Members Voting On Conversion To Bank

Emerson Named CEO of CULC

5 CUs Sign With UltraData

KIMBERLY, Wis. - In a breakthrough for credit unions, Capital CU announced it has partnered with the state Division of Motor Vehicles to accept vehicle registration renewals at all of its local branches. The credit union will charge consumers a $6 service fee. Renewals will be accepted for car, truck and motorcycle registrations. (c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

ARVADA, Colo. - With plans to move to a new headquarters later this year, the Credit Union Associations of Colorado and Wyoming (CUAC/CUAW) said it is making an effort to “go green” and is recycling many of its old electronic technology and computer equipment. The Association cited EPA data showing that used electronics lead to the dumping of materials that include lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic. Partnering with Luminous Recycling, CUAC/CUAW has been gathering old computers, printers, typewriters, scanners, cell phones, and keyboards for proper recycling.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - ESL FCU, this state’s biggest credit union, said it will pitch in with the revitalization of this once-thriving upstate New York city and build a new headquarters downtown.

FEBRUARY

Events

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - CU Journal gives readers the opportunity to weigh in on a variety of issues. Below are the results of a recent online poll. To add your two cents or see past surveys, visit www.cujournal.com.

WASHINGTON - CUNA’s political action committee continues to rank among the top givers to congressional candidates and was the 11th most generous contributor for 2007, the first year of the two-year election cycle, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsible Politics.

BREMERTON, Wash. - An 18-year-old member of Kitsap CU told police she may have mistakenly deposited a bag of crystal meth into her account at the ATM, instead of the intended cash. A credit union employee told police that a bag of the suspected methamphetamine showed up in a deposit envelope to be deposited in the young member’s account at an ATM.

ATLANTA - Perhaps not surprisingly given both demographic trends and the rewards being offered, there has been a significant increase in the number of consumers, particularly younger and higher income households, establishing relationships with direct or Internet-based banks.

Yakima Valley Credit Union was included in a report in the Yakima Herald on the booming local economy. That economic growth has meant a “ripe new market for new financial services,” the newspaper reported. Unemployment, at 6.8%, is at its lowest mark since 1990 in Yakima Valley, and agriculture remains strong. YVCU is making plans to open two more branches. CEO Earl Weatherman was quoted in the story.

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

Meriwest Launches Web Tool

NEW YORK - CashEdge has been awarded a U.S. Patent for its method of executing an electronic funds transfer, which allows individuals to transfer funds between accounts housed at different financial institutions and to fund new accounts. The method allows for the use of a third-party financial management system to withdraw assets from an account at one financial institution, and to deposit those funds into a second account at another financial institution.

WASHINGTON - Retirements, death and even prison sentences have decimated the Ohio delegation in the House, leaving credit union champion Steve LaTourette as then state’s senior Republican on the Financial Services Committee.

MADISON, Wis. - The Filene Research Institute is seeking examples of how credit unions measure member value and offering up to $1,000 for sharing a good story. Filene is seeking papers to include in a special 2008 report exploring the issue of how credit unions measure the value they provide to members. Credit union executives, staff and board members, as well as industry consultants and academics are encouraged to submit a paper detailing how they believe credit unions should, or do, measure value. The special report will highlight a handful of the best ideas submitted and will be released this year.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - The growing number of credit unions adding non-voting “associate” members to their boards of directors should understand that associates must meet the same statutory requirements as elected members of a board, the state regulator said in a new interpretative letter. That includes fiduciary duty, confidentiality, meeting attendance and avoidance of conflicts of interest, said the director of the Division of CUs for the Department of Financial Institutions.

At press time, the number of co-sponsors on the CURIA bill. 218 are needed to have a majority. (c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com