WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -As the competition heads into the fourth quarter it is re-evaluating its strategy and making adjustments that range from the innovative to tweaking the tried-but-true. From new business cards to reaching out to diverse communities, here is a look at what the competition has lined up: First Union National Bank, a subsidiary of Wachovia Corporation, has launched a new Relocation Card for businesses. The First Union Relocation Card is a prepaid debit card designed to help companies manage their relocation expenses for employees. Once enrolled, companies can request new cards for individual employees online. In addition, they can customize cards with their logo, establish individual dollar limits and a standard expiration date. In addition to offering its American Flag Cards, Discover will make a donation to the Disaster Relief effort for each card transaction made until reaching its $5 million goal. Cardholders will also have the option of donating their annual Cashback Bonus awards to the relief effort. First launched in 1999, the Discover American Flag Card is also available with a picture of Amber Waves of Grain or Purple Mountains on the face. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has launched a bilingual Web site for Hispanics. BancoChase.com, which is supported by a Spanish-language customer service group, provides information on a variety of the bank's products. Chase will market the site through Hispanic Web portals. Chase also offers Spanish-language financial education seminars, direct-mail programs, credit card applications, and ATM instruction. Harris Bank has partnered with a local Spanish-language radio show Carina, Su Mehor Amiga as part of its Hispanic banking initiative. The Chicago-based bank has partnered with the show's host Caren Ex to offer an interactive 16-week schedule of financial programs. Carina will broadcast her show every other Tuesday from a different Harris Bank branch as experts provide information ranging from money management to economic empowerment. The show is also on the Internet so consumers can listen in from their computers. In addition, Harris Bank has developed an interactive Spanish-language Web site. The PNC Financial Services Group has announced it is a "Founding Partner" with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Heinz Field. Under the agreement, PNC Bank gains exclusive rights to be called the "Official Bank" of the pro-football team and will be the sole provider of ATMs at the new 65,000-seat stadium. In addition, only PNC customers can have the Steelers name and logo on debit cards, personal checks and checkbook covers. First Bank of the Americas is targeting Mexican Americans in the South Side of Chicago. First Bank plays host to health fairs, offers English language classes and provides space to Accion Chicago, a community group that makes small-business loans of $500 – $35,000 to budding entrepreneurs. In addition, First Bank has helped establish an in-branch training program to teach Accion borrowers how to run a business. MasterCard International is doing its part for Hispanic communities by working with the League of United Latin American Citizens to provide bilingual financial education workshops. The program, called El Arte de Construir un Futuro Financiero, or the Art of Building a Financial Future will cover topics such as making a budget, establishing credit history and using credit and debit cards. Washington Mutual Inc., is building its own retreat on 18 acres of land near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to help develop its future leaders. The Leadership and Executive Development program last six months and puts 20-30 employees with the rank of branch manager or higher together for three sessions of tow to five days. With the new center scheduled to be completed late next year, Washington Mutual anticipates all 3,000 of its managerial-level employees will spend time at the new center at least once a year.

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts.
  • Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders.
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders.
  • Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com.
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.