JULY

The Credit Union Journal is announcing its Call for Entries for its Best Practices awards. It's easy to enter!

Ten years ago a Starbucks opened next to a coffee shop in Kansas City, Mo. Today, the coffee shop remains, but the Starbucks is closing its doors, according to the New York Times. Reportedly, Starbucks is struggling across the country, facing slowing sales and increased competition. Howard Schultz, who built the chain, has resumed control in an attempt to revive sales. “Mr. Schultz has said he wants to refocus on the ‘customer experience,’ recapturing some of the magic...He said the company’s decision has been ‘too driven’ by improving same-store sales rather than consumer needs...” The Times wrote. “What we hear from consumers more than anything else is, ‘It’s not that I don’t like Starbucks, it’s that they are no longer relevant to me as they used to be because I’ve changed and they haven’t changed with me,’ Schultz was quoted.

Image Capture Delivers Savings

Being a Seattle resident and living in Starbucks’ hometown, their strategies and actions are often first applied here. Like credit unions they want to continually differentiate themselves and create individual community relevance while promoting a strong international brand. It goes without saying that they have been extremely successful as they are a household name in North America and across the world.

WASHINGTON - With names like AMERICPAC, PAC to the Future or Searchlight Leadership Fund, it’s hard to see what CUNA is spending credit union’s campaign contributions on; but each of these so-called leadership PACs represents a vital link to its sponsors, who guide the Democratic majority in the House and Senate.

WASHINGTON - CUNA said it paid just over a $1 million to its President Dan Mica last year, believed to be the first executive in credit unions to top the $1 million threshold.

BALTIMORE - A federal judge here dismissed a wrongful arrest suit for an armed robbery at Spectrum FCU, in nearby Frederick, that he did not commit.

Consider the irony that charter choice has become all but extinct in the credit union movement, and then along comes the Treasury’s proposed Blueprint to consolidate banks and CUs with its requirement of a common federal charter for national banks and federally chartered thrifts and CUs.

WASHINGTON - NCUA joined the banking regulators in urging regulators for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to scrap a proposal setting independent appraisal rules for the secondary mortgage purchasers.

CUES, Madison, Wis., promoted Dawn Poker to senior vice president-chief learning officer, Lucy Roidt to executive education/councils manager and Karin Weiss vice president-sales.

Events

TUKWILA, Wash. - BECU plans to introduce a mobile wallet to its members in the first quarter of 2009.

BOSTON - A man who dropped the loot he had just stolen from Portuguese CU and ran after being confronted by police, may be the same goateed bandit responsible for as many as seven other bank robberies in recent weeks.

MICHIGAN CENTER, Mich. - The former chief financial officer for Cascades Community FCU was charged with siphoning $339,000 from the CU to cover his stock market losses.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - L&N FCU has notified federal regulators that counterfeit cashier’s checks bearing the credit union’s name are in circulation, associated with a secret shopping scam.

CUs 3rd In Poll Of Consumers

DES MOINES, Iowa - To jump-start CU growth in this state, the Iowa Credit Union League has formed the Growth Commission, which is finalizing plans to help CUs lower expenses and invest the savings into strategies to build membership and assets.

Southwest Corporate

WASHINGTON - The corporate CU network has found itself in the news in recent months as a result of how the ratings agencies view their balance sheets, the performance of certain investments, and other issues. But Brad Miller, executive director of the Association of Corporate Credit Unions, said he believes the chance unrealized losses will become realized losses is “negligible.”