Southern Calif. Proposed Merger Is Called Off
MORENO VALLEY, Calif.-A proposed merger between Visterra Credit Union here and the Credit Union of Southern California in Brea has been called off.
The two credit unions, both founded in the 1950s, had announced plans in April for a merger that would have created an institution with more than $1 billion of assets, 11 branches, 86,000 members, and 260 employees. Visterra was to be the surviving credit union and Credit Union of SoCal's president and chief executive, Dave Gunderson, was to become CEO.
They decided to terminate the deal several weeks ago, according to a local newspaper report, because they had determined it would not have delivered the efficiencies they had envisioned.
In an interview last week with the Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., Visterra president and chief executive officer Robert Cameron said, "The farther we got into it, the more we found that we were not going to meet the economy of scale we wanted to reach. That was one of the up-front additions [both institutions] wanted to have."
They could resume talks "in [a] year or two," Cameron added, but the merger "didn't make sense now."
Gulf Coast CUs Gear Up For Hurricane Gustav
HARAHAN, La.-Credit unions in states along the Gulf Coast are preparing for a potential strike from Hurricane Gustav.
The Louisiana Credit Union League (LCUL) and the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions (LOFI) has activated TelSpan, a telephone response system for credit unions. Recorded messages from authorities are available on TelSpan regarding emergency preparedness.
Meanwhile, in Jackson, Miss., the Mississippi Credit Union Association, which has extensive experience in disaster preparedness, changed a board meeting to a webcast, so that board members have more time to prepare their credit unions and homes rather than traveling to a meeting. "We are in full hurricane mode here already," Lora Michael, CEO of Jackson County CU, told the MCUA. "By Friday, all preparations will be complete no matter what the predictions are. We cannot risk a turn for the worse over the long weekend, especially being so close to the Gulf and with only one facility."
Singing River FCU (SRFCU) has activated its Hurricane Preparedness Plan and also expects completion by close of business Friday.
The plan includes, among other preparations, securing ample cash to meet post-hurricane member needs for up 10 days, as well the ability to operate manually for up to 10 work days in the event power is not restored.
PA. CUs In Family Savings Program
LEBANON, Penn.-Credit unions in Lebanon County are participating in Pennsylvania's Family Savings Account program (FSA), which is aimed at serving the underserved.
Credit union representatives were part of a presentation here that described how private enterprise and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania can work together to help underserved consumers.
According to the Pennsylvania CU Association, 39 underserved consumers will benefit initially from FSA. Through this program, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provides money to community-based, nonprofit organizations to help individuals and families set up accounts and offers a match of up to $2,000 over two years. FSAs can be used to buy a home, repair a home, purchase an auto, pay for education, daycare, and train for or start up a business.
The Pennsylvania Credit Union Foundation has made a grant of $36,000 to the program.
375,000 Students Hear From CUs
MADISON, Wis.-Credit unions made 11,245 presentations to some 374,099 students during the 2007-08 school year, according to new data collected by the National Youth Involvement Board (NYIB).
Those numbers represent a gain of 29.4% and 14.6% respectively over 2006-07 statistics (289,072 students in 9,812 classes), whereas increases over five years average 9% annually NYIB said.
"What we saw this year appears to be the result of larger class sizes," said NYIB Chairman Brandon Pugh, "particularly since just three more presenters than last year reported activity. Optimistically, it's showing that credit union volunteers are progressing, having more classes and more students in each."
For the second consecutive year, Marsha Lunden of Desert Schools CU in Phoenix conducted the most classroom presentations with 416. Erin Hodson of Kern Schools FCU in Bakersfield reached the most students (22,619).(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com/ http://www.sourcemedia.com/
