Corporate governance

The latest bank to be acquired by a CU says it agreed to the deal to bring a new financial choice to this town-which is the same reason the credit union made the offer in the first place.

For many credit unions, growing members, revenue and service levels can feel like a daily mountain climb. A company that specializes in gear for such climbs-along with camping, paddling and more-is offering advice on making that hike easier.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – MIT FCU, the credit union for Massachusetts Institute of Technology employees, has hired national branding and design firm Corey McPherson Nash to develop a brand strategy stretching across the $385-million credit union’s multiple channels.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—A “cash mob”-style initiative that began last year in Michigan has spread to Louisiana and Ohio.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—The price tag for new technology can be high, but savvy credit unions are finding ways to remain on the leading edge of financial services delivery without breaking their IT budgets.

JACKSON, Miss. – HOPE CU is offering free members and financial counseling to African-American recipients of the $1.2-billion Black Farmers Discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is being distributed in payments of $50,000 by the federal government to 7,500 claimants in the midSouth.

Credit unions should be offering more insurance and investment services and need to do a better job making members aware of these offerings.

BOSTON – IC Federal Credit Union took a top prize at the New England Financial Marketing Association awards last week for its recent YouTube Gen Y campaign.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.—Big banks are now holding the line on free checking. After a steep decline in the percentage of free checking accounts, 38% of checking accounts offered by major banks are free, down just one percentage point from last year, according to Bankrate.com’s 2013 Checking Survey.

CHICAGO – The Center for Financial Innovations announced this morning it has awarded the National Federation of Community CUs $530,000 to fund three partnerships between credit unions and nonprofit organizations to integrate credit union products into social services delivery for low-income and underserved consumers.

WAUSAU, Wis. – NCUA has approved an application from Connexus CU to acquire ICON CU in Boise, Idaho, creating a $665-million interstate credit union.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. – Santa Rosa became the latest city to adopt a deposit-local policy, with the City Council passing a resolution to place $1.25 million of city funds with five Sonoma County financial institutions, three of them credit unions.

TAMPA, Fla. – Becoming member-centric is critical to a credit union not just surviving but growing.

ASHWAUBENON, Wis. – Members of Pioneer CU have approved the merger of their $575 million credit union with Kimberly-based Capital CU, creating a $1.2 billion institution to be known as Capital Pioneer CU, with 25 branches in the Green Bay and Appleton areas.

For Christian Financial Credit Union, winning the $2,000 grand prize in NerdWallet's Gen Y Credit Union Contest is the gift that keeps on giving.

Given the number of youth-oriented programs $20 million Syracuse Cooperative Federal Credit Union offers, it was only natural that its latest initiative would involve high schools.

PremierOne Credit Union said its award-winning "Credit Zone" microsite is just one of several initiatives designed to make the CU appealing to young people.

School Employees Credit Union of Washington is a hit on Facebook as it pursues a multi-channel strategy for engaging young people.

KAHULUI, Hawaii – NCUA has approved an application from Maui FCU, which serves more than 50 select groups on the Hawaiian island, to serve all of the island’s 145,000 population.

OGDEN, Utah – NCUA reported today it has approved the merger of Goldenwest CU with USU Charter CU, creating the 209th credit union over $1 billion in assets.