Special Certificates Fuels Growth At Southwest Corp

PLANO, Texas - Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union set a new record at the end of March when assets exceeded $13 billion.

Southwest cited its "special" share certificate program as one of the drivers of this growth. During the first quarter of 2007, Southwest Corporate created more than three dozen share certificates attracting $614 million in new investments.

"Credit unions that watch our offering history can see that we consistently pay 10-25 basis points more than comparable agencies," said Cynthia Shi, Director of Southwest Corporate's Funds Department.

Three certificates drew $60 million in early March. And another customized special certificate, created in mid-March, attracted $105 million from 60 credit unions.

The new certificate activity comes on the heels of a busy 2006 in which Southwest Corporate portfolio managers created 110 special structured certificates that brought in more than $1 billion. That helped stretch Southwest Corporate's share certificate portfolio to nearly $5 billion.

For info: specials swcorp.org or call a certificate specialist at 800.442.5763, extension 7853. (c) 2007 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com