Corporate governance

POTTSTOWN, Pa. — Diamond FCU is making a lot of auto loans to young adults these days, but the real payoff isn't the asset dollars — it's the relationship.

FERNDALE, Mich. — Credit Union ONE has improved its employees understanding of complex regulatory issues and boosted fundraising contributions for credit union issues since launching an advocacy page on the CU's intranet site.

CLARK, N.J. — Aspire FCU is turning around consumer loans in minutes instead of days, has reduced expenses, and most important, is keeping member service high after closing six of its eight offices.

LONGVIEW, Wash., and SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Red Canoe CU and Empower FCU may have started something when they joined forces for lending "co-opetition" earlier this year.

MIRAMAR, Fla.—Tropical Financial CU here has brought back a "Black Friday" promotion it debuted last year and has seen great success in the promo's opening days.

MEMPHIS — By implementing a solution to add check scanning to the teller line, Orion FCU here has saved time and reduced losses.

KINGSTON, N.Y. — Mid-Hudson Valley FCU used a sub-brand as a way to help its MSRs transition from "order takers" to a more dynamic, sales-oriented team.

SAN ANTONIO — Last September $7.5-billion Security Service Federal Credit Union implemented a new CRM solution that resulted in a dramatic savings in workflow steps and time, which SSFCU executives say has helped every area of member service.

PASADENA, Calif. — At $2.5 billion Wescom Credit Union, the problem wasn't having insufficient information about its members - it was too much info to process.

GREENBELT, Md. — A merger - and the resulting integration of systems - that was supposed to require seven months instead was pulled off in slightly more than five months, earning $727 million-asset Educational Systems FCU a Credit Union Journal Best Practices award.

NORCROSS, Ga. — Associated CU has added eight points to its Net Promoter Score by having staff watch TV once a week.

WINSTON SALEM, N.C. — Allegacy FCU has streamlined its member feedback process and launched its "Mapping the Member Experience" program in 2011, reviewing each delivery channel and identifying where processes could be improved.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The word "collaboration" has long been a buzzword at credit unions, and one CUSO continues to see strong success by encouraging a unique mix of collaboration and competition that has helped CUs with another buzzword: innovation.

WEST JORDAN, Utah — Mountain America Credit Union has taken relationship building with its select employer groups to a new level with the creation of its Workplace Branching initiative.

TAMPA — GTE Financial used technology to fuel its turnaround, centering those efforts around remote deposit capture and P2P payments.

JACKSON, Miss. — With access to quality financial services providers a particular issue in its area, $169 million-asset Hope Credit Union tapped mobile technology and shared branching to attract new members, to the tune of more than 4,000 new members in 10 months.

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Thanks to the introduction of a project-management tool that allows for two-way communication throughout its organization, $1.2 billion Numerica Credit Union has improved results in nearly every measurable category.

CHALRESTON, W.Va. — Pioneer West Virginia FCU has increased its credit card balances by more than 33% each of the last two years and is on pace to beat those results in 2013. The CU credits the jump to bringing the management of its portfolio in-house.

DES MOINES, Iowa—The U.S. Hispanic market, with more than $1 trillion in buying power, represents a large growth opportunity for credit unions.

WASHINGTON—More members are making credit unions their primary financial institution, according to Callahan & Associates.