Michael Bartlett

San Diego County CU has posted exceptional numbers since Bank Transfer Day, with Executive Vice President ofMarketing and Business Development Nathan Schmidt noting its numbers are roughly three times better than that of the credit union community as a whole.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, $3.7-billion Patelco Credit Union is still seeing a “Bank Transfer Day Effect” long after the actual day itself.

The $7.9-billion The Golden 1 CU has been welcoming 6,000 new members each month in 2012, which CEO Donna Bland said is a marked improvement from the 2,000 to 3,000 it used to see each month.

Membership growth at $10.5-billion BECU has been up 10% to 12% year-over-year for each of the first nine months of 2012.

Credit unions need to think of themselves as retailers.

As credit unions increasingly are turning to mortgages to boost their loan portfolios, three CEOs said real estate lending is a key factor in their success.

Bank stupidity. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

In the 12 months ending June 30, CUNA said its analysis indicates credit unions added 2.1 million new members.

Changes are coming to the credit union branch model.

Is the branch dead? It clearly is not, says Mark Weber, president of Weber Marketing Group, who points to the record number of building projects and branch redesigns his firm has taken on in the past four years.

Credit Union Journal asked attendees of the recent annual conference of the American Credit Union Mortgage Association how they are generating mortgages while also balancing risk.

The California Credit Union League has restructured its board.

Credit unions should be bracing themselves for a pending wave of new regulations.

The reorganization at the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues was prompted by a search for relevancy in a new financial services landscape.

NCUA examiners in 2013 will continue to focus on issues that have been a priority the last two years: general credit risk and interest rate risk from the increasing number of mortgages being booked by credit unions.

The $1.6-billion Technology Credit Union is hailing a ruling by a California superior court judge that it does not have to reveal membership information.

A+ Federal Credit Union has partnered with Austin Community College's Student Life office on the "Riverbat Savings Challenge," a nod to the school's mascot.

Credit unions will steal good ideas from any industry and, according to Bob Hoel, the former executive director of the Filene Research Institute, they should be proud of that long tradition.

State regulators continue to fight what they call federal encroachment on their authority.

Credit unions do not have as many interactions with OFAC as they do with Treasury Department sibling FinCEN, but ongoing vigilance is the best way to avoid fines.