Credit Union Times Magazine July-22, 2009
Featured Story
Teachers' Saving Habits Help SchoolsFirst FCU Keep Expenses Down
With paychecks usually coming once a month and only 10 times a year, teachers are known for having the discipline to hunker down on their savings and keep spending on a tight leash.
Front Page News
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Nonagency MBS Portfolio Is Weighing Down U.S. Central
Nearly half of U.S. Central Federal Credit Union's $2.2 billion base-case loss estimates can be attributed to subprime mortgage-backed securities,
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Suncoast Schools FCU and GTE FCU Due Diligence Scuttles Massive Merger
The largest credit union merger announced to date has been called off.
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NCUA Board Shifts Spending
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The NCUA was busy rearranging buckets in its budget, but overall it did not increase credit unions' expenses during last week's board meeting.
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Iowa Bank Hit With More Lawsuits On $4 Million in Stolen CD Funds
Plaintiffs, including credit unions, are piling on to recover $4 million in stolen certificate of deposit funds in what could become a class-action lawsuit against Iowa-based MetaBank.
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Credit Unions Ponder the Fate of Their Fixed-Rate Credit Cards
Credit unions around the country that issue fixed-rate credit cards have to decide whether to stick with those cards or follow much of the rest of the card issuing industry and switch to variable-rate cards.
News
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Real Estate Doldrums May Open Door for Small Biz Deposits, Cards
With a growing number of lenders continuing to tighten their standards, credit unions hoping to grow small business loan operations may be missing other opportunities to establish long-term relationships.
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CUNA's Compromise
CUNA staked out a position on the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency somewhere in between the Obama administration and those who don't want any new regulator at all.
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Time to Hold 'Em or Fold 'Em? Economists Disagree on Mortgage-Rate Risk
Credit union economists agree on why credit unions are booking more mortgages on their balance sheets: Secondary market prices are discounted and consumer loans not only bring credit risk, but demand is low.
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Proposed Consumer Agency May Impact CU Investment, Trust Services
A handful of areas in credit unions' trust and investment services realm could be affected by the Treasury Department's proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
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Trades Paring Expenses While Advising CUs on How to Do the Same
CUNA and NAFCU have been tightening their respective belts in response to the recession. They've also ramped up programs to help credit unions do the same.
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Survey Finds Two Million More Online Banking Users in a Year
The ranks of online bankers and bill payers grew by more than 2 million households in America last year.
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Matz to Get Her Day on Capitol Hill
It won't have the drama or high profile of a Supreme Court confirmation, but the Senate Banking Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing July 22 on the nomination of Deborah Matz as NCUA Board chairman.
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Perfect Circle Credit Union Test-Drive Event Earns Praise from GM
A two-day test-drive event held by Perfect Circle Credit Union, in support of the Invest in America program, won the praise of General Motors executives even though the event turnout was low.
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Becker: NAFCU Be Nimble, NAFCU Be Quick
At a time of uncertainty for the economy in general and credit unions in particular, Credit Union Times recently sat down with NAFCU President Fred Becker for a wide-ranging discussion.
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WOCCU's 2008 Report Shows Worldwide CU Growth
World Council of Credit Unions' 2008 Statistical Report reveals modest growth in both the number of credit unions and members served, with 53,689 credit unions reporting nearly 186 million members.
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Calif. Branch Closings
Scaling back underperforming operations, America's Christian Credit Union of Glendora, Calif. recently closed two of its branches.
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NAFCU Unveils Motto
Reminding current and prospective member credit unions about the association's value, NAFCU is using a new tagline to describe itself in public relations and advertising vehicles.
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REAL Solutions Releases Analysis of Impact Data
The National Credit Union Foundation has released the results of its survey of REAL Solutions' impact.
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Social Networks Haven't Displaced Traditional Promotional Methods
Nearly half of small businesses still rely on traditional methods to promote their companies even though many of them are establishing a presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace, according to a survey.
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Lending Solutions Adds Nine New CUs
Lending Solutions Inc. announced that it has added nine new credit union clients in the past few months.
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Hope Community CU Draws Big Deposit From Rockefeller Foundation
The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation has approved a $250,000 deposit into $117 million-Hope Community Credit Union.
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FAIRWINDS CU Imports Broadway
FAIRWINDS Credit Union is helping bring the best of Broadway to Orlando locals.
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CUDL Announces 2009 Auto Lending Award Winners
CUDL has announced the winners of its 2009 Auto Lending Best Practices Awards and Diamond Awards.
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Two Authors Say Give a Little Nudge, Not a Push
If you are eager to achieve a specific goal that involves others, don't force or mandate, instead nudge or coax.
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Fiserv Loan Platform Compliant With Modification Program
Fiserv, Inc. has announced that its loan servicing platform is compliant with the U.S. Treasury Department's guidelines on home loan modifications.
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Discover Financial Survey Finds June Downturn in Consumer Optimism
The most recent Discover Financial Services' U.S. Spending Monitor survey suggests that credit unions will have to wait a bit longer for members' credit card use to return to previous levels.
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Entrust FCU Comes Through With Cash for Member Overseas
The $58 million Entrust Federal Credit Union provided another example of a credit union coming through for its members recently when it helped a member access cash while overseas.
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Xceed Refines Brand
Xceed Financial Federal Credit Union has tapped experiential brand development agency Creative Brand Communications to help refine its brand.
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State Leagues Are Quick to Herald New Member Gains, Loan Growth
Industry groups from Mississippi to Washington State were quick to trumpet membership gains and loan growth.
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Meriwest CU Builds Relationship With Community Through Education
Two years ago Meriwest Credit Union decided to make its community a priority by developing a financial education program that has flourished over this past year.
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Nothing Is Left to Chance When Preparing for NAFCU's Annual Conference
When NAFCU picked the site for this year's Annual Conference & Exhibition at the Gaylord National on the Potomac in National Harbor, Md., the facility hadn't even been built yet.
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CUNA Mutual Finds Member Business Loan Growth Under 1% YTD
While member business loans are up 16.3% over the past year, most of the gain occurred in 2008.
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DuPont's Mobile ATM Hits the Streets
The $701 million DuPont Community Credit Union headquartered in Waynesboro, Va., has taken banking to its community's streets and outdoor events through a mobile ATM.
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Xtend Agents Attend Call Center College
Agents of Xtend Inc. recently completed a call center university training program designed to provide education, team building, and industry awareness.
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Va. Awards Relief Funds
Nonprofit counseling agencies in Virginia will have more money available to use to help people avoid foreclosure as a result of the release of $50,000 in grant money by Virginia Attorney General Bill Mims.
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Consumer Confidence Drops
Although some data show that the economy is picking up, consumers are still wary.
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Health Care Group Meets
This year's Health Care Credit Unions International's annual conference will focus on helping members survive in today's economy.
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Credit Unions of All Sizes and Locations Are Eyeballing Mergers
A slew of credit union mergers this month underscore strategies for the future.
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Memphis Area Teachers CU Seeks To Right Itself
The $545 million Memphis Area Teachers Credit Union, shaken by last spring's management upheaval marked by the resignation of the CEO and the later removal of five top officers, strove mightily last week to put its best face on a turnaround.
News Briefs
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iPay Partners With MY CU
iPay Technologies announced that it has partnered with MY CU Services, a subsidiary of Mid-Atlantic Corporate Federal Credit Union, to provide its bill payment product to all of the credit unions that use MY CU bill payment services.
Marketing
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Highlighting the Credit Union Difference by Lending a Hand to Charities
What better way for credit union marketers to showcase the credit union difference than by creating campaigns for charities in need?
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N.Y. CUs Leave Indelible Impression
A credit union awareness event helped spread the word about credit unions in Albany, N.Y.
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Clearview FCU Lets Gen Y Fingers Do the Talking
Clearview Federal Credit Union has got local college students texting.
Tech Bytes
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Think Firm Sees Face-Off Between IT Vendors, Core Processors
It seems everyone is tightening their belts these days when it comes to spending money on IT vendors, including financial institutions.
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Affinity Plus Saves Trees, Empowers Staffers With Software Set
Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union is pushing the envelope of operational efficiencies by using software to both save trees and empower staffers to expand their own horizons of member service.
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Kentucky CU Among First Adopters of Mobile 'Stepping Stone'
Kentucky's largest credit union is one of the first adopters of a new solution from Harland Financial Solutions that harkens back to those mist-shrouded days of Internet past.
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Financial Insights Report Details New Media Efforts
A recent Financial Insights report finds that more financial institutions are investing in becoming more visible and accessible to their clients and consumers in general.
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Aspire FCU Aspires to Provide Online Member Convenience
Aspire Federal Credit Union has gone live with a new remote signature and secure document delivery solution, the credit union said.
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Sixty CUs Choose HomeCU
Sixty credit unions are now offering their members mobile banking from HomeCU, a service of Database Management Services Inc. in Boise, Idaho, the company said.
Special Report
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Don't Be Too Quick With the Budget Knife: Set Goals Before Cutting Costs
In today's challenging economy it is more critical than ever for credit unions to perform budget reviews and consider cost-reduction measures. In any discussion concerning cost-reduction strategies, one of the first questions is,
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Randolph-Brooks FCU Beefs Up Efficiency and Cuts Costs With Teamwork
To cut costs and develop more efficient strategies sometimes all it takes is a little teamwork and a couple of "duh" moments.
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CUES Manual Touts Employees as Credit Unions' Most Valuable Asset
Despite challenging times, a recent CUES 2009 Staffing Manual for Credit Unions, written by Fredrickson & Associates President Dr. Carl Fredrickson, finds that opportunity knocks for credit unions to make the most of their greatest resource-their staff.
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California, Nevada League Effort Aims to Curb Workers' Compensation Costs
California is noted for leading the way in trends such as fashion, but at least one role that puts the state at or near the head of the list isn't as attractive.
Editor-in-Chief's Column
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Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On at NCUA
The NCUA seems to be the Big Bopper these days, exhibiting all kinds of gyrations from the agency's partial release of the Clayton reports to the advancing of Debbie Matz' nomination and the NCUA Board meeting last week.
Opinion
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Additional Regulation Will Only Hurt Small CUs and the American Public
Isaac Newton once said, "I can calculate the motions of the heavenly bodies but not the madness of people!"
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Katrina Lesson: Preparedness Is Key
It's been nearly four years since Hurricane Katrina ravaged Mississippi and Louisiana, and there are still many physical and emotional reminders of how our lives-both personally and professionally-were turned upside down.
Staking Out the Stats
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STAKING OUT THE STATS
A recent article published on The Raddon Report Web site, theraddonreport.com, by Marcus Rothaar reported that Gen Y is more optimistic about the economic future than other generations.
People
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People
SOUTH - Community First Credit Union, Jacksonville, Fla. has named Carla Romano manager of the San Pablo branch.
Other
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CEOs Need to Balance the Present With the Future
As if the here and now isn't enough to deal with, credit union CEOs have another key issue to focus on-the future.
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Confidence Survey Spikes Positive
After a steep decline over the past two quarters, credit union CEOs seemed to have received a confidence boost over this past quarter by showing a 17-point jump in Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union's CEO confidence survey.
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Dodd Pushes for Card Crackdown
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd urged NCUA Chairman Michael E. Fryzel and other regulators to enforce forthcoming rules on reviewing rate increases and warn card issuers that they'll be held accountable for recent rate hikes.
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Donations
Olin Community Credit Union, Bethalto, Ill., donated a total of $7,400 to four local organizations.
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Awards
The Golden 1 Credit Union, Sacramento, Calif., announced that President/CEO Teresa A. Halleck was one of five Sacramento-area women honored by the St. John's Shelter for Women and Children for their commitment to motherhood.
Resource Center
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