Credit Union Journal articles from July 2009

Credit Union Journal archives from July 2009

NCUA Acts To Preempt Bid On Consumer Protection Agency.(General News)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Ed Roberts, Washington Bureau Chief ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA, seeking to keep credit unions out of the Obama administration's proposed consumer protection agency, proposed last week to create its own consumer office within the agency....

WORTH NOTING.(General News)
July 6, 2009... Texas CUs Adopt NCUF's REAL Solutions DALLAS-CUs from across the state met here recently to put together a more affordable payday loan alternative to help underserved potential members. Texas adopted NCUF's REAL Solutions platform in 2008;...

Paying To Keep Veterans On Board Pays Off.(Financial Performance)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Ray Birch, Correspondent LITTLE FALLS, Minn.-St. Francis Campus Employees CU doesn't take for granted the impact a friendly, familiar face has on the bottom line. The CU has built a tenured staff - and is happy to pay for that...

La Pine Takes The Helm At Newly Merged Southeastern League.(General News)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Matt Blumenfeld, Reporter TALLAHASSE, Fla.-Patrick La Pine has a tall order in front of him when he becomes the first-ever president/CEO of the League of Southeastern Credit Unions in the first week of August. The new entity, a...

NOW IN THE MARKET.(General News)
July 6, 2009... CUSO Boasts 70 CUs In Program WASHINGTON-Credit Union Student Choice, a CUSO that provides turn-key private student lending services to more than 70 credit unions across the country, has joined the Mapping Your Future Friends program.A In...

A Helpful Reminder About The 'Good' Business Of CU Movement.(Opinions)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Frank J. Diekmann Credit unions got some pretty good advice recently from a guy they likely once would have turned down for a loan. You may not have heard of Bert Jacobs, but you've probably seen his message and his gear-you...

How Can CUs Start Booking More Mortgages? Focus On Starting Point: Realtors.(Opinions)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Linda Clampitt One of the reasons that credit unions have traditionally won only a small slice of the real estate lending market is the typical homebuying process. What usually happens is that consumers see a real estate agent long...

Did Anyone Else See Irony?(Opinions)
July 6, 2009... I wonder how many were struck by the irony when Dan Mica thanks President Obama for keeping the NCUA independent when just a short time ago he was asking for TARP funds just in case of an emergency. I fought against the use of TARP funds and my...

$15-Million CDFI Grants Help Nine CDCUs Expand.(General News)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Analysis by Ed Roberts WASHINGTON-Nine community development credit unions were awarded more than $15 million in grants from the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund last week to use to expand lending and...

As Credit Scores Fall, CUs Scramble To Compensate.(Lending)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Matt Blumenfeld, Reporter FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-Consumers finding it harder to pay the bills are seeing their credit scores fall, and that means credit unions are having to go old school with more character- and relationship-based...

NCUA Works To Limit Costs Of Eastern Financial Failure.(General News)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Analysis by Ed Roberts MIRAMAR, Fla.-NCUA, which is predicting increasing loss from large credit union failures in the coming months, was trying last week to keep the costs down for the merger of Eastern Financial Florida CU, the...

Loan Restructuring CUSOs Get Clearance From NCUA.(General News)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Analysis by Ed Roberts ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA has approved a plan by a group of Florida credit unions to create a CUSO that would buy and collect on troubled loans. The CUSO can restructure loans as part of its collection...

PEOPLE.(General News)
July 6, 2009... Steve Rasmussen of FFA CU has been elected chairman of the Credit Union Association of Oklahoma. Xceed FCU, El Segundo, Calif., has hired Mary Roberts as its new CFO. Member Advantage Mortgage has hired Kelly Adams and Barbara...

Economy Isn't The Only Opportunity.(Lending)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Joyce Moed PORTLAND-Chris Anderson believes a "window of opportunity" has always been available to CUs and isn't limited to the current struggling economy. "Even when times were good for banks there was opportunity for credit...

How 1 CU Offers Friendly Haven Despite Crisis.(Lending)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Joyce Moed, Reporter LA CROSSE, Wis.-Rate and turnaround time are generally credited for driving loan volume, but Governmental Employees Credit Union here believes its success has more to do with an old credit union standby. ...

What's The Secret Behind 1 CU's Success In Indirect Lending? Just Add Seasoning.(Lending)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Joyce Moed, Reporter PORTSMOUTH, N.H.-Perhaps in no area of lending is experience more critical than indirect auto loans. Case in point is the $650-million Northeast CU here, which recently finished in second place in the...

Solid Employees, Solid Loan Growth.(Lending)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Joyce Moed, Reporter JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-As Credit Union Journal examined why certain CUs remain robust lenders, one theme was cited repeatedly: solid and experienced staff. Case in point is Conservation Employees Credit Union,...

Price Isn't Just About Rates, It's Compensating Staff.(Lending)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Joyce Moed, Reporter OGDEN, Utah-Pricing, both in the way it prices its loans and compensates its lenders, has been pivotal in keeping loan volume strong at Weber State CU. "When this whole downturn started, we were doing well...

What Has 1 Top Lender Relied On The Most During Economic Turmoil? Common Sense.(Lending)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Joyce Moed, Reporter PORTLAND, Ore.-When asked to identify why it is such a successful lender, Sunset Science Park FCU believes one reason rises above all others: common sense. "We've tried to put something on [the cause of our...

Here Comes Trouble; CUs Work To ID Members In Difficulty Before They're In Full-Blown Crisis.(Lending)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Matt Blumenfeld, Reporter FAIRFAX, Va.-As delinquencies and defaults continue to rise, credit unions are searching for ways to help both members and the bottom line by offering loan modifications, but there are a number of wrinkles...

CUs Question National Brand, Capital Levels, Deficit's Effect & Other Issues.(General News)
July 6, 2009... BOSTON-During a Q&A with CUNA senior management at the trade group's America's Credit Union Conference here, the following questions were posed by CUs: Q: We've read the positive national press about credit unions. Now, when do you think...

Directors Report Their CUs Are Weathering The Financial Storm.(General News)
July 6, 2009... BOSTON-Credit unions in half-dozen states - particularly the so-called Sand States of California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida - may be sinking deeper and deeper, but many credit unions around the country are growing and even prospering their...

Silver Lining For Storm-Torn Area.(General News)
July 6, 2009... LAKE CHARLES, La.-In southwest Louisiana, where hurricanes have taken a major toll the past few years, CSE FCU is booming, according to Ken Gardner Jr. "We're actually benefitting now from the storms of the last four years because of the...

How 1 CU Is Pushing To Expand While Others Contract.(General News)
July 6, 2009... FORT WORTH, Texas-While credit unions in the beleaguered "sand states" are shuttering branches, one credit union here is getting ready to expand its branch network. "We're actually doing very, very well," boasted Judy McDonald, a director at...

CUs Put Focus On Lending.(General News)
July 6, 2009... BOSTON-Shares have come rolling in at credit unions in Massachusetts, where the focus is on finding ways to lend out all that cash. Edward Paris, a director with Boston Firefighters FCU, cited member loyalty at his credit union, where the...

NY CUs Know How To Make Most Of A Good Crisis.(General News)
July 6, 2009... FARMINGDALE, N.Y.-In any crisis, someone is able to cash in, and some credit unions in New York are doing just that right now. "[The banking crisis] turned out to be good for us," said Frank Spencer, a volunteer director for Teachers FCU,...

Go Beyond The Numbers To Understand What's Driving Them.(Lending)
July 6, 2009... FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-Helping members gets harder when credit scores fall, but understanding what's behind the decline can help CUs find their way. "It's a combination of things," explained Lloyd Gill, chief lending officer at City County...

Low-Income Members, CUs More Vulnerable.(Lending)
July 6, 2009... NEW YORK-"When America gets a cold, we get pneumonia," said Cliff Rosenthal, CEO National Federation of Community Development CUs. Credit scores have been declilning across the board, hitting many mainstream credit unions, but the problem...

How Advantis Has Achieved 300% Growth In Lending.(Lending)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Joyce Moed, Reporter PORTLAND, Ore.-Like a lot of CUs, Advantis CU chalks up much of its success to its focus on service. But in this case that also means service to auto dealers. "Our initiative is to provide best in class...

NASCUS Recognizes Supervisory Excellence.(General News)
July 6, 2009... DELA MAR, Calif.-Two awards were presented during the 2009 Annual Conference for the National Association of Credit Union Supervisory Auditing Committees. Curtis Parkerson, a retired supervisory committee member at PrimeWay FCU, Houston was...

Coastway CU Now Officially A Mutual Bank.(General News)
July 6, 2009... CRANSTON, R.I.-Coastway CU has ended 89 years as a credit union today when it becomes a mutual savings bank. An overwhelming majority Coastway members approved of the conversion to a mutual bank in April. The $300-million credit union, the...

Late Pen Air CEO Davis Wins Pro Of The Year.(General News)
July 6, 2009... PENSACOLA, Fla.-Former Pen Air FCU President/CEO John Davis was posthumously awarded this year's Professional of the Year award by the Florida CU League. Award winners are chosen based on their lifetime of efforts to help CUs grow and succeed....

Students Take Home Prize With Rap Video.(General News)
July 6, 2009... SAN FRANCISCO-Three college students took home cash prizes in Patelco CU's first-ever video contest. Christopher Wiggins, a broadcast major at San Francisco State University, won the $1,000 grand prize for "The Credit Rap." Willis Lai was...

CU Directors Say 'We're O.K.'.(Financial Performance)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Ed Roberts, Washington Bureau Chief BOSTON-Credit unions in half-dozen states-particularly the so-called Sand States of California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida-may be sinking deeper and deeper, but many credit unions around the...

ON DEADLINE.(General News)
July 6, 2009... Technicolor FCU Expected To Jettison Most Staff BURBANK, Calif.-Technicolor FCU was back open for business after closing its doors one day last week allegedly due to issues with some of its staff. Management at Technicolor FCU did not...

CU CEO Confidence Spikes, Prompting Thoughts Of Recovery.(Financial Performance)
July 6, 2009... DALLAS-After hitting an all-time low, credit union CEOs have shown a sharp uptick in their views on the economy's prospects. But Southwest Corporate, which released the findings as part of its ongoing CEO Confidence Index, acknowledges it...

PSECU Gears Up For Budget Impasse.(Financial Performance)
July 6, 2009... Byline: Ray Birch, Correspondent HARRISBURG, Penn.-With the state of Pennsylvania failing to pass a budget, the largest CU in this state is assisting affected members with a 0% loan offer. The $3.4-billion Pennsylvania State Employees...