Corporate governance

MINNEAPOLIS — U.S. Bancorp no longer plans to bide its time as competitors figure out how to recoup fee income regulated away by the Durbin amendment.

NEWARK, N.J. — Last year was a record year for life insurance sales among financial institutions, according to Prudential, which insists insurance is a product not affected by the economy.

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees’ CU has launched an Estate Planning Essentials Pilot Program for basic estate planning and will preparation, which initially will be available to the 3,000 volunteers of the $21 billion credit union.

ROCKVILLE, Md. – The National Institutes of Health FCU, the nation’s largest credit union serving the biomedical industry, has announced the launch of a new partnership with Women in Bio, a 10-year-old group serving women in the bioscience industry, many of whom have formerly worked or currently work at NIH.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Valley FCU of Montana has agreed to acquire Cody (Wyo.) Schools FCU, expanding its field of membership through all of Park County, Wyo., including Yellowstone National Park.

DENVER – State regulators last week approved a request from Westerra CU to add 700,000 residents in two new counties, Adams and Douglas to its field of membership.

PARCHMENT, Mich. – First Community FCU has applied to state regulators to acquire Michigan Services CU in Southfield, its second merger of the past six months.

LENEXA, Kan. – Mainstreet CU, the product of three recent mergers, said it completed its fifth deal with the combination of Wyandotte CU, a $13 million Kansas City credit union.

Credit Union Journal caught up with David Adcock, the CEO of America's First FCU, who announced he would be retiring in March after 38 years with the credit union.

PITTSBURGH - Riverset CU has introduced a workplace banking program, with special offers to employees and employers, to gain a stronger foothold in a market where many banks are doing the same thing.

MASSENA, N.Y.-The same, simple business philosophy in place 38-years ago, when 10 GM workers each threw $5 into a toolbox to form what would eventually become SeaComm FCU, is behind SFCU's outstanding performance today.

DALLAS - Those select employee groups (SEGs) credit unions have been so eager to shed as they expand to community charters have started to look pretty enticing-to banks.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-JM Associates FCU has introduced a smart-chip payment system it expects will pay several dividends.

DUNCAN, Okla. – Halliburton Employees’ FCU donated $50,000 to the city for the naming rights to the press box at Sportsmans Park baseball stadium.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – City County CU has applied to state regulators to add almost 2 million residents and nine nearby counties – Collier, Lee, Hendry, Glades, Charlotte, Sarasota, Desoto, Highlands, and Okeechobee – to its field of membership.

VALLEJO, Calif. – Self-Help FCU, the two-year-old affiliate of North Carolina’s Self-Help CU, has received final regulatory approval to acquire 1st Pacific FCU in the biggest of six mergers which have created the nation’s fastest-growing credit union.

POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State basketball arena here has a new court thanks to a partnership between the Idaho State Athletics Department and Idaho Central Credit Union.

SAN DIEGO — Showing how the credit union saves members money and turning members into CU evangelists will be among the top marketing tactics in 2011.

LAKE BLUFF, Ill. — According to one economist, CUs must do three things to grow and protect the bottom line: Put in place strong IRA and Keogh programs, price money market deposit accounts against money market mutual funds, and streamline checking offerings, including hanging onto a free account.

LOMBARD, Ill. — A negative statistic will lead to more positive results for credit unions in 2011.