Town Hall Helps Reassure Members
ARCADIA, Calif.-Foothill FCU recently hosted a town hall style breakfast meeting to help keep members in the loop over recent events in credit unions and the broader economy, including the conservatorship of WesCorp and U.S. Central, as well as NCUA's move to insure deposits up to $250,000. President/CEO Brian Hall assured members of the $217-million credit union's "strength and stability.
Staff Helps Members With Returns
GROTON, Conn.-Ledge Light FCU staffers logged more than 330 volunteer hours helping 66 members file their tax returns electronically. The $168-CU partnered with TVCCA to offer the free tax preparation and submission though the IRS VITA program. CEO Bruce Fafard said the CU's participation "fit perfectly with the credit union manta."
CUES Releases Three New Reports
MADISON, Wis.-CUES has released three new reports related to continuing to thrive in touch economic times.
The scenario planning report, "2015 Scenarios for Credit Unions in North America" is part of a regular report the organization refreshes every five years.
Also available is a recently released case study on growth, which was funded by CUES and developed by Harvard Business School (HBS). The report follows Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, St. Paul, Minn., as it implements a growth strategy based on putting members first and building relationships based on trust, and the impact this has on its indirect lending program.
The third report, "Reverse Mortgages: Market Potential and Implementation Ideas" examines recent legislative changes related to the Housing & Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
Separately, CUES has issued a statement in support of the nation's travel agency as companies and credit unions cut their travel budgets.
"Business travel has gotten a black eye from the media recently," said CUES Chairman Carla Altepeter, CEO of CitizensFirst Credit Union, Oshkosh, Wis. "At CUES, we support the people whose livelihoods depend on meeting travel, and remind the movement of the importance of education."
CUES is calling on credit unions to continue attending important education and development events, noting support of airline, hospitality and food service workers helps local economies, which include credit union members.
For info: www.cues.org
Report Examines Backoffice Functions
MADISON, Wis.-In a newly released report, "A Road Map for Credit Union Back-Office Collaboration," the Filene Research Institute takes a look at the potential for a shared back-office utility that would be owned, operated and governed by several credit unions.
Author Michael Taylor, SchellingPoint LLC, developed a comprehensive road map for large-scale back-office credit union collaboration. Taylor interviewed more than 150 senior executives in small, medium and large credit unions, as well as consultants, vendors and credit union trade association executives. His road map consists of three steps:
1. Make the business case: Areas such as compliance, card services, and bulk purchases are prime candidates for collaboration.
2. Design the collaboration: Consider the various collaborative business model elements, including the right organizational structure and models to scale a collaborative venture.
3. Conduct the collaboration: Some interviewees have already engaged in a collaborative credit union venture. The most common issues to arise are partner competency concerns, metrics and measures of success, fostering and maintaining partner relationships, and specific technology barriers and enablers. For info: www.filene.org
WOCCU: Time For Review of Basel II
MADISON, Wis.-The World Council of Credit Unions is calling for a fundamental review of the Basel II capital framework by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to ensure that smaller institutions and credit unions that have fared better during the economic recession aren't subject to tougher capital requirements than larger, riskier institutions that present systemic risk.
In a series of three letters to Basel Committee Chairman Nout Wellink, Dave Grace, WOCCU's VP-association services, urged the committee to "rebalance" inconsistencies outlined in the current series of consultative documents that classify small financial cooperatives together with large, more complex banks.
WOCCU's actions come on the heels of a recent Basel Committee announcement that all financial institution capital levels will need to be raised to increase resilience to future episodes of economic and financial stress. The process will include increases not only in the amounts, but also the quality of capital required; improving the risk coverage of capital structures; and enacting supplementary protective measures. For info: www.woccu.org.
CoastHills Wins Top MACQUEE Award
LOMPOC, Calif.-CoastHills FCU won first place in the MACQUEE marketing awards hosted by MAC. The credit union was recognized as the "Best of MAC" for its "Deals for All Wheels" campaign. Other finalists included FAA First FCU, Los Angeles; Pacific Service CU, Walnut Creek, Calif., and Valley First CU, Modesto, Calif. MAC held its awards ceremony virtually this year after canceling the meeting it had scheduled for San Antonio. For info: www.macnetwork.org
riverset Wins CMC's 'Best of Show'
MADISON, Wis.-The $93.3-million riverset credit union in Pittsburgh was named "Competition's Best"-the highest "Best of Show" award in the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council's Diamond Awards competition. Entered in the Branding/Corporate Identity category, riverset underwent a branding transition centered around its name change. Other Best of Show honorees included: Best Association Entry: Florida CU League for its league marketing campaign, "Your Porthole to Credit Union Growth and Longevity"; Best Use of Art: DHCU Community CU in Moline, Ill., for its "13th Avenue" entry in the Retail Merchandising category; and Best Use of Humor: Community Choice CU in Johnston, Iowa, for its "Don't Dance Around Your Bills" TV spot. For info: www.cunacouncils.org.
CDFIs Show Strong Community Roles
ALBANY, N.Y.-Despite tight credit at many lenders, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) continue to lend and provide financial services to their communities; creating jobs, building affordable housing units, and supporting small businesses in urban and rural areas across New York State, according to attendees at the New York Coalition of CDFIs Statewide Conference. The meeting was organized by the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation), which has staffed and operated the coalition for more than a decade.
Jeffrey Metzler, VP with Empire State Development Corp., (ESD), the state agency responsible for supporting CDFIs, reported an additional $2.5 million, or a 170% increase, will be made available for the CDFI grant program aimed at small businesses.
"One of the coalition's major goals in 2010 is to ensure that there is a direct allocation for the New York State CDFI Fund in the state budget," said Federation Executive Director Cliff Rosenthal. "CDFIs are experts at leveraging public monies with private funds, and our research has shown that just a $15 million investment from the state, would create as much as $150 million in direct investments in our communities."
Texas CU Dept. Gets 12-Year Extension
AUSTIN, Texas-Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed legislation extending the Texas Credit Union Department for 12 more years. The state's Sunset process requires every department be reviewed every dozen years as to whether its necessary. The Texas league reported it was successful in removing several burdensome proposals that had been inserted in language reauthorizing the department, including a provision that would allow monetary penalties to be levied on credit unions, and to limit the scope of Sunset-Agency mandated new disclosures for members, such as making certain information available to members upon request, such as executive pay.
NAFCU, Latino Group Team Up On Mtg.
ARLINGTON, Va.-NAFCU, in conjunction with the Network of Latino Credit Union Professionals (NLCUP), will host two new workshops at its annual conference later this year: "What Works in Serving the Latino Market: An Overview of Product Mix and Delivery Approach," and "The Regulatory Framework: Myths and Reality of Serving Immigrant Populations." NAFCU CEO Fred Becker noted Latinos are expected to make up 25% of the U.S. population by 2050. The meeting is scheduled for July 21-25 at the Gaylord National on the Potomac in National Harbor, Md. For info: www.nafcu.org
CUs Wager On NHL Championship
PITTSBURGH and DETROIT-Two credit unions have placed a wager on the outcome of the current Stanley Cup Finals of the National Hockey League, with a health care-related cause the winner regardless of the outcome. PA HealthCare Credit Union in Sewickley, Penn and Credit Union ONE in Detroit have pledged to make a contribution to the heritage Valley Sweickley and Heritage Valley Beaver health initiatives in the event of a Pittsburgh Penguins win, and to the Children's Hospital of Detroit in the event of a Red Wings victory.
Kids Target of 'Summer of Money'
COLUMBUS, Ohio-Ohio's CUs are targeting school kids on summer break with a "Summer of Money" financial literacy campaign. Citing a survey showing 5% of Ohioans were taught about personal finance when they were young, the campaign seeks to drive traffic to the "www.MoneyAnd Stuff.info" financial ed site, where curricula on the site is broken down by age group.
