DALLAS – There have been some major item processing issues at the Dallas Fed according to credit union and banking organizations. Southwest Corporate, which processes for Oklahoma credit unions, said things started going wrong around Dec. 9. Problems include late notification of cash letter credits, misdirected cash letters and other errors. "This has been a real challenge for Southwest Corporate and our members in Oklahoma," said Jody Beck, Senior Vice President of Operations for Southwest Corporate. "But we are in a position to help buffer problems for some of the credit unions, and provide an alternative service solution for others." Southwest Corporate settles cash letters for almost every credit union in Oklahoma and it is helping Oklahoma credit unions through this problem by back-dating cash letter deposits to the correct date so they will not lose earnings on their deposits, Beck explained. "Because we have a lot of long-term contacts with the Dallas Fed, we often know who to contact to get information and answers for some of the problems that arise," Beck said. "We can often get issues resolved on behalf of credit unions." "We understand that the Dallas Fed has absorbed a lot recently-including the closing of Fed's check processing operations in Houston, San Antonio and El Paso. Southwest Corporate has had a long-term relationship with the Dallas Fed, and we realize that this does not reflect their typical level of service. We trust that the Fed will get their problems worked out," said Beck. The Oklahoma Bankers Association was much harsher on the situation. "Frustration is mounting and it's about ready to boil over because of the Dallas Fed's apparent attitude that isn't sending out a lot of warm and fuzzy vibes to Oklahoma bankers. We've been trying to get a handle on the extent of the problems so we can make a better case to the Fed about the ultimate responsibility for the screw-up," said the OBA in its OBA Update. "We had an oral commitment from one Fed operative suggesting that the problems were clearly caused by the Dallas Fed, not the bankers, but so far we haven't seen anything in writing. It's clear that the Dallas office seriously underestimated its capacity to process imaged items when the conversion occurred," said the OBA. Fortunately for Southwest Corporate it is poised to roll out branch capture to a number of Oklahoma credit unions, which would help them be spared from the Fed's problems. "Several of our member credit unions in Oklahoma are switching to our Branch Capture Service, which allows them to by-pass the process of depositing with the Fed," Beck said. "This solution will help get the credit unions around many of these Fed conversion issues." [email protected]