Users Get Sneak Peek At Meeting

NORTH HIGHLANDS, Calif. - An online money manager is revealing secrets and "changing lives" for SAFE CU members, including the woman who was shocked to see a single picture of all of her card debt.

Navy Fed Named Among Most Innovative Tech Users

The following are members of Credit Union Journal's Technology Panel.

CLINTON, Md. - iPod users can no longer get their groove on at USPS Federal Credit Union here-not since the CU rolled out a network event manager that alerts the IT manager of a potential breach-and then acts to stop it.

DEARBORN, Mich. - State regulators have approved two mergers and received applications for two more of ailing credit unions, including Rouge Employees CU, the credit union for employees at Ford's famous River Rouge manufacturing plant.

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. - A 45-year-old paraplegic who allegedly robbed a Space Coast CU branch here was arrested in a nearby parking lot minutes later after he stuffed the stolen loot in a prosthetic leg.

Virginia Credit Union, Richmond, Va., named Neelam Thompson vice president of strategy, planning and administration and Sudesh Aggarwal business continuity planner.

Comment

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The NCUA Board last week approved a 12% rise in agency spending for next year, mostly to hire and train 55 new examiners to deal with troubled credit unions or emerging problems.

WASHINGTON - More than 110 banks submitted applications for an estimated $170 billion in funding by the deadline under the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, with dozens of other entities seeking assistance under the government's bailout.

WASHINGTON - Any chance that Congress would pass at least a portion of the credit union regulatory relief bill known as CURIA was dashed last week when House leaders announced they won't seek an economic stimulus package when they returned to Capitol Hill for a brief "lame-duck" session.

WILKES BARRE, Penn. - A flood of campaign funding from outside the district, most of it from Washington-based interest groups, helped boost credit union congressional champion Paul Kanjorski in his closest race in years.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - While their trade groups are lobbying hard to ensure credit unions are eligible for any federal assistance that may become available, a number of credit union leaders are saying CUs should not accept any government handout.

Credit Union Journal recently reported on a substantial operating loss reported in our third quarter 5300 Call Report. While the story contained accurate numbers, I wonder if it will be helpful to let you know the background behind those numbers.

"I can't remember if I cried / When I read about his widowed bride, / But something touched me deep inside / The day the music died."

NOVEMBER

Have you found an effective way to tell your credit union's story, or the credit union story itself? The 4th Annual Frankie Awards are now calling for entries. The awards recognize credit unions that have found an innovative way to explain what they are, how they're unique, and why it should matter to members and non-members alike. As always, the Frankie's have kept the barriers to entry conveniently low. All you have to do is send an explanation of how you've been telling your story, and attach any supporting marketing materials. The Frankie Awards are priced at the credit union-discounted price of FREE! Deadline is Dec. 31. Send your entry to fdiekmann@cujournal.com.

For many, the "thanks" being expressed around Thanksgiving tables this week will be a long drumstick removed from the "thanks" shared just a year ago. Thanks for having hung onto a job. Or the house. Or the car. Or, if those have been lost, perhaps a thanks for family or health or maybe even a credit union that is helping a member through tough times.

In the last year, our credit union: