SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Golden 1 Credit Union is among thelatest to bring its financial services credit union serviceorganization in house. Officially made on July 1, the transitionsaw the former The Golden 1 Financial Services, Inc. merged intothe $5 billion credit union. With the move, comes a new moniker:The Golden 1 Investment Services. Members will continue to haveaccess to products and services through multiple delivery channels,said Scott Jenner, senior vice president of the new department."This change will be relatively seamless, as the same team offinancial consultants will be available to assist members withinvestment decisions," Jenner said. Launched in 1985, the formerCUSO has 11,000 accounts and $235 million in assets undermanagement. The Golden 1 Credit Union is California's largestcredit union serving more than 550,000 members. Discussions to makethe transition began about six months ago and was partly motivatedby NCUA's passage of Incidental Powers Regulation, Jenner said.Federal credit unions are permitted to engage in several powersunder the Federal Credit Union Act including financial counselingand acting as a trustee or providing custodial services for memberretirement or education accounts. More importantly, bringingservices in house seemed to be the right fit, Jenner said. "Itclosely aligns our investment program with the mission of thecredit union - providing (an array) of services and products to themembers," said Jenner, who previously served as the senior vicepresident of the credit union and COO of Golden 1 FinancialServices. Jenner said The Golden 1 CU will continue itsrelationship with XCU Capital, Inc., a broker/dealer owned by 17credit unions. "XCU is pleased that (the credit union) is movingforward with this integration," said Mark Allen, president/CEO,confirming that the broker/dealer relationship will remain intact.No additional staff training is needed nor was there a physicalmove from another office, Jenner said, adding accounts will notchange and the same 11 financial consultants that served membersbefore the transition, will continue to do so. Compensationpreviously earned by the CUSO will now be earned by the creditunion, Jenner said. The terms are the same and there will be noincome increase as a result of the transition, he pointed out.Another large California credit union recently made the move aswell. In January, $4.5 billion Orange County Teachers FederalCredit Union transitioned its member investments operation out ofits CUSO, Member Investment Services, to its traditional line-up ofservices provided at the credit union. OCTFCU, which serves morethan 300,000 members, has more than 6,700 accounts with $110million in assets under management through CUSO Financial Services,L.P. (CFS). [email protected]