Branch banking

BATON ROUGE, La. – Dow Louisiana FCU is has applied to local authorities to rezone land here where it plans to build a new four-story headquarters.

CORINTH, N.Y. – Village officials have approved a request from Hudson River Community CU to rezone 10 acres it plans to buy from International Paper Co. to enable the credit union to build a new operations center.

DENVER – Public Service CU will offer a dedicated bike-thru lane at its Fort Collins branch June 22 to celebrate Bike to Work Day.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Spirit of Alaska FCU opened its newest branch along the Johansen Expressway.

COLONIE, N.Y. – CAP COM FCU said yesterday it has acquired a branch in Glen Falls, N.Y., from Baxter CU of Illinois.

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. – Navy FCU will open a new branch this morning near Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River.

INDIANAPOLIS – Crane FCU has joined Credit Union Centers’ shared branch network, allowing its members access to more than 4,200 networked branches across the country, including 275 in Indiana and Illinois.

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Kinecta FCU, already the biggest check cashing outlet in Southern California, said it is opening a new mortgage center in nearby Newport Beach to fuel its expanding home loan business.

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Polish National CU said it plans to open a student-run branch inside Comprehensive High School here.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Navy FCU last week obtained a building permit to build a new branch and regional office here.

AVONDALE, Penn.-Sun East FCU and Keystone FCU have opened a freestanding, jointly owned branch here. While the two credit unions share the building and costs, they operate as completely separate entities.

ASTON, Penn. – Sun East FCU said it and Keystone FCU are collaborating to build a shared branch in the London Grove Village Shopping Center in nearby Avondale, Penn.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Coastal FCU has become one of the first credit unions to completely convert its entire network – 13 branches in all – to video tellers.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Redstone FCU last week said it plans two new branches, one in the City of Madison and the other in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

CHELSEA, Mass. – Metro CU, which expanded through Boston with the acquisition of University CU, opened a new downtown branch on Mass. Ave.

RIVERSIDE, Calif.-Few credit unions have as much experience in performing cost/benefit analyses on branches as does the $726-million Altura CU here.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.-Identifying whether or not a branch is performing well or not is not a mysterious process, according to Terence Roche.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.-Terence Roche, principal with Cornerstone Advisors, offered these three points for making branches more profitable.

CINCINNATI-Two companies are working with several credit unions to make in-lobby wait times not just less unpleasant, but almost enjoyable, while gathering member feedback in the process.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.-It is a mistake to simply measure a branch's performance according to the number of products is sells or cross-sells, according to Mike Kohl, president and CEO of the Kohl Advisory Group, especially if the credit union really doesn't have a handle on the profitability of those products.