Corporate governance

AUGUSTA, Maine – Due to what is anticipated to be a busy election season of commercials, the Maine CU League said its Statewide Awareness Campaign has increased advertising this summer in a variety of ways.

DOWNEY, Calif. – Financial Partners CU has contracted for Member Loyalty Group’s organization-wide Net Promoter program.

NORTH HIGHLANDS, Calif. – A lucky member of SAFE CU will be travelling to London for the Olympic Games as grand prize winner of the Visa London 2012 Olympic Games Sweepstakes.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Pentagon FCU announced this morning its Prudential PenFed Realty CUSO has acquired Prudential Professional Realty in Clarksville, Tenn., an independent franchise outside the Fort Campbell, Kentucky, military base, which has been rebranded as Prudential PenFed Realty.

With leaner resources in other areas, we relied heavily on our staff to do more and they stepped up and did things that they had not necessarily been called upon to do in the past.

The human cost in our community — disrupted families, uprooted children, and caused divorces, stress, illness, etc. — has been much higher than the financial cost, in my opinion.

No doubt the recent economic challenges have offered many lessons to credit unions. For Louisiana Corporate, three stand out.

RAPID CITY, S.D.-The Credit Union Association of the Dakotas is hitting the road this summer to spread the word about credit unions.

SAN DIEGO-The message from David Polet sounds strikingly similar to an elementary science lesson: For every consumer intention there should be an equal and opposite credit union reaction.

Last fall, the Occupy movement encouraged frustrated customers to flee big banks in favor of credit unions and smaller banks. On the ground, it had mixed results. But large banks shouldn't get cocky. The perception that they are disconnected from their audience persists.

Patelco Credit Union identified a few strategies to better weather the economic hardships over the last few years.

The lesson learned is that with a clear vision the credit union pulled together to serve our members with what they really needed in lean times — a safe, and secure place to save, borrow, and plan for the future.

LANCASTER, Penn. – Four local credit unions have signed on to a new city program aimed at outreach to the area’s unbanked population.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Ent FCU, a community charter with several air force bases in its field of membership, has created a new position of Military Relationship Manager who will work closely with military base service centers at Peterson, Buckley and Schriever Air Force bases to expand the credit union’s relationship with military members.

VENTURA, Calif. -- Ventura County CU has a goal of saving its members a total $5 million in 2012 by helping members refinance their high-interest car, home, Visa or personal loans.

We made two changes as the result of the recent recessions. First, we brought our first mortgage program in house. Second, we implemented a high-yield lending strategy.

Expense management is the name of the game at Tampa Bay FCU, and a focus on cost control was a major lesson the credit union learned as part of the recession.

Credit unions that stayed the course with underwriting-never moving to any extremes before, during and after the recession-are benefitting today, asserts Tommy Cobb, CEO of Tuscaloosa CU.

The recession forced TCT FCU to reverse its business philosophy of spending money first on branch staffing and member support and second on upper management.

Pennsylvania State Employees CU has learned that during a recession the credit union can't get too defensive and cut back in key growth areas.