in New York

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a credit union-backed bill that places stricter guidelines when creditors subpoena information.

CAMEL Ratings to be Shared With State-Chartered CUs

By Claude R. Marx

In what it said is an effort to increase transparency, the NCUA announced that it will begin sharing CAMEL ratings with federally insured state-chartered credit unions.

LEBCO Educators Ex-Manager Is Banned

By Claude R. Marx

The NCUA has prohibited Brian Zimmerman, the former manager of the LEBCO Educators FCU in Lebanon, Pa., from participating in the affairs of federally insured financial institutions.

Eight Mobile Trends Credit Unions Are Following

By Natasha Chilingerian

As smartphone popularity grows – and not just across Gen Y, but all generations – some experts say so does the demand for mobile banking functionality.

Northern Lights Turns on ‘Trusted Access’ Online

By Marc Rapport

What might look like a typical thumb drive to members of Northern Lights Federal Credit Union may actually be what regulators consider a top-tier secure and compliant way to access the Internet for online banking and shopping.

Remote Deposit Capture Paves Wide Path to Greater Adoption

By Natasha Chilingerian

In place at 624 credit unions is some form of remote deposit capture that allows members to deposit checks from any location using a desktop scanner, high-speed scanner or mobile smartphone camera.

Perimeter E-Security Cloud Covers Exchange 2010

The 500 or so credit unions that use infrastructure protection services from Perimeter E-Security are now being offered a cloud-based messaging solution that supports the Microsoft Exchange 2010 system.

121 Financial CU in Florida Gets ZashPay

By Marc Rapport

Members of the 121 Financial Credit Union in Jacksonville, Fla., will now be able to send person-to-person payments to anyone with a cellphone number or e-mail address.