At one time, credit unions were a well-kept secret. Often they were tucked away in the back of a factory. They did no marketing and offered the plainest of plain vanilla services. All but a handful had a membership that numbered in the hundreds rather than thousands. Most had assets...

There are probably already too many awards programs. But I decided there was need for another one, especially in light of recent developments in the banking industry's all-out war to eliminate credit unions. So I created it. The new awards honor "achievements" in the banking industry by individual bankers and...

When a publication decides to advertise to increase its paid subscriptions, it only makes sense to use itself for those advertisements. Such ads are called "house ads." Credit Union Times has launched a new series of these house ads to highlight the many reasons why it will pay big dividends...

Even when things are running smoothly, as they have throughout the tenure of about-to-be former NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar, the NCUA Board has been in the news a lot on a regular basis. It is not just because Dollar's aggressive and forward thinking agenda made him a newsmaker, but also...

It is not uncommon for the top person in an organization to lay out a number of stretch goals as they assume a new position. More often than not, somewhere in the verbiage describing what they want to accomplish are these words: "I hope to leave the organization in better...

No one thing gives credit unions an image. The way members are treated. The professionalism of the staff and the facilities. A credit union's support of charitable causes. The look and feel of marketing pieces. All these and many more factors contribute to the overall image of credit unions. What...

There are plenty of opportunities for credit union CEOs to be recognized for their individual accomplishments. But none of the current competitions for top CU CEO honors is free of sometimes intimidating nomination procedures. Or without some sort of catorgorization. Or completely devoid of organizational politics. That's why Credit Union...

It's time once again to take a potpourri look around the world of credit unions with some comments on a crazy variety of unconnected topics. In an apparent attempt to assist those actively engaged in identity fraud do a better job, a publication that shall remain nameless to protect the...