Corporate governance

Nominations for the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association’s board of directors are due Jan. 15.

After being elected to the Glendora City Council in March, Mendell Thompson, president and CEO of $303 million America’s Christian Credit Union, was able to make an immediate positive impact for local CUs.

NCUA approved four new credit union charters in 2015, continuing the trend of seeing just a handful of new CUs joining the ranks. As part of Credit Union Journal’s Year in Review, we recap this year’s crop of de novo charters and explore why there are so few of them.

WATERFORD, Conn. – Charter Oak Federal Credit Union on Tuesday said it has awarded more than $438,000 in annual $100 cash bonuses to its Gold Rewards members in December – a new record for the $914 million credit union.

MADISON, Wis. – Compensation for credit union boards of directors divides many in the CU movement – it was part of an extensive CU Journal Special Report last year and a study from Filene Research Institute earlier this year added to the conversation about this complex issue.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Xtend, Inc., a CUSO that supplies managerial, operational, marketing, technical planning and consulting services for credit unions, on Thursday said South Bay CU, Redondo Beach, Calif., is its newest credit union stakeholder.

MIDLAND, Mich. — Dow Chemical Employees' Credit Union on Thursday said it will set a new record with its Member Giveback Rebates and Rewards for 2015.

After years of interest rates near 0%, credit unions were pleased by the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee decision to raise the Fed Funds rate.

Filene Research Institute announced that Summit Credit Union, a $2.3-billion institution based in Madison, Wis., signed up to participate in a Filene Impact Lab program called “Larky.”

Raddon Financial Group, a provider of financial industry research and trends data, said in 2015 it added 50 new financial institutions as clients, including 40 credit unions. The remaining 10 comprised seven banks and three other institutions.

Two New Mexico credit unions became the first credit unions in the state to earn the “Juntos Avanzamos” designation.

Municipal Employees Credit Union Of Baltimore (MECU), a $1.2-billion institution based in Baltimore, Md., said its members received a loan interest rebate last week and will receive an “extraordinary dividend” at the end of this month.

Ascend Federal Credit Union, a $1.8-billion institution based in Tullahoma, Tenn., said it has issued bonus dividends and loan interest refunds totaling more than $6 million.

LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Marine Credit Union announced Monday that it has completed its merger with United Service Community Credit Union.

KINGSPORT, TENN. — Eastman Credit Union announced over the weekend that it will issue a $10 million extraordinary dividend to members as a reward for doing business with the CU.

Peoria, Ill. – Citizens Equity First Credit Union (CEFCU), a $5.2-billion institution based in Peoria, Ill., said its board of directors has issued a $40 million “extraordinary dividend” to its members for the second consecutive year.

After more than a year of debate, the trade association is amending its bylaws that required credit unions to belong to both CUNA and their respective state leagues. Credit Union Journal offers a look at how the debate finally got to this point.

The credit union industry as a whole continues its streak of strong quarterly results, but the “great divide” between large and small CUs still exists.

In dramatic move, trade group says it will draft new bylaws and present to membership in early 2016.

Now that the state House of Representatives has passed the legislation, all eyes turn to the state Senate, where the Michigan CU League expects to find strong support for the modernization effort.