Member Perception Study Offered

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Losses continued to be reported by corporate credit unions last week, with reverberations being felt by groups that included CUNA and the National Credit Union Foundation.

For every action there is a reaction, and it's no different for credit unions and the Corporate System. This is the time for credit unions to react.

Up until the mid-1980s it wasn't unusual for a credit union exec to be sitting across the desk from a legislator trying to argue the CU viewpoint, and the elected official would pull from a drawer some research study that claimed to not just show, but prove, the opposite point.

BROOKFIELD, Wis. – Fiserv said it is closing down its Franklin, Mass., office and will eliminate the 100 jobs there next month.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – United Educational CU is giving its tellers, managers and maintenance workers free Spanish lessons, to help them communicate with a growing membership base.

BETTENDORF, Iowa – Ascentra CU received a $50,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines to provide downpayment assistance for first-time homebuyers.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Credit Union Journal is now accepting nominations for

YUBA CITY, Calif. – Sierra Central CU marked its 29th year of supporting students within its communities by awarding Ten $1,000 scholarships to students who live throughout its northern California communities.

BEAVER DAM, Wis. – Dodge Central CU is teaming up with Beaver Dam Teen Center to sponsor a Guitar Hero competition.

PORTLAND, Ore. – OnPoint Community CU awarded 11 Portland area residents $250 each for sharing innovative money saving tips during its Money Matters campaign on local KGW-TV.

McLEAN, Va. – Long-term mortgage rates rose again this week, with the average for the 30-year loan moving above 5% for the first time since March.

WASHINGTON – The FDIC said yesterday it is scrapping a program that would have auctioned off mortgage-backed and other troubled mortgage loans held by banks and plans instead to sell hard-to-price assets seized from failed lenders using guaranteed debt financing.

WASHINGTON – The Electronic Payments Coalition, comprised of banks and credit unions, vowed yesterday to fight a new bill that would allow large retailers to negotiate bilateral interchange fee agreements on transactions with card issuers.

MADISON, Wis. – UW CU announced an agreement with the University of Wisconsin yesterday that will allow students to use the credit union debit card as a university identification, Wiscard.

MOBILE, Ala. – A member of Navigator CU was indicted yesterday on charges bank fraud charges for allegedly spending $101,918 that was erroniously deposited into her account.

WASHINGTON – It’s not only corporate credit unions that are being affected directly by their investments in membership capital shares at U.S. Central, as CUNA, which is also a member of U.S. Central, said yesterday it charged-off 23% of its MCS, and will probably take additional charges in the future.

MADISON, Wis. – CUNA Mutual Group said yesterday it has implemented Neocase Software’s HR Shared Services for its HR Shared Service Center.

ATLANTA – The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, which lost $1.5 million in the first quarter, announced yesterday the cancellation of a first quarter dividend.

MADISON, Wis. – Summit CU said its ‘Pay it Forward’ charity campaign handed out $10 to 798 community members in exchange for an answer–on camera–to the question "If we gave you $10… what would you do for someone else?" at 20 branch locations throughout the Madison and Milwaukee areas.