Credit Union Times Magazine September 14, 2011

New ATM Group Welcomes CUs

By David Morrison

A new association of smaller, independent ATM deployers may provide credit unions with an additional ally on certain ATM regulatory fights, according to an executive with the new trade group.

Student Loans Earn More Than Interest

By Natasha Chilingerian

Private student loans account for just 0.2% of the U.S. credit union loan portfolios, according to Callahan & Associates, but student loan CUSOs and credit unions that offer student loans believe they’re a worthwhile addition to any CU’s product suite, citing potential relationships with young members as a major benefit.

Credit Union ATMs: Get Ready For ADA

By David Morrison

The final deadline for ATMs to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act is approaching. While many CUs have already taken steps to have their machines ready, others have not, according to industry executives.

Calming Corporate Angst as Processing Choices Come and Go

By Jim Rubenstein

The dizzying pace of corporate events and NCUA rulemaking last week left many CU managers wondering where to turn for help.

Proposed New CUSO Regs Draw Alternative Ideas

By Michelle A. Samaad

While some in the industry would be opposed to a mandate that would require CUSOs to provide financial records to the NCUA and state regulators, a small minority are seeking another form of transparency.

Members Focus on Debt Elimination

By Michelle A. Samaad

With less than four months left in 2011, this year could easily go down as the period when consumers shifted hard from buying to paying down debt and stockpiling rainy day funds.

Senate Advances Patent Measure

By Claude R. Marx

Credit unions are pushing for passage of a patent reform bill that the Senate is likely to vote on soon that could limit their exposure to patent infringement lawsuits.

UniWyo FCU Lures Student Members With Online Tools

By Natasha Chilingerian

When UniWyo Federal Credit Union learned that its members, many of whom are college students, liked to manage their money online using sites like Mint.com, the credit union took matters into its own hands.

Moebs Study Urges CUs to Go Toe-to-Toe With Payday Lenders

By Natasha Chilingerian

If you’re going to overdraw your checking account by $100 or less, your most cost-effective bet is to borrow money from a payday lender, not to use an overdraft service or let your check bounce.

No Accounting for (Some) CU Human Beings

By Sarah Snell Cooke

Mark Twain was an amazing writer and observer of the human condition. He made himself a household name even more than a century after his death.

Supplemental Capital’s Benefits Outweigh Arguments Against

By Marty Martha Fortney

For many years, NASCUS was one of few voices supporting supplemental capital. Today, we've been joined by many in the credit union system who are eager for other means of raising capital in addition to retained earnings.

Interagency Rule: What Does It Mean for Credit Unions?

By Jane Upton

Wall Street reform may be what the Dodd-Frank Act is intended to accomplish, but as usual, those financial institutions that followed the rules and operated with the best interests of their customers in mind end up shouldering a new burden because of a bunch of bad actors who didn’t.

New Idea: Mutual Fund of Credit Union Loans

By Guy A. Messick

The NCUA is currently considering amendments to Part 703, the investment regulation. NCUA has not yet issued proposed changes.

Why Do Member Email Addresses Matter?

By Thomas Schutz

Credit union communications are moving to an electronic format. Not only is it more environmentally friendly and convenient for the member, but it also reduces expenses.

Ensuring a Successful Merger

By Stuart R. Levine

Our firm recently facilitated the successful merger of two credit unions. One of the fundamental issues that we focused on was the ability of the post-merger team to quickly establish and maintain productive working relationships with employees and members.

Post-Irene: Time for a Long-Term Vision

By Cliff Rosenthal

Hurricane Irene wreaked havoc on much of the East Coast and continues to inflict great hardship on hundreds of thousands of people.

Card Holders Friend, Fan and Follow Issuers

By Marc Rapport

With an eye out for deals and promotions, a fourth of credit card holders in a recent survey said they have become a friend, fan or follower of their card issuer or brand.

Veridian Gets Geezeo PFM

By Marc Rapport

The 162,000 members of the $1.9 billion Veridian Credit Union in Waterloo, Iowa, will soon be able to manage their finances on their credit union’s website.

Northrop Grumman FCU Signs With Connect FSS

By Marc Rapport

Connect Financial Software Solutions of Salt Lake City said it has signed a multi-year agreement with the $867 million Northrop Grumman Federal Credit Union in Gardena, Calif., for online banking services.

CUSO Financial Services LP Honors Advisors, Programs

CUSO Financial Services LP’s top investment advisers and programs were recently recognized at the broker-dealer’s annual user conference in San Diego.

United FCU Purchase of Bank On Track

By Jim Rubenstein

The $1.3 billion United Federal Credit Union of St. Joseph, Mich. said last week its proposed–and rare–merger with an ailing Indiana savings bank is on track and could win final regulatory approval by the end of this month, according to the president/CEO of UFCU, Gary Easterling.

SilverCloud Knowledge Management Signings

By Marc Rapport

Eight more credit unions have recently signed on as users of the Breeze knowledge management software solution from SilverCloud Inc. in New London, N.H., the company said.

121 Financial CU Offers Back to School Loans

By Marc Rapport

To help with the financial stress of a new school year, 121 Financial Credit Union in Jacksonville, Fla., is offering short-term loans of $500 to $2,500 at an 8% fixed rate to its members across northeast Florida.

Upswing Noted in CU Exec Pay

By Myriam DiGiovanni

Executive compensation increases are on the rise this year.

Navy Federal Auto Lending Ranked 20th

The $44 billion Navy Federal Credit Union has been ranked by Experian as the 20th largest used vehicle lender in the country by market share.

Hughes FCU Goes Wild for Wildcats

Hughes Federal Credit Union is looking to reward the “Ultimate” University of Arizona Wildcat fan.

Wisconsin League Calls Out Bank TARP Funds

A recent disbursement of government funds to banks has the Wisconsin Credit Union League calling foul.

CUNA Mutual MHC A Go

By Michelle A. Samaad

At its Sept. 7 annual policyholders meeting Sept.7 CUNA Mutual Group said 93% of them approved a new mutual ownership structure for the company.

Hawaii First CU Expands Resources

By Michelle A. Samaad

Seeing the demand for a resource center opened by Hawaii First Federal Credit Union, the cooperative is gearing up to open a second one.

Halleck: Rolling Up Her Sleeves at a Sand State CU

Teresa Halleck is just one year into her tenure at San Diego County Credit Union, but she’s no newcomer to the credit union community. She’s been in the industry for nearly two decades. As she approached this mile marker in her latest position, Halleck took time to reflect on what...

Smart Chips Still Slow to Catch on at U.S. CUs

By David Morrison

Despite the documented ability of smart chips to cut fraud losses, experts say some credit unions and CUSOs have not moved very quickly to start issuing credit and debit cards enabled with the higher tech chips.

Evolution of Credit Cards Links to Convenience

Certain Credit Union Members Are Prime Targets for EMV Cards

By Mike Kelly

Card security technology in the U.S. is like a spinning roulette wheel. No one knows exactly where the ball will land.

CO-OP Picks Up New Clients

With two new credit union partners, CO-OP Financial Services is continuing its push into debit processing and ATM management.

Vantiv Extends Card Processing

By David Morrison

Vantiv LLC has signed three more credit unions for credit card processing services.

Students Design Purdue FCU Cards

By David Morrison

To show school spirit for their favorite high school, students have come up with the latest designs for Purdue Federal Credit Union’s debit cards.

Diebold Intros New ATM Series

By David Morrison

ATM manufacturer Die-bold said it has introduced its most robust series of ATMs to date.

Pre-Retirees Seek to Prepare for a Harsh New World

By Eileen M. Courter

The experts agree. Retirement is getting more complicated.

Joblessness Hinders Auto Sales

By Michelle A. Samaad

A robust recovery of vehicle sales may not been seen anytime soon as long as unemployment remains high.

Coast Central Signs With PSCU

By Marc Rapport

PSCU Financial Services said it has signed the $906 million Coast Credit Union in Eureka, Calif., to a seven-year contract for online banking and bill pay services.

Computer Services Inc. Buys HEIT

HEIT, the Colorado-based provider of cloud-based infrastructure, compliance and security services to more than 200 credit unions, is being sold to Computer Services Inc. of Paducah, Ky.

FLEX Plans Core Customer Webinars

By Marc Rapport

Computer Marketing Corp. said it is bolstering the training service it offers via webinar to its approximately 300 credit unions running on its FLEX core processing system.

Online Resources Signs Northwest

By Marc Rapport

Online Resources Corp. of Chantilly, Va., said it has signed the $2 billion Northwest Federal Credit Union in Herndon, Va., to a multi-year agreement for online banking and bill pay solutions.

FORUM Adds Mobile RDC

By Marc Rapport

The 105,000 members of the $939 million FORUM Credit Union can now deposit checks via smartphone.

COCC Cranks Up App Store Participation

A client-owned Connecticut service bureau is now using an online apps store to help its credit union and community bank clients adapt their own technology more rapidly to market demands.

Great Lakes CU Recycles Old Cash With New Machine

A new machine is helping to recycle old cash at the $529 million Great Lakes Credit Union’s new branch in Zion, Ill.

SELCO Community CU Goes with VSoft

By Marc Rapport

VSoft Corp. said it will be handling check processing for the $894 million SELCO Community Credit Union in Eugene, Ore., through the Atlanta company’s global data center.

Defense Council Sings: If We Can Make It There...

By Jim Rubenstein

It may have been short-lived, but the 10-minute mega-screen plug for defense credit unions in Times Square at NASDAQ’s opening lived up to all the expectations.