Performance reports

AUSTIN, Tex.-Auto loans are being paid off sooner, which means credit unions have to work harder to keep the pipeline filled.

ARVADA, Colo.-Recognizing that size limits their ability to improve the bottom line and grow, 20 Colorado CUs have created The Alliance of Rocky Mountain Credit Unions, an informal collaboration group that's producing quick results.

WILMINGTON, N.C.-Velocity Solutions believes that bringing inactive members back into the fold is one of the best ways to improve the bottom line.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-The "new reality," according to Dollar Associates Principal Dennis Dollar, is that CUs cannot afford to write off any source of income that is "not inconsistent with the credit union philosophy or is not member-centric."

ONTARIO, Calif.-Driving the bottom line in 2010 may come down to the credit union's ability to stay in the auto lending game.

LAKE MARY, Fla.-The recession's end will not bring a recession to increasing compliance demands. "All of the regulatory change, we believe, is not a temporary type of turbulence," offered Sam Kilmer, VP-market development for Harland Financial Solutions. "It is a systemic change in the financial services industry."

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.-It's pretty straightforward when it comes to credit unions and their bottom lines, stated Mike Kohl: Determine the products that are the most profitable and promote the heck out of them.

PLANO, Texas.-Improving the bottom line is more about evaluating the return on programs rather than scrutinizing expenses.

The just-released paper, which looked at bank and credit union performance from 1986 through 2009, showed that credit unions are much less susceptible to business cycle variations as delinquencies and charge-offs during recessions rise much less sharply than their banking counterparts.

LAS VEGAS – Troubled Silver State Schools CU, one of several Las Vegas credit unions reporting big losses last year, cut its red ink for the first quarter to $8.5 million, from almost $51 million for 2009.

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MADISON, Wis.-Credit union members continue to save but remain reluctant to borrow, according to data for March 2010 released by CUNA's economists.

FRANKLIN, N.Y.-For credit unions everywhere market conditions and a recession have made the CEO's job even tougher-and that's especially true at one small CU here that wishes to remain independent and isn't wanting to merge.

LOS ANGELES – Big credit unions in the four “Sand States,” plus one (Utah), are continuing to report big losses, even as a glimmer of economic recovery is starting to emerge nationwide.

CUDAHY, Wis. – Prime Financial CU on Thursday was cut loose by state regulators, who had operated the troubled one-time $200 million credit union under conservatorship since last March.

TAMPA, Fla. – For Suncoast Schools FCU, Florida’s biggest credit union, that sunshine at the end of the tunnel is still a long way off.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Credit unions' reluctance to embrace "sales" has also caused many consumers to remain unaware CUs are a better deal than banks.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-The CU24 study also found 51% of CU leaders believe better service is the strongest competitive advantage of CUs over banks, compared to 22% who cited better loan rates. EVP/COO Jim Gowan said this points to an important question for all credit unions: "What really is our value proposition that differentiates us from banks?"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Other findings in the CU24 survey.

SAN DIEGO – Thanks in part to expenses saved on operations and significantly less money going into Allowance for Loan Losses, North Island Credit Union on Thursday said it posted earnings of $7.66 million for the first quarter of 2010.