NJ CUs Team With Banks On Data Breach Bill
HIGHTSTOWN, N.J.-The New Jersey CU League said last week it partnered with the state's Community Bankers Association to get a data breach bill introduced in the statehouse. Assembly Financial Institutions & Insurance Committee Chair Neil Cohen has agreed to sponsor the measure that proposes limits use and retention of personal customer information, holds the breaching party financially responsible for any resulting losses including card replacements and fraud, and allows issuers to disclose to their card-holders, the entity responsible for the breach.
"Being able to tell credit union members that the inconvenience of having a new card issued, or of filling out any paperwork after a fraud is committed was due to a vendor they used and is not the fault of the credit union, is very important," the league said in a released statement.
Texas Would Bar Hostile Takeovers Like Wings Bid
AUSTIN, Texas-The Texas CU Commission has proposed a new rule which would effectively ban all hostile credit union takeovers. The proposal issued for public comment, would prohibit a credit union from offering a merger inducement to another credit union's members as a means of promoting a merger of the two credit unions. The ban was recommended by the Texas CU League, which was opposed to the recent hostile takeover attempt by Wings Financial FCU of Continental FCU in which Wings offered Continental's members $200 each if the takeover was successful.
AFFCU Offers Gift Cards With Photos
OGDEN, Utah-America First FCU has become the first credit union in the nation to offer the VISA Gift Card with personalized photos. Gift cards from $10 to $750 can be customized online at the credit union's site by uploading a photo, customizing the appearance of the card. The cards will be delivered in five to seven business days. Cardholders will be able to access their card information and balances online.
CUNA PAC Grows CURIA Sponsors
WASHINGTON-CUNA continued to sprinkle campaign contributions last month on sponsors of the CU Regulatory Improvements Act, or prospective CURIA sponsors, as the list of signees to the bill topped 100 earlier this week.
Among those CURIA sponsors who received campaign contributions last month were: Reps. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) $10,000, the chief sponsor of the J bill; Dan Burton (D-IN) $10,000; Rick Larsen (D-WA) $1,000; Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH) $2,500; Ted Poe (R-TX) $1,000; Bart Stupak (D-MI) $2,500; Bob Filner (R-CA) $1,000; Dan Lipinski (D-IL) $1,000; Ed Royce (R-CA) $2,500; George Radanovich (R-CA) $2,000; Gus Bilarkis (R-FL) $1,000; Henry Brown (R-SC) $5,000; James Walsh (R-NY) $500; Joa Baca (D-CA) $1,000; Jon Porter (R-NV) $3,000; Tim Walberg (D-MI) $1,000; Mike Michaud (D-ME) $2,500; Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) $1,100 and Ric Keller (R-FL) $3,000. CUNA also contributed to several leadership PACs last month, including: Stupak's BRIDGE PAC ($5,000); America Forward Leadership PAC, which supports Democrats ($1,000); Victory Now PAC, run by Democrat Chris Van Hollen of Maryland ($2,000); AmeriPAC, supporting Republicans ($2,500) and Growth and Prosperity PAC, for Alabama's Spencer Bachus, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee ($5,000). CUNA's PAC raised $237,000 last month and spent $171,000, building its cash on hand to $302,000.
Sallie Mae Takeover Approved
WASHINGTON-Federal antitrust regulators have cleared the massive takeover of student loan giant Sallie Mae by private equity fund J.C. Flowers & Co. and student loan competitors Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase. The group has agreed to pay $60 a share, or $25 billion, for Sallie Mae, which manages more than $150 billion in student loans.
Chase and BofA are also among the top five providers of student loans in the country. Sallie Mae was chartered in 1972 to provide a secondary market for guaranteed student loans originated by credit unions and banks-like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do for the mortgage market-but shed its government charter in recent years, which enabled it to become the largest originator of student loans in direct competition with its credit union and bank customers.
