Credit Union Times Magazine March 9, 2011

P2P and Other Technology Present New Fraud Problems

By Marc Rapport

Expansion into new areas like business services and new channels like P2P and mobile present new opportunities for credit unions and fraudsters alike.

Gloom and Doom on Interchange

By David Morrison

Credit unions should continue to throw themselves body and soul into fighting a looming cap on debit card interchange, but should do so without any significant expectation that they will succeed.

Speaker Boehner Vows to Work Toward Regulatory Easing

By Claude R. Marx

WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner promised that the House will work hard to ease the regulatory burden so credit unions can lend more money and businesses can create new jobs.

Warren: CUs Have Input

By Claude R. Marx

WASHINGTON — The woman setting up the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection said the bureau will be a strong ally of credit unions that "want to work on behalf of their members."

Microlender Seeking CU Charter in Political Power Struggle

By Michelle A. Samaad

The founder of an international microlending bank, which has a United States affiliate that was considering opening a federal credit union in North Carolina, is in the middle of an internal power struggle.

Callahans: CUs Set Lending Records

By Robert McGarvey

Credit unions made more loans in the fourth quarter of 2010 than in any other fourth quarter in history, said Jay Johnson, executive vice president of Callahan & Associates, as he crunched the latest numbers. The total amounted to $68.5 billion, said Johnson.

Life Changes Spark Money Moves

By Michelle A. Samaad

While fees and good service are still important, the most common reason some have for switching banks may have more to do with a change in life circumstances.

Younger CU Members Are Less Satisfied

By Myriam DiGiovanni

A new survey has found that when it comes to member satisfaction, credit unions have some work to do.

Making Strides Into Mobile Banking and Foreign Exchange

By David Morrison

The nation's two nationwide shared branching networks took large strides into member service and mobile banking with two announcements at CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference last week.

Fiserv Buys Three

By Marc Rapport

Fiserv Inc., a company known for growing by acquisition since its creation in 1984, has announced three new acquisitions, including a credit union core processing service bureau, a mobile banking and payments provider and startup prepaid card specialist.

Youth, Mica and Hanley Are Honored

By David Morrison

WASHINGTON — More than 800 CU industry executives and volunteers gathered at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Feb. 28 to honor the National Youth Involvement Board, former CUNA CEO Dan Mica and Rudy Hanley, longtime CEO of SchoolsFirst CU, with the Herb Wegner Awards for 2010.

$564 million Watermark CU, $544 million Sound CU Merge

By Jim Rubenstein

Two Seattle area credit unions, the $564 million Watermark CU and the $544 million Sound CU of Tacoma, are planning a summer merger, creating the state’s fourth largest CU.

Time for a Kick in the Pants

By Sarah Snell Cooke

Challenges can be turned into opportunities. Look how some credit unions are taking advantage of the banking crisis to get their brands in front of consumers.

Officer Matz Cites Loss-Prevention Success

By Claude R. Marx

WASHINGTON — Comparing her agency to a police officer that prevents bad drivers from hurting good ones, NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz said the agency's strong enforcement saved the insurance fund about $1.5 billion.

Hackers Can Exploit Trust in CU-Linked Channels

By Marc Rapport

Credit unions and social media seem to be made for each other, which is both a good thing and maybe not so much.

Scrutinizer Software Fingers a Bandwidth Hog

By Marc Rapport

You wouldn’t think a single camera pointing down an empty hallway would be much of a problem. But when it’s constantly feeding images through the same data pipe as everything else in a big credit union’s network, it certainly can.

CU Uses Enterprise System

By Marc Rapport

Canada’s second-largest credit union is now using a sophisticated enterprise management system as a high-tech tool in its fight against an old-school problem–theft.

Are Board Members Performing at Their Peak?

With everything that is happening in the credit union movement and the economy today, your answer to this question had better be yes. If not, you need to take a closer look at whether or not your board of directors is making a positive impact on the success of your...

Use Care in Selecting Advisory Firms

CARD Act Study Finds Greater Transparency and Stable Pricing

A recent study by the Center for Responsible Lending found that not only have the new credit card rules mandated by the CARD Act of 2009 resulted in significantly greater price transparency for consumers, but, despite grim predictions, actual prices have remained stable and available credit has not tightened beyond...

American Heritage Has American Hero

American Heritage Federal Credit Union has a local hero on staff.

Million Dollar Auto Leasing Target Reached

CU Xpress Lease Inc., a leasing program for credit unions, said it has surpassed its monthly goal of $1 million in auto leasing activity nearly four months after launching.

ORNL FCU CEO to Retire

ORNL Federal Credit Union’s President/CEO John McKittrick has announced his retirement.

FiCEP Gets Upgrade

The Credit Union Financial Counseling Certification Program has been revamped to include more student options.

CEO Sentenced to 108 Months, $5M Restitution

Bernie Metz, 57, former CEO of the Center Valley Federal Credit Union, will have to repay the NCUA over $4.65 million dollars and pay $200,000 to a local organization in Ohio as part of her sentence for embezzlement.