Credit Union Times Magazine December 21, 2011

Demonstrating the CU Difference

By Natasha Chilingerian

Bonus dividend payouts are a true differentiator for credit unions as they compete against banks, and in a year when big banks made headlines for proposing unwanted fees, year-end member cash rewards carry even more weight for CUs looking to stand out in the marketplace.

Catalyst Corporate Wins Bidding For Western Bridge

By Robert McGarvey

The email from the NCUA to current Western Bridge members summed it up. “The National Credit Union Administration Board awarded Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union (Catalyst) the exclusive right to acquire Western Bridge Corporate Federal Credit Union (Western Bridge).”

CUs in Heartland Breach Suit Get Setback in Court

By David Morrison

A federal judge has dismissed most of the complaints financial institutions, including credit unions, brought against Heartland Payment Systems for its January 2009 card data breach.

Judge Strikes Down Another Suit in New London Case

By Michelle A. Samaad

In the ongoing pursuit to recover alleged mismanaged funds, another lawsuit tied to the collapse of New London Security Federal Credit Union has been dismissed.

MIDFLORIDA to Buy Space Coast Tampa Branches and Assets

By Michelle A. Samaad

The Tampa Bay market in Florida is such prime territory for MIDFLORIDA Credit Union that the cooperative is on a mission to build its presence there.

FDIC Approves Mich. CU’s Purchase of Thrift

By Jim Rubenstein

In a landmark ruling, the FDIC last week gave approval to a credit union-bank deal by which the $1.3 billion United Federal Credit Union of St. Joseph, Mich., can buy the ailing the $80 million Griffith Savings Bank of Indiana, according to attorneys representing UFCU.

CUs Back On Top in Satisfaction Poll

By Michelle A. Samaad

After experiencing a slight dip in 2010, credit unions are leading the pack when it comes to customer satisfaction, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Editor-in-Chief's Column: Member Growth, Consolidation and Bigger CUs

By Sarah Snell Cooke

I know what I’m talking about at least half the time: my 2011 predictions were hit and miss. Like any other industry observer, they’re all educated guesses, and we’re even asked to speak about what we foresee. As the late Red Skelton is often credited with saying, “Give the people...

Creative Mulitasker Kathryn Davis Says She Loves It All

By Myriam DiGiovanni

As a believer in lifelong learning, it’s no wonder Kathryn Davis relishes the diversity her role as senior vice president at Xceed Financial Credit Union provides.

N.Y. Boosts Conversions

At the behest of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state’s top regulator is openly encouraging more federal credit unions to convert to a state charter.

Card Promotion Leads to a Record

By David Morrison

The 220,000-member, $5.4 million San Diego County Credit Union reported that a debit card promotion tied to Bank Transfer Day wound up doubling the number of accounts the CU usually opens.

PenFed Teams Up With Marine Corps League

By Andrew Corselli

The $15.1 billion Pentagon Federal Credit Union and the Marine Corps League have announced that the former is now the latter’s exclusive, preferred financial services affinity partner.

Corporate Central Board Chair Retires From Altra FCU

By Marc Rapport

Corporate Central Credit Union announced that Gerald Forsythe has retired as board chairman and from his post as CEO of the $843 million Altra Federal Credit Union of La Crosse, Wis.

Passageways Social Site Notches First Year

By Marc Rapport

More than 650 people have shared 500 answers and viewed pages more than 13,000 times in the first year of a social collaboration portal for clients of Passageways LLC, the company says.

NAFCU’s Tech Show Set for February

By Marc Rapport

Engaging consumers where they are now and in the future will be key topics at NAFCU’s 2012 Technology and Security Conference set for Feb. 14-16 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

BofA in Last Place

A failed attempt to charge a monthly debit usage fee contributed to Bank of America being ranked last in a customer satisfaction index.

Lesson From Hike the Hill: Learn to Play the Game

By Ken Gonyer

Winston Churchill once said that “a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”

As CUs Have Changed, So Too Must Collections

By Jerry Rahon

Credit unions have always been known for a keen awareness of the unique needs of their members.

Marx on Capitol: Decker and Data Mishap Harm Image

By Claude R. Marx

Maybe credit unions should avoid words that begin with D. The industry has worked to increase its clout in Washington and made some progress.

Continue to Uphold Our Sterling Reputation

By Fred Becker

The recent Bank Transfer Day was a watershed moment for the credit union industry. While some observers might attribute it to serendipity, it was no overnight success story.

BofA Ignited Transfer Day, But Can It Be Sustained?

By Myriam DiGiovanni

It started simply enough. Bank of America announced, and later reversed, a decision to charge debit card users a $5 fee.

MBL Cap Hike Still Up in The Air

By Michelle A. Samaad

For the past few years, advocates have continued to push for increasing the member business lending cap, and 2011 saw more of the same efforts.

Proposed New CUSO Regs Feel the Summer Heat

By Michelle A. Samaad

The temperature this summer may have gone up a few more notches in credit union land when the NCUA announced a proposal that would bring several amendments to the CUSO rule.

In a First, Interchange Gained Federal Regulation

By David Morrison, Claude R. Marx

This year saw a regulation capping the interchange card issuers were able to earn on a debit card transaction come into effect for the first time in history.

Past Trailblazer Winners Talk Trends and Concerns

By Michelle A. Samaad

Volunteer training, dealing with growing compliance demands and staying profitable enough to stay alive.

Reg's Push for Volume Drives Corporate Consolidation

By Robert McGarvey, Claude R. Marx

And then there were 16. That is the current count of corporate credit unions, after a year where all the institutions faced an Oct. 20 NCUA deadline to qualify as “adequately capitalized” per the regulator’s calculus.

CUs Continued to Work the Suffering Housing Market

By David Morrison

Credit unions worked hard in 2011 to continue to build their housing finance programs even as the overall housing industry continued to struggle with low home prices, high foreclosure rates and significantly tighter mortgage underwriting rules.

House, Senate Banking Panels Took Divergent Paths

By Claude R Marx

The House Banking Committee focused on oversight and trying to undo or modify some of President Obama’s initiatives while the Senate Banking Committee focused on less sweeping efforts in 2011.

Stable Economy Seen as Means to Reverse the Slump

By Michelle A. Samaad

If credit unions were looking for a lending panacea in 2011, it was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t for a lack of money to lend because many cooperatives were awash in funds, economists said over the course of the year.