PayThink

I was just reading your article about the long term forecast for CUs (CU Journal, May 21). I think there is a future, but it will only be for the large credit unions. I am a manager of a small credit union in Upstate New York. We have served the people of a V.A. Medical Center for 55 years.

Your mother may have raised you to send thank you notes, and for that you should send her a thank you (those online e-thank yous not only don't count, they're almost anti-thank yous). But even the most responsible and productive thank-you note-writers among you likely never send a card to NCUA, and not just because Hallmark has yet to create its Federal Regulatory Agency collection. Still, you should.

During a recent conversation with a colleague the question came up, "When was the last time your financial institution called to thank you for your business and suggest that they would love the opportunity to do it again?" My associate mentioned he has had checking and savings accounts and loans at numerous financial institutions during the last several years and could not recall any of them reaching out with a phone call.

There's been a lot of news in the credit union industry lately about name changes. Some credit unions have changed their name, then changed it back. There are names tied to places. Names tied to the history of the credit union. And the latest fad-names that mean nothing at all. With all these GOings-on in the industry it makes you wonder-what happens if you stop getting clever, or mysterious, or overly creative and just GO for it!

In its latest barrage, the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA) is asking taxpayers to take a hard look at the "burden" credit unions' tax-exempt status puts on our state.

Practice may make perfect, but it's not perfection we're looking for. Instead, the Credit Union Journal is now calling for entries into our Third Annual Best Practices Awards program, which has developed into one of the most widely recognized forums for the sharing of practices worthy of emulation within the credit union community. It's all about ideas. From the Credit Union Journal's inception, readers have consistently indicated they are in search of new ideas and new ways of doing things at their credit unions-especially if it can be implemented at a very low cost. Peers have always been the best teachers, and the Journal's Best Practices issue has become something of a University of Cool Stuff.

We recently held an extended roundtable session and invited a dozen credit union executives to discuss the state of the industry. We sent out a pre-reading package, and then met for two days of in-depth debate and discussion.

WASHINGTON - When contemplating the maneuvering around the CU Regulatory Improvement Act (CURIA), especially the provisions regarding credit union conversions to banks, I was reminded of an old Jimi Hendrix sing called, "When 6 Turned Out to be 9."

I'd like to thank Credit Union Journal for your very insightful article on service to people of "modest means" (CUJ Feb.26). Quite honestly, I have gotten frustrated by the arguments offered by the leader of middle class organizations that are quite removed from large numbers of Americans that have traditionally been neglected by financial institutions. Perhaps it's time that we begin to consider other perspectives, including from those that are committed to serving the disenfranchised in our society.

In March I attended an invitee-only seminar on branding at George Washington University in Washington. The speaker was Dr. Kevin Lane Keller, the E.B. Osborn professor of Marketing at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Dr. Keller is also a consultant on branding for many of the Fortune 500 and is author of the two best selling books on branding ever sold.