Credit Union Times Magazine January 12, 2011

CUs Help Turn GIs Into Entrepreneurs

By Michelle A. Samaad

Turning to their local credit unions, military personnel are transitioning back into civilian life by starting up businesses such as chiropractic firms, franchise restaurants and even shoe stores.

New NCUA Powers Spark Debate

By Claude R. Marx

A law passed by Congress giving the NCUA the power to make payments to the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund without borrowing from the Treasury sparked an industry discussion about the agency's assessment process.

Lessons From AEA FCU's Loan Woes

By Michelle A. Samaad

Signs that AEA Federal Credit Union was in trouble started well before its former executive was recently indicted for an alleged kickback ring with ties to a portfolio now crumbling under the weight of defaulted loans.

Blaine Takes on NCUA on Capital

State Employees Credit Union of North Carolina CEO Jim Blaine is a man on a mission, and it starts with a $135 million gain from selling off SECU's Treasuries portfolio in the third-quarter 2010.

Homeless Man Gets 2nd Chance

By Myriam DiGiovanni

If you're wondering about the power of viral media, talk to Ted Williams.

Need for Diversification Spurs Interest in Student Loans

By Marygrace Murphy

Offering private student loans can be advantageous to a credit union in many ways, and more and more CUs are taking an interest in the product.

TruMark Brings Branch to Unbanked Community

By David Morrison

If TruMark Financial Credit Union had evaluated the site of its branch in northeast Philadelphia solely only on the statistics, they may never have opened it.

A World Without Corporate Credit Unions?

By Robert McGarvey

Picture a credit union universe without corporate credit unions. Not a one. ProDraft Services, a Bismark, N.D., CUSO, insists that such a world is not only possible, it may actually be better for credit unions.

Alert Credit Union Teller Shields Senior from Prize Scam

By David Morrison

When Jessica DeLaCerda, a teller with the $148 million Auto Body Credit Union, Lansing, Mich., noticed one of the credit union's older members withdrawing $3000 from her accounts, she was curious.

A Facebook Lesson: Bad News Travels Fast

By Marygrace Murphy

You can open your brand up to the conversation that's taking place on social networks, but you can't control what people say.

Seeking True Value of Social Media for Financial Institutions

By Myriam DiGiovanni

Social media has become a lightning rod for debate. While its detractors say it's all hype and its evangelists tout social media as marketing's great panacea, the reality of its merits lies somewhere in the middle.

Mich. Regulator Named To NASCUS Board

Ken Ross, the commissioner of the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation, has been named to the NASCUS board of directors.

New CEO at Boeing CU

The former president/CEO of Sentry Federal Credit Union brings over 30 years of senior executive management experience in the financial industry to the Ridley Park, Pa.-based credit union.

American Heritage Mourns for Founder

American Heritage Federal Credit Union founding board member and vice chairman Donald Kilcullen has died at the age of 91.

Maryland/D.C. Credit Union Association Gives Members Dues Rebate

The Maryland/D.C. Credit Union Association has vowed to help its members cope with the assessment and a depressed economy by extending a 10% dues rebate for 2010.

NCUA Clarifies Annual Meeting Gift Card Incentives

Federal credit unions can use gift cards as an incentive under their incidental powers authority but the total costs can cause the NCUA to object to the incentive.

FORUM CU CEO Retires

Longtime FORUM Credit Union President/CEO Gary Irvin has retired, effective Dec. 31, 2010.

Alaska USA FCU Foundation Aids Local Nonprofits

Last year turned out to be a good year for local charities thanks to Alaska USA Federal Credit Union.

Holidays Had Tongues and Tail Wagging

By Sarah Snell Cooke

The 2010 holiday season was not the normal slowdown period in the news business.

Times Are A Changin'

It's been almost two decades since credit unions first decided to offer indirect auto lending. At that time, most credit unions

Card Sellers: Time to Consider Your Many Options

Did your credit union sell its credit card portfolio in the last few years? Is your agent-issuing contract set to expire in the next 18 months?

We Need To Support Karnes

The NCUA has consistently swept its oversight failures beneath a rug woven with our members' money. And, to add insult to injury, the NCUA simply shuffled the deck and some of the responsible parties have either showed up

New Board Regs: All We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself

By Cary J Anderson

As a holiday present, the NCUA board gave all of us a new 701.4-General Authorities and Duties of Federal Credit Union Directors.

CU Times 1/12/2000

Credit unions were all "green" New Year's weekend as the year 2000 finally arrived and the dreaded Y2K bug moved to center stage.

Is Your CU Pulling Enough Political Weight?

Most of us can agree that we didn't begin our careers with credit unions because it was a way to get rich but because the movement is something we believe in.

Mobile Banking Has Become a Must-Have for CU Survival

By Marc Rapport

Slowly but surely, mobile banking is living up to its hype as the next must-have thing that credit unions need to survive

Advancing From In-Person Cash to Electronic

By Marc Rapport

When consumers spend their money, they don't just spend it on businesses and organizations in exchange for goods and services. They also spend it on each other.

Texas Tech FCU's Online & Mobile Offerings Rack Up Kudos

By Marc Rapport

Being a small credit union out in the plains of West Texas doesn't mean you can't offer high-tech services to your members. In fact you better, if you have "Tech" in your name.

Celent Anoints Mobile Banking Vendor Front-Runners, Mulls Trends

By Marc Rapport

In the mobile retail banking vendor race, some runners are way ahead of the pack, while others lag far behind.

Smartphone Growth Prompts Security Concerns and Speculation

By Marc Rapport

Frank Kenney knows well the potential harm lax smartphone security can pose to credit unions and any other enterprise that allows employees to access their networks with those phones.

CFE FCU Goes Virtual by Shunning the PC Network

By Marc Rapport

Kevin Wright and his staff at the $1.3 billion CFE Federal Credit Union really went to school on their traditional PC network when it was time to cycle out the old and bring in the new.

Forrester Analyst: Don't Fear the Cloud, Prepare for It

By Marc Rapport

A distinct message about cloud services emerged from a keynote panel discussion held at Forrester's Security Forum 2010: Don't fear them.

TruMark Advises Students on Identity Theft, Online Scams

How to avoid identity theft and online scams and safely navigate social networking sites was the topic of the day recently when the $1.2 billion TruMark Financial Credit Union

Vendor Management Specialist Adds Five CU Clients

Five more credit unions have signed up for the vendor management software and services from Quantivate LLC, the company said.

EMV Payments May Replace Magnetic Stripe Cards

The EMV payments standard used worldwide may be coming to the United States, according to a new white paper from The Members Group.

Software Vendor Signs Florida CU

Connect Financial Software Solutions of Salt Lake City said it has signed a multiyear agreement to provide online banking services to the $333 million BrightStar Credit Union of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

People

HarborOne Credit Union, Brockton, Mass., announced the addition of Barbara Graveline to its residential mortgage team. Graveline is responsible for the

Charitable Giving by Massachusetts CUs Spans Decades

Last month, the Credit Union Community Hope Initiative presented the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless with a check for $125,000, representing funds raised by the credit

Awards

The Credit Union Executive Society, Madison, Wis., named Ertis Blake, president of Communications & Other Workers of Jamaica Co-Operative Credit Union Ltd., Jamaica, as the 2010 CUES director of the year.

Interchange Cap Opponents May Find Durbin Amendment Difficult to Fix

By David Morrison

Opponents of the Durbin amendment's cap on debit card interchange may find repealing the legislation an easier battle than fixing it.

Investors' Account Closings Double

In the quest for simplicity and consolidation, about one in five investors closed their accounts last year according to a new Cogent Research report.

Member Business Loans Continue to Grow

Member business loans continue to be among those outpacing other credit union lending categories despite nine consecutive months of overall loan portfolio contraction.