Credit Union Times Magazine June-17, 2009

CUs Need to Keep Eagle Eye on Dealers After GM-Chrysler Fallout

By Lindsey Siegriest

It looks as if the current turbulent chapter of the American auto industry reached a climax last week with the bankruptcy filings of both Chrysler and General Motors.

CUNA Mutual Is Cutting 52 Positions

By Claude R. Marx

CUNA Mutual Group is eliminating the jobs of 52 people, cutting expenses and switching to a cash-balance pension to save money, the company announced last week.

SBA Says It Expects Guaranteed, No-Fee Loans to Fly Off the Shelf

By Michelle A. Samaad

With many small businesses hurting, the Small Business Administration said it is bracing for a tidal wave of requests for its new deferred-payment, no-fee loan program, which made its debut on June 15.

Conyers and Durbin Reintroduce Measure to Reduce Interchange Fees

By Claude R. Marx

Lobbyists for credit unions are back on the defensive over interchange fees as a result of measures recently reintroduced in Congress.

WesCorp Consolidation Will Reduce Processing Expenses and Cut Staff

By Heather Anderson

According to the NCUA's June 5 corporate update, Western Corporate Federal Credit Union will close branch processing facilities

Black Hills CEO Touts SBA Alliance, Urges Continuing Low-Fee Structure

By Michelle A. Samaad

In the six years Black Hills Federal Credit Union has been authorized to do SBA lending, the financial institution said it is proud of its track record.

After Stall, Gesa CU Moves Up Investment Program Launch on Its Priority List

By Michelle A. Samaad

Gesa Credit Union has come a long way since its founding in 1953 when General Electric employees formed the cooperative after local lenders weren't willing to make consumer loans.

CU Student Choice Pairs Lending With Education in New Partnership

By Lindsey Siegriest

Student lending CUSO Credit Union Student Choice will now be pairing its private loan product with financial education services.

NASCUS' Fortney Optimistic About CUs' Future and Supplemental Capital

By Claude R. Marx

The credit union movement has faced a number of economic and regulatory challenges in recent months.

Filene Research Institute Is Set to Celebrate Its 20th Birthday

By David Morrison

The Filene Research Institute turns 20 this year and is celebrating its service to the credit union industry through research and scholarly studies.

20 Years of Filene

1989 - Filene incorporates with support from charter members

League Weighs in as Wisconsin Lawmakers Prepare a Lending Cap Bill

By David Morrison

Lobbyists with the Wisconsin Credit Union League expect to support a rate cap of 36%

Team-Building Project at OAS FCU Focuses on Aid to Land Mine Victims

By Myriam DiGiovanni

OAS Staff Federal Credit Union has become the first credit union nationally to build functional prosthetic hands for land mine victims.

Grassroots Effort Was Key in Turning NCUA, Says CUNA Exec

By Jim Rubenstein

CUNA is certain its grassroots effort this spring, including 20,000 e-mails and phone calls to the NCUA and lawmakers, helped turn the tide to get the corporate stabilization law signed by President Obama.

Latino CU in Phoenix Merges and a Texas CU Struggles

By Jim Rubenstein

The recession continues to wreak havoc on a handful of Latino credit unions, including at least two community development CUs.

A Cautious Optimism About the Future Pervades NCUA Conference

By Claude R. Marx

The credit union glass is half full.

Kanjorski Not Committed to Keeping NCUA Separate

By Claude R. Marx

Congress shouldn't rush to restructure the way financial services are regulated and consider all options, including ending the NCUA's status as an independent agency, Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) said at the NCUA symposium last week.

Cubbies Lose Another One

By Claude R. Marx

The NCUA Board could soon have another dose of Yankee ingenuity.

27 Graduate From CUES CEO Institute

It's graduation time. Twenty-seven credit union executives are the latest graduates of the CUES CEO Institute.

Summer of Money Shines

School's out and Ohio credit unions are declaring "The Summer of Money"

Card Delinquencies in Troubled States Versus Overall Card Delinquency

By David Morrison

Credit unions have traditionally had lower credit card delinquency rates than the card industry overall.

Intersections Launches Community Security Portal to Share Information

By Lindsey Siegriest

Financial institutions and companies now have an online resource to share information and research best practices when it comes to preventing fraud and security breaches.

New CUNA White Paper Offers Strategy on Decoupled Debit

By David Morrison

Most credit unions view so-called decoupled debit cards as the evil body snatchers of the financial world.

Pennsylvania Credit Union Faces Lawsuit Over ATM Disclosures

By David Morrison

Here's a question for credit union ATM and EFT executives: Are you certain every one of your ATMs carries the required fee-disclosure notice?

NMTW Wants Members To Say 'Super-Size Me'

When it comes to saving, NMTW Community Credit Union is hoping members say "super-size me."

Arizona State Credit Union Wins Creative Awards From Marketing Association

The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals has recognized Arizona State Credit Union's marketing efforts with four Hermes creative awards.

Confab Provider Tapped by Symitar

Symitar will depend on the Virtual Events 365 platfom from Computer Generated Solutions Inc. for the framework for its Aug. 26-27 Educational Conference & Technology Expo.

Open Solutions, uMonitor Tout Joint Offering Success

Open Solutions Inc. and uMonitor said more than 20 financial institutions are now using their integrated services

Two CUs Sign With Harland

Harland Financial Solutions said it has signed one new user for its UltraData Enterprise core processing solution and re-signed a major client.

Credit Unions Cannot Afford to Play the Victim

By Sarah Snell Cooke

Sitting through NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland's 75th anniversary celebration of the Federal Credit Union Act, two things struck me:

CASE CU Entitled to $1 Million in CMO Investment Breach Claim

By Michelle A. Samaad

An arbitration panel ruled that CASE Credit Union is entitled to $1 million from Prudential Equity Group LLC for alleged losses it suffered as a result of investing in collaterized mortgage obligations.

Schwab Study On Retirement

By Michelle A. Samaad

While younger people tend to be more indifferent and not ready to change their saving patterns, some older Americans are more at ease with their retirement plans.

Partnership FCU Born

Two Washington-area credit unions, FDIC FCU and National Science Foundation FCU, have merged to form the $105 million Partnership FCU.

Online Chats, Tweets and Virtual Tux Highlight Cost-Saving MAC Awards

By Jim Rubenstein

With so many credit union travel budgets being sliced, the Marketing Association of Credit Unions found the ideal location to honor high achievers: cyberspace.

Madoff Fund Tops $1 Bil.

By Michelle A. Samaad

According to Irving Picard, the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC,

CUNA Disappoints Majority of Credit Unions on Two Issues

I am deeply disappointed in Dan Mica and CUNA for not representing the majority of credit unions on two issues.

Member Eats Cake

I chose Fort Campbell Federal Credit Union, Clarksville, Tenn., as my financial institution of choice because of its low interest rates, higher than average dividends and excellent service. It never dawned on me to receive other than that.

Sitting through NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland's 75th anniversary celebration of the Federal Credit Union Act, two things struck me: This isn't your run-of-the-mill CU celebration, and credit unions should not and cannot run around blaming everyone else fo

The Golden 1 Credit Union's data center experienced a complete loss of power last February. This resulted in a hard crash of the mainframe system as well as all networks and other in-house systems.

People

Alabama Telco Credit Union, Birmingham, Ala., announced the hiring of Scott Lazore as branch manager

Ent Federal Credit Union

Ent Federal Credit Union, Colorado Springs, Colo., concluded another "Care and Share" campaign.