PLANO, Texas - As economic stimulus checks and tax refund checks hit mailboxes, the question credit unions should be asking themselves right now is, “is it time to reprice our savings accounts?”

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Credit unions will be receiving new guidance in the near future regarding what NCUA considers appropriate levels of return on assets (ROA), according to the agency.

DENVER - Centrix Financial founder Robert Sutton is expected to appeal a U.S. Bankruptcy Court ruling confirming a reorganization of the failed subprime auto lender, prolonging the outcome in a case that has cost credit unions all over the country millions of dollars.

CU Is Paying Off Member Loans In Contest

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Defense credit unions are petitioning the Department of Defense to halt a new credit card offered by JP Morgan Chase that is sponsored by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which operates all post exchange (PX) and base exchange (BX) retail outlets at military installations around the globe, saying the card violates the Pentagon’s own prohibition on having the exchange operate banking services.

The Credit Union Journal is announcing its Call for Entries for its Best

PEWAUKEE, Wis. - Seeking to better tell the story of what REAL Solutions can do for credit unions, and credit unions in turn can do for their members and communities, the Wisconsin CU League has created a 13-minute video that features interviews with a number of different people involved in the program. Called “The REAL Story,” there are interviews with credit union leaders and others, such as a teacher at a school in which a credit union-backed financial literacy program is in place.

MADISON, Wis. - The deadline for World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) Young Credit Union People Scholarship Program is quickly approaching. Applicants must submit their completed nomination materials to WOCCU headquarters no later than June 2, 2008. Winners qualify for an all-expenses-paid trip to WOCCU’s 2009 World Credit Union Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

At press time, the number of CURIA co-sponsors in the House. 218 are needed to have a majority.

Bob Foster Joins NCUA

UPPER DARBY, Penn. - When a Nor’easter hit here last week and knocked out power at PSTC Employees FCU, CEO Bob Manning stood at the credit union’s door handing out checks to members who needed money.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The latest round of tornadoes had Telcoe FCU CEO Sarah Mosley taking shelter with her family, neighbors, and five dogs in the storm cellar in her back yard, and that got her to thinking that people need more shelters, and the credit union could help with that.

Trust For CUs Up 35%

MIAMI, Okla. - In the mining town of Miami, Okla., Rhonda Pittman, VP of member services and branch manager for NEO FCU, reports the credit union is fine after storms passed through May 10, but several members lost their homes.

MADISON, Wis. - With news slow to come forward, the World Council of Credit Unions is working to ascertain whether any the rural credit cooperatives in China were affected by that country’s devastating earthquake earlier this week.

JOPLIN, Mo. - When recent storms demolished homes and property here, scattering personal information for miles, Joplin Metro CU turned its attention to making sure members’ accounts are protected from theft.

MAY

It seems that just about every credit union is in one of three stages: considering, going through, or just finishing a rebranding.

The Wichita Eagle profiled the departure of CEO Gary Regoli from Boeing Wichita Credit Union. Regoli is leaving for a similar position with Achieva Credit Union in Clearwater, Fla. The story included quotes from Marla Marsh, president of the Kansas Credit Union Association, discussing the contributions Regoli has made, in addition to Regoli, explaining he was seeking to move closer to family. The story also reported the growth Regoli has overseen at BWCU.

With the average consumer carrying four different credit cards and a debit card, how do you get your card to become “top of wallet”? That’s a question every credit union should be asking, especially at a time when the need to boost income has never been greater and the techniques of competitor card issuers never more predatory.