News

Expanding its Michigan footprint, the $1.9 billion Lake Michigan Credit Union of Grand Rapids is merging the troubled $62 million Citizens CU of Kalamazoo giving the CU an entry into the Kalamazoo market.

The National Credit Union Foundation has chosen longtime credit union leader Wendell Sebastian as its next executive director.

CUNA and state leagues said last week their massive lobbying effort to oppose the Durbin interchange amendment triggered an estimated 35,000 letters and e-mail messages to U.S. senators, but that was apparently dwarfed by retailers' counter campaign.

The NCUA Board may vote in June on whether to separate corporate CU assessments from those that cover natural person credit union losses, Chairman Debbie Matz told Wisconsin Credit Union League members.

As news outlets were running stories about the plight of unbanked immigrant populations, Kyle Swisher, executive director of the CU Foundation of Maryland and D.C., got the idea of developing a bilingual teller training and placement program .

Utah's Mountain America Federal Credit Union has now completed a merger of the $1.8 million IFA Employees FCU of Salt Lake City.

In a merger underscoring compliance concerns of small credit unions, the $312 million Connexus Credit Union of Wausau, Wis., said it expects to complete the consolidation of the $3 million Wausau City Employees CU by June 1.

At a time when organizations are aggressively cutting personnel, the way to survive is not just to cozy up to the boss but to create a niche for yourself that makes you too valuable to be let go or be allowed to quit.