Branching Out...

Envision Credit Union said it has reduced monthly teller activity reporting from 20-plus manual labor hours to less than 10 minutes in the year because of business intelligence software from Cognos Inc....

NAFCU Services Corp. said it has added Digital Defense Inc. to its Preferred Partner program....

NCR Corp. said it will begin offering two of uMonitor's online applications as part of the corporation's online banking solution....

OMNI Community Credit Union has become part of "Wheels to Work" by offering auto loans to qualified individuals in the program....

Basking in the glow of savory success, Dawn White's "shrimp salad delight" was recently named the 2007 Lawry's Tasty Traditions 'Reel Creative Meals' winner....

As part of the Bush Administration's designation of February as National Black History Month, NCUA has focused on its role in helping credit unions serving predominantly African-American communities....

World Council of Credit Unions has produced a new Model Regulations for Credit Unions, a companion piece to WOCCU's 2005 Model Law for Credit Unions....

Design and building firm NewGround has promoted President/Chief Operating Officer Kevin Blair to CEO....

The agenda and lineup of keynote speakers has been set for NACUSO's 2008 annual conference in Las Vegas April 27-30. ...

CUNA has recently launched a new line of "quick read" lobby brochures to complement its statement stuffer line....

Sheila Narayan, a veteran payments consultant, has joined Online Resources Corp. as executive vice president/general manager of its payments division....

Brian Harron, chief financial officer of the $46 million Carolina Mountains Credit Union, knows he has two bright, young daughters but he did not expect his fourth-grader would start doing spreadsheet analyses of the CU's branch operation....

A+ Federal Credit Union and the local Austin Fox 7 station have recently announced the three families chosen as finalists for the Savings Challenge '08....

There's a new look and feel on Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union's Web site (www.mafcu.org)....

TruHome Solutions, a credit union-owned mortgage solutions CUSO, and CSDCU, have finalized a new mortgage partnership agreement....

The Service Employees International Union planned a Town Hall-style meeting at press time featuring Representative Joe Baca (D-Calif.), local community leaders, and consumers who feel lending and fee policies of Bank of America and other big banks are deceitful and damaging to the U.S. economy....

The federal grand jury trial of former D. Edward Wells president/CEO Carol Aranjo and her husband, Alphonso Smith for conspiracy, tax evasion and embezzlement that led to the liquidation of the CU continued here last week....

CU*Answers, the credit union-owned data processor and online banking provider, announced the release of new built-in personalization features to its online banking system, known as It's Me 247. ...

California Coast Credit Union Pres-ident/CEO Jim McPheters is retiring effective April 1, 2008....

A surplus of liquidity in the credit union industry has helped to raise investments in the Trust for Credit Unions money market portfolio to $1.047 billion as of Feb. 15, 2008, up $687 million from the previous year, according to Callahan Financial Services, a subsidiary of Callahan & Associates....

A brand new police credit union--The Finest Federal Credit Union--is in the process of being created with the help of Chicago Patrolmen's Federal Credit Union, Delaware State Police Federal Credit Union, and Police Federal Credit Union....

The Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act (H.R. 1537) is not just on the mind of a few assorted members of Congress....

With a powerful roster of speakers headlining CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference this year, a new location, and the backdrop of a Presidential campaign, participants can expect a truly educational event. ...

NAFCU's most recent Flash Report survey confirmed that 74% of credit union respondents felt the recent data collection effort by the NCUA, known as the Member Service Assesment Pilot Program, was an inappropriate expense and should not be expanded as currently structured....

The NCUA Board received the quarterly insurance fund report today from the new Chief Financial Officer Mary Ann Woodson, who revealed that the NCUSIF will not be refunding any funds to federally insured credit unions for 2007....

Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) and 20 other Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have urged Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson, Jr. and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to take action to ensure that students can afford higher education....

Auto Expert was recently recognized for its service record with the California Governor's Award for Excellence and the Gold Level California Award for Performance Excellence....

People's Trust Federal Credit Union's quirky "Happy Un-Banking" awareness campaign has been recognized at the 46th Annual Houston Advertising Federation ADDY Awards....

North Carolina taxpayers are turning to State Employees Credit Union and Local Government Federal Credit Union branches for help....

The $770 million Xerox Federal Credit Union will launch a new name and brand, transitioning to Xceed Financial Credit Union on March 31....

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Members Group, a leading CUSO in the CU card arena, has reported very strong performance for its ATIRA gift card program in 2007....

The industry saw an unusual, late-year surge of 367,000 members in the fourth quarter last year, allowing credit unions to cap off 2007 with a total of 89.7 million members, according to the latest Credit Union Trends Report from CUNA Mutual Group....

Mortgagebot, a provider of online mortgage-origination solutions to credit unions and banks here, finished 2007 with record number of clients, market penetration and volume on its Mortgagebot PowerSite solution....

WASHINGTON -- Treasury Department Federal Credit Union has officially signed on to Operation HOPE's financial literacy movement and will begin providing space and support for a "HOPE Inside" partnership....

For the State Employees' Credit Union Foundation, the question was never whether to channel money back into the communities the CU served....

A new entry into the credit union loan-origination system space plans to make its mark with a message of going green and getting social....

Credit unions are getting good publicity for what they didn't do--that is make predatory mortgage loans and contribute to the subprime debacle--and for what they ought to be doing to help Americans through what seems to be a growing economic crisis....

The $113.6 million First Basin Credit Union is going to remain a credit union, at least for now. The credit union has announced to its members that it has decided to "suspend" the application to convert to a bank charter....

It's hard to believe, the Wisconsin Credit Union League warned, but identity theft can occur at the voting booth....

Tempe Schools Credit Union has received an honorable mention from the Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Recognition Program for its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program....

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling is once again sponsoring the BE MONEY WI$E National Poster Contest....

The $15 billion State Employees Credit Union has reported that it has converted all of its almost 1,000 ATMs across the state to talking ATMs....

Count Pacific Community Credit Union is among the latest to partner with Member Business Services. ...

NAFCU has selected the recipients of its 2008 Cornerstone Awards. Stacey Walker, a director at XCEL Federal Credit Union, and Noma Carter, a director at Securityplus Federal Credit Union, have been named the recipients of NAFCU's 2008 Cornerstone Award....

Recently, the general counsel's office at NCUA issued additional guidance on the E-Sign Act. ...

On Feb. 8, NCUA clarified the member business loan two-year rule in a recent legal opinion letter (08-0128). ...

A recent question about documentation in a real estate transaction prompted the NCUA to issue additional guidance on real estate. According to NCUA Legal Opinion Letter 08-0129, no written narrative needs to be present in an appraisal for a real-estate transaction. NCUA's appraisal regulation, discusses real estate transactions requiring appraisals and the types of appraisals required for certain categories of real estate transactions....

NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson represented the agency at the Department of the Treasury for the first meeting of the Advisory Council on Financial Literacy. She was accompanied by Cutler Dawson President/CEO of Navy Federal Credit Union, who is a member of the Council....

Credit unions and other financial institutions are hardly alone in the eyes of cyber crooks....

While the term "fringe technology" might seem more fitting for science fiction than credit unions, the match is not all that far-fetched....

Credit unions and banks continue to be targets of phishing and malware attacks in cyberspace....

What to spend and where to spend it....

Meriwest Credit Union has introduced a new online member acquisition and funding program....

Gulf Coast Community CU will switch to The Complete Credit Union Solution from Open Solutions Inc. in June....

Hesitant to make the leap to Vista? You're not alone, according to new research from Forrester Research. A survey of 2,104 hardware decision-makers at North American and European large, small and medium businesses found that Windows XP continues to dominate the PC operating system landscape and that fully 45% of the respondents did not know when they would switch to Microsoft's newest platform. The think firm said it expects the release of the first major service pack this year to be among the factors that will speed up adoption....

Credit unions and banks can still find some growth in the online bill pay channel. According to Forrester Research's North American Technographics Financial Services Online Survey of 4,197 consumers--conducted in the third quarter of 2007--only 35% of online consumers pay bills at their bank or credit union's Web site....

ACI Worldwide will be offering its business and consumer online banking clients the services of California-based mFoundry for mobile banking....

More clients, an acquisition and increased bill payment services were some of the factors that led to a 26% increase in revenue in 2007 for Wescom Resources Group, a CUSO of $3.7 billion Wescom Credit Union. WRG provides technology solutions to more than 215 credit unions....

It's admirable that the ASI Federal Credit Union in Harahan, La. is moving to open a Latino branch office to serve its Spanish-speaking members. Every employee will speak both Spanish and English, and all documents will be printed in both languages. A good move....

Congratulations on your new role at CU Times, my favorite CU publication. In my opinion though, your Jan. 30 editorial is off target (Bankers Win if One-Third of Largest CUs Plan Conversions)....

As I have been adjusting to my new role over the last few months on the professional side, it has also taken some adjustments on the personal side as well. Credit Union Times runs with a lean and mean staff dedicated to getting all the news out quickly and accurately, which also means we all wear many hats....

Banks are facing some of the same challenges that credit unions do when it comes to IT....

East, South, Midwest, West...

Branching Out...

In our new poll, Credit Union Times is asking readers, "How often does your CU reassess its disaster preparedness plan?"...

The Credit Union Times recent poll on credit unions' intent to sell or keep their card portfolios has closed. ...