LENEXA, Kan. - U.S. Central FCU reported that the continuing deterioration in the mortgage markets had a key role in restated earnings for 2007–showing instead of a $6.9-million net for the year, as reported earlier, it had a $50.7 million loss.

EUGENE, Ore. - And the Big Break goes to...SELCO Community CU, which managed to break out of the crowd of financial services advertising with its “Your Big Break” contest that allowed the CU’s members to vie for the opportunity to produce the credit union’s next ad campaign.

Former WOCCU Chair Passes

CSSI, Digital Insight In Alliance

SAN DIEGO - Calling her term on the NCUA board “one of the most rewarding experiences” of both her professional and personal life, outgoing NCUA Chairman Joann Johnson said she would do it all again if she could–and that includes the painful grilling by the House Ways & Means Committee at which she admits she took a “beating.”

MADISON, Wis. - To better keep its 4,600 members in close contact, the CUNA Councils have developed a “professional Facebook” – a networking site that gives users the ability to find news, advice and other information about members across the country.

JULY

When Michael Fryzel assumes the chairmanship of the National Credit Union Administration next month, he’ll represent more than just the latest in a line of presidential appointees who survived all the deal-cutting and trade-offs needed in Congress to make it to the board–he’ll bring a new set of eyes and, ideally, some much-needed scrutiny and hard questions over who’s minding the store over at the deposit insurance fund.

The recent letter to the editor regarding CUNA CEO Dan Mica’s (CU Journal, July 7) salary was disturbing and disappointing–not from the perspective of what his benefit package is or how much he gets paid, but from the perspective that the writer seems to have overlooked his 10-plus years of leadership as CUNA’s President/CEO, which has resulted in accomplishments too numerous to mention. His relentless and tireless pursuit of ensuring that credit unions remain a choice for consumers, his lobbying efforts on behalf of all credit unions in keeping the bankers at bay, and his endless pursuit in ensuring that credit union regulatory relief remains a priority and gets passed are testaments to his leadership at CUNA. To call into question his salary/benefits package and whether it is “people helping people” was unfair and unfounded. I, for one, as well as many of my colleagues, think that Dan Mica is worth every penny that he earns.

When a credit union engages a vendor in contract negotiations for a new technology platform, the process often becomes muddied, lines are blurred and terms of service become unclear. Without proper due diligence, oversights on behalf of the credit union often result in costly after-conversion upgrades and maintenance.

HONG KONG - Credit unions from around the world gathered here last week to hear a message that sounded familiar to representatives from the U.S.: global economic and social uncertainty are presenting growth opportunities for CUs.

Editor’s Note: this letter was written in response to “NCUA Warns of Tougher Supervisory Stance” (CU Journal Daily Briefing, July 11).

HONG KONG - A lively debate here sought to answer whether credit union philosophy can successfully co-exist with competitive member service. The general consensus? Superior service can’t exist without a philosophical commitment. Nor should it.

HONG KONG - China’s rural credit cooperatives, or RCCs, would benefit from local ownership, stronger corporate governance and continued tax exemptions, much like credit unions in many other countries. That was the assessment of Ralph Swoboda, an advisor on World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) recent efforts to foster credit union growth in China. Swoboda, the former president of CUNA who has been working on behalf of CUNA Mutual in China, offered his insights during WOCCU’s World Forum here. “One of the biggest challenges is the world public perception that China is no longer a poor country,” Swoboda said, saying reports that it’s the world’s largest consumer of luxury goods belies the fact that the majority of the rural population lives in poverty. Those reports have made it harder to garner support necessary for Chinese rural credit union development. Currently, RCCs serve an estimated 200-million households. What’s needed, said Swoboda, is additional consolidation among RCCs, technical assistance, more professionalism in operations, stronger corporate governance and the proper pricing of loans. (c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

Were the Credit Union Olympics to start this week, I’d enter:

HONG KONG - Also discussed:

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson said despite ongoing problems at certain institutions, the credit union industry is healthy and federally insured deposits are safe with the National CU Share Insurance Fund.

Looking To Reach The Credit Union Market All Year Long?

AUGUSTA, Maine. - State regulators issued a bulletin last week allowing state chartered credit unions and banks to make private student loans.

FRAZER, Penn. - Developers of a new secure payments card for credit unions are now inviting venture capital firms and private entities to invest in the project as credit unions are having trouble finding available cash to fund the effort.