SHREVEPORT, La. — The African-American Credit Union Coalitionsaid it is moving its 2009 annual conference from Chicago to LasVegas.
The coalition said the change is “due to circumstances beyond ourcontrol” and directed those interested in attending the conferenceto stay tuned to its Web site (www.aacuc.org) for moredetails.
The AACUC's new location and dates are Aug. 5-8 in LasVegas.

Adding Rewards to Cards
May Not Be Enough

BOSTON — Credit unions whose credit cards already carry rewardsprograms would better differentiate their cards by addingadditional services rather than tacking on more rewards, accordingto recent research from the Aite Group.
The financial service research firm's most recent report, “CreditCard Rewards: Why Issuers Should Compete on Service,” said that theproliferation of different rewards programs has blunted the impactof simply adding more rewards.
“Because so many rewards cardholders belong to other rewardsprograms, differentiating on product-the reward program itself-isdifficult,” the report said. “But few (if any) rewards-providingfirms help these consumers to manage the programs they belong to.As issuers look to one-up each other with ever-expanding rewards,we believe that issuers can differentiate themselves by creating arewards hub that enables cardholders to aggregate and integrateprograms.”
The study affirmed the importance of rewards programs in drawingconsumers and driving card usage, but it also noted that heavy cardrewards users display different behaviors that isn't always bestfor the issuer. Among other things, heavy card rewards users aregenerally not inclined to revolve a balance and pay a financecharge.
“Two-thirds of this group pays off their credit card balance infull each month, while just 9% of them make the minimum payment,”the report. “Among other consumers, 40% pay their balance in full,and 17% make the minimum payment on their card balance.”
On the other hand, heavy card users are inclined to use their cardsto pay monthly bills, particularly Internet and wireless phonebills. They are also not inclined to consolidate their cards, thereport said.
Even cardholders who are heavy users of rewards programs stillexpress dissatisfaction with them, the research found.
Three-quarters of respondents said that they're satisfied with thetypes of rewards programs they belong to and the customer serviceprovided by those programs, but just 56% expressed satisfactionwith the value they get from the programs they belong to, and lessthan half are satisfied with how quickly they can earn points orcash, the report said.

Bowles Announces
Retirement From GFA

FITCHBURG, Mass. — Longtime GFA Federal Credit Union CEO CharlesP. Bowles announced his retirement at the end of 2008.
In his 24 years at the helm, the credit union has become afull-service financial institution, growing from one location toeight and increasing over 700% in assets. He will continue to serveon the credit union's board of directors, a volunteer position.Current GFA FCU President/Chief Operations Officer Tina Sbrega willstep in as CEO.
In addition to leading GFA, Bowles has been an active member of thecommunity and a recognized leader in the industry. He currentlyserves as a director for many local organizations, including theMount Wachusett Community College Foundation, Workforce InvestmentBoard, and also holds a volunteer leadership role with the UnitedWay. He is also a current member of the board of directors and pastchairman of EasCorp, one of 28 corporate credit unionsnationally.
Additionally, he has held leadership roles on the MWCC Board ofTrustees and as a director of the Thayer Symphony Orchestra, aswell as having served on numerous fundraising campaigns for manylocal organizations. He has taught management and credit unioncourses through the American Institute of Banking and MountWachusett Community College. Bowles has been recognized for hiscommunity involvement as the Citizen of the Year by the GreaterGardner Chamber of Commerce in 1997 and the MWCC Foundation in2004.
“It has been my pleasure to serve as CEO of GFA over the years. Ithas given me the opportunity to give back to the community and itsmembers through various organizations while upholding the creditunion ideal of people helping people,” said Bowles.

Bethex Makes Changes
To Aid Businesses

BRONX, N.Y. — Small and micro businesses searching for lowinterest rates and longer loan terms have another resource withBethex Federal Credit Union.
A niche lender for low-credit borrowers, many of whom have beenpreviously turned down by banks, $15 million Bethex said it hasmodified its business loan policy to include an interest ratereduction for business and microenterprise members. In some cases,the credit union may lengthen the term of a loan, resulting inlower monthly payments while extending the life of the loan.
As a Small Business Administration lender, Bethex' newly reducedinterest rate is based on the SBA's permitted rate of prime plus2.5 percentage points, which at press time was a total of 6.5%. Bymonitoring this rate on a daily basis, the credit union said it isable to offer its members the best possible rate for each loan thatis approved.
Bethex loan officers “do not give much weight to credit scores oremploy risk-based lending in their loan decisions,” according tothe credit union. Instead, loan approval is “based on an intimateknowledge of the community they serve and the relationships theyhave developed with their members over the years.”
While raising capital is frequently a challenge for financialinstitutions working with impoverished populations, Bethex'spartnerships over the years with New York State, New York City andthe National Federal of Community Development Credit Unions hashelped small and microbusinesses get off the ground andexpand.
“Now that the economy has continued to deteriorate, that supportmay not be as readily available,” the credit union said. “BethexFCU hopes that the government rescue plans will look holisticallyat the nation's economic problems and support community-basedfinancial institutions that can effectively deploy resources tolow-income population.”