Audit Committee May Replace Supervisory Comm.
OLYMPIA, Wash.-State regulators said state-chartered credit unions may establish an audit committee and substitute it for the mandated supervisory committee as long as it encompasses the same oversight functions as the traditional supervisory panel.
"The Division of Credit Unions is of the view that a State Credit Union may use the term 'audit committee' synonymously and in place of 'supervisory committee' in its bylaws as long as it complies with the same requirements for a supervisory committee contained in the Act and all applicable rules for a supervisory committee of a federally insured credit union," said Washington's regulator Linda Jekel.
CO-OP Announces Finalists For 2013 THINK Prize
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.-CO-OP Financial Services has announced the three finalists for its 2013 CO-OP THINK Prize, which awards a $10,000 prize for innovation in financial services. The three finalists: Robert Baron of Technicolor FCU in Burbank, Calif., for his "Virtual Teller System," Andree Kirk of San Francisco FCU for his "Shared Member Application Platform" and Deborah Larson of Dakota Plains CU in Enderlin, N.D., for her "Switch Kit App."
The three finalists were whittled down from 25 semi-finalists, as determined by CO-OP and the Filene Research Institute. The goal of the prize is to spur innovation and find creative solutions to issues facing the CU industry. All three have created business plans detailing how their ideas could be executed, and the winner will receive a $10,000 prize from MasterCard. The winner will be announced at this year's CO-OP THINK Conference April 29-May 2 in Chicago. Voting for this year's winner will begin March 26 at www.co-opthink.org.
NCUA OKs Corporate Merger
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA last week approved the merger of $1.37-billion Central Corporate CU, Southfield, Mich., into $1.4-billion Alloya Coporate FCU, Warrenville, Ill. NCUA also approved a sprawling four-county charter for the $310-million CinFed FCU, which failed in its earlier bid for a much larger eight-county, three-state FOM covering more than two million people.
Petition Reaches 4,000 Signatures
WASHINGTON-A petition calling on the White House to include commitment to cooperative principles among the criteria used when nominating someone for the NCUA Board had gathered approximately 4,000 signatures at presstime. The petition has until March 26 to gather 100,000 signatures in order to get a formal response from the Obama Administration. Created by Chip Filson, president of Callahan & Associates, the goal is to get "NCUA leaders who understand cooperatives." A website has been crated at www.coops4change.org.
CFPB OK's Preliminary Exemptions
WASHINGTON-The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week released a preliminary list of the counties in which small creditors will be exempt from pending escrow requirements. The move follows release in January by the CFPB of a new rule that generally extends the required duration of a mortgage loan escrow account to five years. The CFPB said it will release a finalized list along with technical amendments to the escrow rule before June 1.
ND Mourns Loss of CU Vet Paulson
WOODBURY, Minn.-Arnold Paulson, the one-time head of Swift Employees CU and subsequent longtime president of the North Dakota CU League, has died. Mr. Paulson was 84. In addition to a full-time job with Swift, Paulson took a second job as manager of the Swift Employees CU. This led to his final career as the president/CEO for the North Dakota CU, where he served from 1973 to 1994. His first job was at CUNA Mutual in Madison, Wis.
CUSC Announces $250K Dividend
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-CU Service Centers said it will pay its credit union owners a patronage dividend for the third straight year, this time $250,000 split among 54 credit unions. The CUSC board approved a Patronage Rebate Program of 60% of 2012 net income before taxes. This means participating CUs will see a 20% increase in the amount of the rebate from 2012. The exact amount of the rebate will be based on a number of factors.
