ST. LOUIS -- Enterprise Car Sales now has a program available to credit union members that grants them access to a nationwide used car inventory and to have a selected vehicle transferred to their closest Enterprise location.

Enterprise as 175 locations across the country for credit union members to access to find and purchase a new car that meets their preferences.

"Credit unions have a major stake in their members' automobile purchases and the transfer program will help credit unions by expanding their members' access to a larger selection of vehicles with the preferred body style, price range and features," said Marianne Chanda, strategic business development manager for Enterprise. "In addition, pre-approval from their credit union enables members to know exactly how much they can spend when shopping for a vehicle."

To access the inventory members can select the transferable matches tab at www.enterprisecarsales.com. Vehicles located closest will display first, followed by vehicles sorted according to transfer fees, from least to most expensive.

To start a transfer, the member can call or e-mail their closest branch, as well as visit that branch to review and confirm the vehicle selected and make a non-refundable transfer fee payment.

SBA Grades NCUA a 'B' On Reg. Enforcement

WASHINGTON -- NCUA received an overall score of "B" from the Small Business Administration for its participation in regulatory enforcement hearings, according to the agency's 2007 national ombudsman report to Congress.

Released on July 11, the annual report is based on testimony gathered at regulatory fairness hearings and concerns and complaints filed with the SBA's ombudsman about federal compliance and regulatory activity. Former NCUA Director of External Affairs Nicholas Owens currently serves as the SBA ombudsman.

According to the report, NCUA earned an "A" for its nonretaliation policy. The regulator also received an "A" in compliance assistance and a "C" for "informs about [the] Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996." Of the latter grade, the report noted that since NCUA is a federal financial institution regulator, its ombudsman functions fall under the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act. To receive an "A," an agency must reference SBA's national ombudsman on both its Web site and at the time a citation or notice of regulatory violation occurs. NCUA's overall score was a "B."

"Strengthened SBREFA rules have not applied to any NCUA regulations so far, but the agency is already working to assist small entities," the report read. In fiscal year 2007, NCUA issued 15 letters to credit unions aimed at helping small unions comply with new or complex regulations, SBA said.

Each federal agency ranked receives a grade rating its responsiveness to small business regulatory enforcement concerns based on five categories including the agency's timeliness and quality of response to small business comments; presence of a nonretaliation policy; degree of regulatory enforcement compliance assistance to small businesses; participation in regulatory fairness hearings; and how the agency informs small businesses about the SBREFA and their rights to discuss the enforcement and compliance process.

SBA's ombudsman office said in 2007 that it significantly increased its responsiveness to small businesses, handling more than 500 cases involving regulatory or compliance issues. Federal agencies decreased its response time to these cases from 52 days in 2006 to 27 days in 2007, according to SBA.

NCUA Bans Three People

WASHINGTON -- Three women, including one convicted of theft, have been barred by the NCUA from participating in the affairs of any federally insured credit union or other insured depository institution.

Anne M. Massey, a former teller at Simpson Community Credit Union (now called Our Community Credit Union) in Shelton, Wash., is serving an 18-month jail sentence for stealing $4,000. She has also been ordered by the courts to pay the money back to the credit union.

Anita Hubert, a former loan manager at Community Choice Federal Credit Union in Indianapolis, consented to a prohibition order without admitting or denying fault. The NCUA did not release details of her case.

Patricia A. Russell, a former loan officer and VISA coordinator at First Kingsport Credit Union in Kingsport, Tennessee, also consented to a prohibition order without admitting or denying fault. The NCUA did not release details of her case.

Violation of a prohibition order is a felony offense punishable by imprisonment and a fine of up to $1 million.

CO-OP Expands Permitted IDs

ATLANTA -- Call it globalization, but CO-OP Shared Branching has added international passports and Canadian drivers licenses as permitted forms of identification for shared branch transactions.

"Credit union members are much more diverse today than when our policies were first established," says Carroll Beach, president and chief operating officer of CO-OP Shared Branching. "Of the more than 3,300 branches available to participants, 120 are foreign."

Shared Branching continues to expand on the international front. In late 2007,

CO-OP Shared Branching completed the first international transaction between Ecuador and the United States. Responding to ongoing interest from other countries, CO-OP Shared Branching representatives have since met with organizations from Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America about implementing shared branching in their respective areas, CO-OP said.

"Members are looking for convenient and reliable ways to get money to their families in their home countries," said Laura Pizzarelli, CO-OP Shared Branching's senior vice president of corporate relations. "Credit unions around the world are a significant part of members' lives. Shared Branching extends this role by epitomizing the credit union philosophy of people helping people. We're excited to be able to work with credit unions to remove some of the barriers they deal with by providing affordable access through shared branching."

First Iowa Foundation Flood Checks Go Out

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Credit union members, employees and volunteers, all victims of the Iowa floods, have begun receiving $500 relief checks from the Iowa Credit Union Foundation.

The foundation has reported that its disaster fund is now close to $400,000. The contributions are drawn mostly from Iowa CUs, but Iowa Central Corporate CU, the state league foundations and the National Credit Union Foundation have joined the fundraising efforts.

"We had 1,200 applications for grants last week and, let me tell you, our committee spent all day in Cedar Rapids going over the requests," said Angela Drury, secretary of the Iowa foundation, and chief operating officer of 1st Gateway CU of Comanche.

The hope, she said, is that every deserving applicant will receive $500 in emergency funds, noting also that the grant committee gave priority to families with children followed by the elderly and disabled.

Marybeth Foster, executive director of the Iowa foundation, said the vast majority of the applications are from Cedar Rapids, which saw its downtown district submerged for days with more than 2,000 homes damaged or destroyed along with scores of businesses.

Foster said some members lost their homes and all its contents, but the grant money being used to pay for immediate needs, including hotel costs, food, clothing and cleaning supplies, she said.

Meanwhile, clean up work continued in the hardest hit cities of Cedar Rapids, Burlington, Des Moines, Iowa City and Waterloo where CUs were bracing for an onslaught of applications for loan forbearance and waivers from members.