Michael Bartlett

Not all small credit unions in the Golden State are struggling to attract new members, as STAR Community Credit Union and San Luis Obispo-based SLO CU are welcoming new faces.

Eric Bruen, CEO of Desert Valleys FCU, has seen little empirical data that shows small CUs have experienced little growth in 2012, but he argues that may not be such a bad thing.

All those stories about consumers flocking from banks to credit unions are just that-stories. Or at least that's the case for two small CUs in the Golden State.

Columbia Credit Union has become the No. 1 lender in Clark County, Wash., in both mortgages and vehicle loans.

Fort Worth Community CU's decision to take its indirect auto lending program in-house-and to hire a finance person away from a local dealer-has helped fuel 25% loan growth year over year.

CMG Mortgage Insurance Company has introduced its Foreclosure Prevention Advance (FPA) program, through which the company will contribute funds to help keep credit union members in their homes.

CU Realty Services is using the occasion of its 10th anniversary to launch a long-awaited expansion campaign to increase the number of credit unions it serves.

As more and more consumers use their smartphones for point-of-sale purchases, CUs are being urged to "think beyond the swipe."

For the fourth consecutive year, Columbia Credit Union has been voted the "Best Financial Institution" in Clark, County Wash. by readers of The Columbia newspaper.

Credit unions are being advised to pursue lending to credit-challenged members to boost loan growth.

The reference is to borrowers who "walk away" from their homes after the decline in housing prices pushed the value of the house far below the mortgage owed, creating what are more formally known as "strategic defaults." While that member was likely a "walkaway" from another lender, the issue for CUs is how to appropriately measure the credit risk that member actually presents.

Addison Avenue FCU has launched an "Intervention Center" as part of its new campaign that forcefully tells consumers CUs are a better option than banks, as evidenced by the motto "Friends Don't Let Friends Use Big Banks."