League Report Cited
FONTANA, Calif.- The Fontana Herald News reported that the California and Nevada CU League's third-quarter 2006 WestScan economic activity report for the states' 574 credit unions expect savings and lending to grow as housing price escalation subsides and exotic mortgages are repriced, sending more borrowers to CUs. California credit unions saw a third-quarter increase of 1.2% on assets, almost twice the national average, pushing the annualized growth rate to 4.7%.
CU Partnership Grabs Headlines
APPLETON, Wis.-The Appleton Post Crescent did a story about members who move out of state but remain active with Community First CU because it partnered with Kimberly-based Capital Credit Union and set the stage for expanding the present 19 credit union service centers in Wisconsin into northeast Wisconsin with the help of the Wisconsin Credit Union League, creating the beginnings of a hub that smaller credit unions can tap into.
"Once we do that, our members will also be able to do business through those centers in the United States," said CFCU president Catherine Tierney. Alan Zierler, CEO at Capital Credit Union said the plan calls for each credit union to designate four locations where customers of either one, and eventually any other CU, could do business in person. Zierler and Tierney conceded their were costs, such as for training employees involved with the program.
The story noted that there's no comparable network enabling a consumer to do business at one bank through another, according to Eric Skrum of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, but a service launched nine months ago, known as SelectATM, will link banks through ATMs.
CU Partnership Grabs Headlines
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Dan Caplinger of The Motley Fool noted in an online piece that credit unions are "an alternative to traditional commercial banks that sometimes provides better benefits to customers than banks. He noted that there are some membership restrictions, but highlighted "their non-profit, membership-driven philosophy," which "has been a thorn in the side of commercial banks for a long time."
CU Partnership Grabs Headlines
Rapid City, S.D.-The Rapid City Journal did a story about how the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Black Hills, with financial assistance from the South Dakota League of CUs, is partnering with a U.S. Army captain to help troops deployed to Iraq improve their finances.
A free program was provided for the first 30 troops to take the course in Iraq, courtesy of the 19 credit unions that contribute to the league's Community Investment Fund. Eventually, Capt. Juliane Douglas, now on her second deployment, hopes to make it available to all of the soldiers in her 500-member unit.
A recent DoD report recommended that Congress pass a federal law capping interest rates charged to military personnel at 36%. South Dakota is one of five states without usury laws, which makes exorbitant interest rates legal and particularly attractive to the payday lending industry there. South Dakota has the highest payday lenders per capita in the nation.
