Corporate governance

CINCINNATI-A branch is always more successful when staff take part in goal setting.

LAKE JACKSON, Texas-When you manage a branch with eight drive-through lanes, 12 member service lines and average 55,000 teller transactions a month, it's good to have a background in big-box retail.

PLYMOUTH, Minn.-A credit union can certainly invest in the most sophisticated of tools to drive deeper relationships and cross sales. But what really makes the branch environment work remains hiring the right employees.

AUSTIN, Texas-Effective branch managers today aren't in the trenches. They focus less on day-to-day activities and more on doing what needs to be done to run the branch as its own book of business.

ENGLEWOOD, Ohio-When marketing tactics or even rates aren't enough in a tough lending environment, sometimes extra effort from branch staff does the job.

LONGVIEW, Wash. – Fibre FCU has signed with On Your Way to provide it with the company’s Generation Y marketing program.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Fast-growing NavyArmy FCU, the largest credit union south of San Antonio, has applied to convert to a state charter and to add an estimated 1.2 million residents in nearby Hidalgo and Cameron counties to its field of membership.

MADISON, Wis. – The Filene Research Institute said the winner of its Idea Idol new innovations contest is HomeTrak, a device that follows the cost of owning a home in a unique way, helping homeowners plan for the maintenance and replacement costs of major appliances, home upkeep and other expenses.

INDIANAPOLIS-Horizon One FCU claims a small piece of credit union history in that it was the first CU to request two full counties as its field of membership, according to Ann Garmon.

MASSENA, N.Y.-Scott Wilson knows that without expanding the credit union's charter many years ago, today SeaComm FCU would be closing its doors along with the GM plant in this town.

LAKE BLUFF, Ill.-One economist believes there is enough overdraft and checking revenue up for grabs in the final months of 2011 to cover credit union assessments and any interchange losses for the entire year.

LYNN, Mass. – State regulators have approved the conversion of Massachusetts Postal Employees CU to a community charter serving more than 350,000 residents on the Bay State’s North Shore.

SAN DIEGO-"Big Bankers" invaded the beach here over Labor Day weekend. Or at least they did in TV spots from San Diego County Credit Union, which has been running a series of television commercials this year featuring "big bankers" and their love of high fees.

LAS VEGAS-For more than two decades American consumers borrowed rather than saved, and now that behaviors have reversed themselves, one economist wonders if credit unions will have to rethink their strategic focus.

ARVADA, Colo.-A group of credit unions here has found success building membership and growing loans by appealing to young consumers through avenues that include video games and poker tournaments.

IRWINDALE, Calif.-SCE FCU's "People Powered Banking" branding campaign features 10-foot tall images of its members all around the Los Angeles area, along with a cheeky message.

LAKE JACKSON, Texas-Moving to a community charter means taking on the big boys, and TDECU likes to do that one at a time.

CHELSEA, Mass. – Metro CU, which recently entered 14 area college campuses with the acquisition of Boston’s University CU, will get another metro-Boston branch with the planned merger of Secure CU in Melrose.

BOSTON – First Priority CU, which failed in its longtime bid to convert to a bank, has instead applied to state regulators to expand its field of membership to cover more than half of the Bay State.

BIRMINGHAM/TALLAHASSEE – Consumers in Alabama and Florida will learn much more about the credit union difference in coming months thanks to the League of Southeastern CUs’ new $1.3-million cooperative advertising campaign.