OMNI Community CU, Battle Creek, Mich., hired Ed Mounce as its new commercial services manager.

Events

WASHINGTON-A key FDIC advisory committee held a public review last week on so-called prize-linked savings, a concept being popularized among credit unions.

WASHINGTON-Regulators seized seven more banks, including six in Georgia owned by the same company, increasing the number of bank failures to 64 in 2009.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.-Pay raises were down for credit union CEOs this year, but still around 4%, even as credit unions reported their worst year ever in 2008.

WASHINGTON-The credit union lobby is working hard this Congress to keep the growing financial reform legislative agenda from affecting credit unions.

WASHINGTON — A bill introduced in Congress last week would expand the powers of credit union to make member business loans by raising the cap on MBLs to 25% of assets, and excluding any loans less than $250,000; all faith-based loans and certain loans made in underserved areas from the cap.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Credit union executives are doubtful the $6-billion tab they will be paying for the corporate bailout over the next seven years will be enough to resolve the corporate meltdown and most are expecting additional charges.

August

CUSO Teams With DigitalMailer

ESCANABA, Mich. — Delta County CU has teamed up with a local RV dealer to create an indirect lending program.

Last week there was a healthy reminder that if you want to know the shape your house is in, it can be a good idea to get out and take a look at it from down the street. You may need a coat of paint, after all.

I have read letters from Mr. Dennis Fisher (here and here) expressing relief that credit unions were not able to access TARP funds, much to the dismay of Dan Mica, CUNA, the CUNA Board, and the CUNA Governmental Affairs Committee (Marshall Boutwell, member) and I am sure other credit unions. I have read the letter from Mr. Marshall Boutwell, attacking Mr. Fisher and praising the work of Dan Mica in CUNA's efforts to place credit unions at an even greater risk by accepting "tax payer" funds.

I am writing to correct several inaccuracies in Credit Union Journal's coverage of the NCUA Board action July 20 regarding share insurance calculations and assessments.

This is to correct erroneous articles that appear in the July 23, 2009 online edition and the July 27, 2009 online and print editions of the Credit Union Journal. All three articles incorrectly assert that former WesCorp CEO Robert Siravo received a $6-million payout after NCUA placed WesCorp into conservatorship.

"No Money, No Campaign-ey" is Publisher Frank Diekmann's way of expressing why CUNA CEO Dan Mica says there will be no national CU branding campaign. I doubt such a campaign could ever work. Effective brands are based on being different from competitors in a way that is motivating to the prospect. To a prospect, credit unions, on average, are little different from banks, on average. "On average" is important because a national campaign must be based on a point of difference that most credits can prove. That generally brings us to "member owned." Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be a big deal to prospects. If it meant a lot to them, credit unions would already have a much larger share of the financial services market.

Summit FCU Absorbs Kenton FCU

BALTIMORE, Md. — Like other federally insured CUs, MECU here posted a loss as a result of the corporate stabilization charges. But unlike some others, it still plans to pay its members bonus dividend.

SALT LAKE CITY — For many credit unions a position in the Top 5 of Callahan's rankings is a mixture of hard work and happenstance, but for Deseret First CU, it's all part of the plan.

WASHINGTON – The Senate Banking Committee easily endorsed NCUA Board nominee Deborah Matz last night, sending it on for a vote by the full Senate as soon as next week.