LICU+ is Now the Alliance of Credit Unions, Open to All CUs

ENDICOTT, N.Y. – LICU+, originally the League of IBM Credit Unions, has changed its name to the Alliance of Credit Unions (ACU). LICU+, which has been around for almost 40 years, was at one time exclusively for IBM credit unions. The number of IBM credit unions has shrunk. Only two still have IBM in their names, and most have expanded their charters to take in many more groups than just IBM. Charlie Thomas, a member of ACU's board, and CEO of Mid-Atlantic FCU in Germantown, Md., said ACU is now open to all credit unions. He said one common tie of ACU's 26 members is innovativeness. The group's newest member is New Jersey-based Paragon FCU. ACU is also home to a number of billion dollar credit unions, including Coastal FCU, Hudson Valley FCU, Visions FCU, Think FCU and others. ACU holds two educational sessions a year in addition to a CEO-only meeting. Thomas said ACU is a trade association, but will not lobby and is not trying to be like CUNA or NAFCU, but more geared at professional development. ACU is in the process of expanding the operational and marketing services it offers its members, including redesigning its quarterly magazine and Web site resources for 2006. The organization's annual meeting will continue to be held in September each year, with a new Advanced Education Retreat planned for 2007.