Credit Union Times Magazine March 28, 2012

CUS Are Improving Members’ Financial Lives Via Education

By Natasha Chilingerian

It’s one thing if credit unions offer low-cost financial products and exceptional service, but it’s quite another if they teach members how to use their products responsibly.

Bringing CU Advocacy to Life

By Myriam DiGiovanni

The care and feeding of personal finance management tools at financial institutions is something that takes constant time and effort.

Business Services Shift

By Michelle A. Samaad

When asked how he sees the state of business services and lending among credit unions, Larry Middleman teeters on optimism and concern.

AEA Suit Tossed Out

By Michelle A. Samaad

In the latest update involving AEA Federal Credit Union, a judge has rejected claims from a real estate developer that the NCUA-conserved cooperative is still responsible for funding his projects.

Banks Are Quietly Offering Business Interest Checking

By Michelle A. Samaad

It’s been nearly two years since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, which for the first time since the Great Depression allows interest to be paid on business checking accounts.

Small Credit Unions Team Up on Back-Office Operations

By Natasha Chilingerian

When Credit Union Times asked Fred Johnson, president/CEO for Credit Union Executives Society, what he sees as an emerging trend in the way credit unions are run, one of his responses was “collaboration.”

Warning On New Members

While Bank Transfer Day helped to boost membership to record numbers, the industry could see an exodus of some of its more profitable members in 2013 if credit unions are not capitalizing on those relationships.

Mercer Named CUNA Chairman

By Michelle A. Samaad

CUNA has named Mike Mercer, president/CEO of Georgia Credit Union Affiliates, its new board chairman.

CUs Defend Durbin Cap

By David Morrison

Credit unions have argued before U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in defense of the Federal Reserve's existing Durbin amendment regulation.

Three CU Pros Win Awards

Three credit union marketing and business development professionals were recently honored for their achievements during the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council Conference held in New Orleans.

Supplementing the Supplemental Capital Effort

By Sarah Snell Cooke

Over the last couple of years, a small coalition of credit unions has built up the background and the foot soldiers to help maneuver supplemental capital legislation through Congress.

Conference Debate: Is the CFPB CUs’ Friend or Foe?

By Heather Anderson

WASHINGTON—No issue at this year’s GAC was more polarizing than the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Speakers, particularly politicians, were either completely against it or completely for it, depending upon which party they represented.

Panel Says CU Directors Must Face Up to Risk

By Robert McGarvey

WASHINGTON—Credit unions necessarily involve risk. That is inescapable, said the panelists at a well-attended breakout at CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference. The other, sharp side of that reality is that the NCUA has made it plain how the boards of directors oversee the risks faced by their credit unions will...

Attendees Bask in Credit Unions’ New-Found Media Stardom

By Heather Anderson

WASHINGTON—Despite the loss of interchange income and mounting compliance requirements, overall credit unions feel more confident about their future than in recent years. CUNA President/CEO Bill Cheney opened GAC last week by telling member credit unions that the cooperatives are on the rise thanks to recovering financials and unprecedented media...

Filene CEO Meyer Looks at CU Successes and Stumbles

By Robert McGarvey

WASHINGTON—"We have done many things well, some less so," said Mark Meyer, CEO of Filene Research, in what was the closing general session talk at CUNA's GAC conference.

CEOs Share Advice With Aspiring Execs

By Heather Anderson

WASHINGTON—Entry-level employees who want to convert ideas into action should prepare written reports and collaborate with other departments before presenting proposals for change to CEOs.

After Taking Flight, NASA FCU Adopts to Lean Times

By Eileen Courter

In 1949, seven employees at the National Advisory Council for Aeronautics formed a credit union. The agency was destined to become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958, on the cusp of a time period when the space race with the Soviet Union was to end with a man...

Join the Sorry Ranks Of Banks?

I recently received an email from a group of Washington lawyers who ply various trades of a legal nature, including trying to convince credit unions that switching to a mutual charter (with the not-so-subtle understanding of a later move to stock) would be a great idea.

Board Competencies Beyond Fin Lit

While there are multiple viewpoints on the federal credit union industry’s new efforts for directors to smarten up as mandated by the NCUA rule on director financial literacy, an upshot opportunity presents itself in the form of enhanced governance by directors.

Greening the Union: How CUs can Benefit from Sustainability

Sustainability, which was once dismissed as an idealistic fad, is now a trillion dollar industry with corporate giants such as Walmart, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola scrambling to go green.

Reaching Hispanics

Coopera has unveiled an improved online resource at cooperaconsulting.com to help credit unions reach the Hispanic market.

More MBL in Ala., Fla.

Credit unions in Alabama and Florida are reporting an increase in member business loans, mirroring a trend seen across the country.

Taratuta Named CEO

The board of directors of Georgia Heritage Federal Credit Union recently named Dale Taratuta as president/CEO.

SBA Simplifies

A separate SBA loan approval and repurchase program would be established for credit unions under a new bill.

Survey Finds Investors Value CU Experience

Some of the country’s biggest firms were ranked behind credit unions by investors describing their overall customer experience.

PSCU Rebrands

PSCU Financial Services has shortened its name and lengthened its product list.

Rosendal CEO at Salal CU

Russell Rosendal, former chief financial officer at Salal Credit Union, has been promoted to president/CEO.

Shelly Clarke Passes

Goldenwest Credit Union staffers are mourning the loss of longtime leader Shelley Clarke, who has died from brain cancer.

In a Surprise, Robert Schumacher Wins Anchor Award

By David Morrison

WASHINGTON—Robert Schumacher, longtime National Credit Union Foundation leader and volunteer, was a surprise recipient of an Anchor Award at the annual dinner honoring people and institutions that have exhibited particular leadership and innovation. Past Anchor Award winners have included former NCUA Board Chairman Dennis Dollar and the leaders of the...

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Connection CU Uses KM Audit

A new use for its knowledge management system recently helped the $23 million, 2,800-member Connection Credit Union in Silverdale, Wash., make an audit go easier, the credit union said.

CNP, Alloya Pact

Core Network Processing LLC, a CUSO that provides core processing and an Internet portal to eight corporates, has inked a pact with Alloya Corporate Federal Credit Union for technology and related services.

Oregon Groups Flock to Central Willamette CCU’s Spaces

By Eileen Courter

When Central Willamette Community Credit Union started laying out the blueprints for several meeting rooms in 2005, some wondered if community groups would be interested in using the spaces as well.

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