Credit Union Times Magazine October-27, 2010

Bill Cheney's First 100 Days Is Packed With CU Drama

By Sarah Snell Cooke

CUNA President/CEO Bill Cheney came to head up the largest national credit union trade association during a period of great tumult.

NCUA Revamps Corp Exams

By Claude R. Marx

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The NCUA has given all corporates new examiners, made more use of outside experts and begun to hire payment system specialists.

Fallout Includes Merger Talk

By Jim Rubenstein

The industry wrangling over how to deal with the fallout from corporate restructuring and options on provider servicing continued last week, with at least one fresh discussion of merger negotiations.

Corporate America CU Seeks Audits

By Michelle A. Samaad

Records from BDO Seidman, the auditor of U.S. Central Federal Credit Union, have been subpoenaed by Corporate America Credit Union in its suit against the directors and officers of the corporate.

Race for CUNA Board Seat For Small CUs Is Contested

By Jim Rubenstein

With voting set to start this week, CUNA members representing a group of the smallest credit unions will be facing a contested election for one of the seats on the CUNA board of directors.

Judge Dismisses Suit On Intuit Patent

By Marc Rapport

A federal judge has dismissed MShift Inc.'s mobile banking patent infringement lawsuit against Intuit Financial Services and a Louisiana bank.

Fed Rule on Appraisals

Credit unions and other interested parties have 60 days to comment on proposed rules issued by the Federal Reserve aimed at ensuring that appraisers make decisions without the influence of those who could derive financial benefits from those decisions.

Deposit Rates Erode Savings and Cost of Funds Growth

By Michelle A. Samaad

The strain of staying ahead of managing capital and net worth ratios has left some credit unions looking at the bottom of the barrel for more solutions as the year comes to an end.

Taxi Medallion Loan Brokering Permitted Through CUSOs, NCUA Notes

By Michelle A. Samaad

The question of whether a CUSO can act as a loan broker for loans used to finance the purchase of New York City taxi medallions was recently addressed by the NCUA.

Identity Theft Up

By Claude R. Marx

The number of suspicious activity reports that involve identity theft increased by 123% between 2004 and 2009, according to a report issued by the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

NCUA Names Hendricks Equal Opportunity Head

S. Denise Hendricks, who has worked on equal opportunity issues for the Defense Department, has been named the NCUA's director of equal opportunity.

NCUA Issues Information On Short-Term Loans

Credit union employees wanting details on the NCUA's new rules on short-term payday loan alternatives can consult the regulatory alert issued by the agency.

After Treading Rough Waters, Calif. CEO Voices Optimism

By Jim Rubenstein

Nader Moghaddam, president/CEO of the $710 million Financial Partners Credit Union has a message about all that California gloom and doom: Credit Unions are overcoming the challenges and have become creative managers.

Green Lending Offers Credit Unions a Growing Market

By David Morrison

Environmental professionals who specialize in helping consumers improve their homes' energy efficiency say credit unions have an opportunity to step into a growing market in green finance.

Vantage Offers PFM Tool

Vantage Credit Union has made it easier for members to manage their money with the launch of My$Manager, a new personal financial management tool.

CUNA Tech Council Re-Elects Chairs

The top seats on the CUNA Technology Council will remain in the same hands for the next year.

Discount on Health Care

AmeriChoice Federal Credit Union has unveiled a free discount program with an eye on helping consumers reduce their health care costs.

Jumbo CDs Take Lead

Despite an overall decrease of $200 billion in certificate of deposit balances in the first half of this year, those that have $100,000 or more with terms over one year are growing.

CoinSmart Wins Trademark

It's official. People's Trust Federal Credit Union has trademarked the term "CoinSmart" to describe its coinless system of banking at the Houston Center and Galleria branches.

More than 90 FIs Attend Akcelerant Confab

More than 90 financial institutions were represented by the 200 attendees who attended Akcelerant's recent 2010 Customer Conference at the Penn State Great Valley Conference Center near its headquarters in Malvern, Pa.

Alaska CU Deploys New Software to Meet Internal Growth, External Demands

By Marc Rapport

Keith Bennett and his team knew something had to change when their security information event management appliance would time out before running a requested report.

P2P Offered By Small Colorado CU

The ZashPay person-to-person payment solution has been put into play by a small Colorado credit union, which said it may be the first in the state to offer the service to its members.

Specialist Shows On-Demand Option

By Marc Rapport

Aithent Inc. has introduced an on-demand version of its monitoring and case management solution that the company claims can reduce the complexity of complying with the Bank Security Act and antimoney laundering rules while cutting the costs.

Michigan CU Goes First With CSCU Mobile Offering

A Michigan credit union is the first to offer its members mobile banking through a partnership with Card Services for Credit Unions and MShift Inc.

Contest Gathers Enrollees

An e-statement enrollment contest held by a Michigan-based core processing CUSO resulted in more than 9,000 new users at 60 participating credit unions.

Maine Banks, Security Vendor Plan Cybercrime Forum

By Marc Rapport

Equipping financial institutions to fight cybercrime will be the focus of a conference set for Nov. 4-5 at the Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel & Conference Center in Portsmouth, N.H.

Three CUs To Open Solutions

Three more credit unions have committed to the DNA-sme core processing platform from Open Solutions.

Houston CU Launches Website

Social networking joins financial education with transactional power behind it at the new website for Smart Financial Credit Union in Houston.

Phishing Attacks Spread Focus

Social media sites and universities are increasingly being targeted by phishing attacks, but the cyber fraudsters haven't given up on banks or credit unions either, according to a new report.

Fiserv Wins Kern Schools Core Bid

Fiserv Inc. said it will be converting Kern Schools Federal Credit Union to its XP2 core processing platform in February.

International Credit Union Day, Santa and BB Guns

By Sarah Snell Cooke

I hate being cold, and if it's below 70 degrees-OK 75-I'm cold. However, cooler weather for many parts of the United States also means it's time for International Credit Union Day.

Aging CU Directors Are An Asset-Not a Liability

In recent months several notable credit union industry conference speakers have suggested that a credit union's board of directors should be as diverse as the membership-delivering a backhanded criticism of currently seated boards of directors.

S1 Corp. Claims 35 Mobile Contracts

LAS VEGAS -- More than 35 customers on three continents have contracted with S1 Corp. to use its mobile banking application, according to the Atlanta-based e-commerce specialist.

Bay Federal Credit Union CEO Shares Hard Lessons on Mining Member Data

By Marc Rapport

LAS VEGAS -- Just like bass fishing, where it's said 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish, typically only relatively few of a bank's customers or a credit union's members are truly profitable.

Focusing on Social Media as Viral Advertising, Community Outreach Tools

By Marc Rapport

LAS VEGAS -- Fifth Third Bank's cool new ad campaign had gone viral, generating hundreds of thousands of views across the country by people amused by the antics of Kyle the clueless college kid.

Reach Gen Y or Die: Combine Strategy, Tactics to Reach the Young

I'm in shock. On our youngest daughter's birthday next month, my wife and I will officially have two teenage daughters in our house. That's right, a house full of teenage girls.

In the Credit Union vs. Bank Battle, Straight Talk Can Help You Win

Only two financial institutions are left on the planet: one bank and your credit union. You are surrounded by nothing but Gen Yers, aged 14-34.

Study Measures Consumer Demand for Financial Products

Commissioned by more than 200 financial institution clients of the Raddon Financial Group, a syndicated research study explored consumer demand for and usage of financial products and delivery channels.

CU Foundation Spreads Financial Literacy to High School Students

The WEOKIE Credit Union Foundation recently brought its Money Talks financial education program to three Oklahoma high schools.

Woodstone CU Is Honored For Financial Literacy Program

Woodstone Credit Union of Federal Way, Wash., received an honorable mention from the Washington Credit Union League for its teen financial literacy program at the Desjardins Youth Financial Education Awards.

Internship Program Flourishes

Communicating Arts Credit Union of Detroit, Mich., increased its paid summer internships to students this year despite the current economic environment.

Student Website Wins Praise And Attracts Accounts

Grow Financial FCU's student microsite has brought the Tampa, Fla.-based credit union new business-as well as some industry accolades.

People

Patriot Federal Credit Union, Chambersburg, Pa., announced the hiring of Brad Warner as chief financial officer.

Donations

Credit Union of Georgia, Woodstock, Ga., sponsored the Kennesaw State University National Collegiate Golf Championship at The Golf Club at Bradshaw Farm last month.

Scholarships

Affinity Federal Credit Union, Basking Ridge, N.J., presented one high school senior, Omar Ali, with the Richard A. Romano Scholarship, and three high school seniors, Yohan Perera, Anneliese Janssen and Jasmine Haugh, with the Affinity Scholarship.