Banking Wire articles from December 2003

Banking Wire archives from December 2003

Fund Established For Member Killed By Horse.
December 1, 2003... Vystar Credit Union has established a fund to aid the family of an Orange Park man who died from injuries sustained when his motorcycle collided with a horse that had escaped his pen. Richard and Teresa Ross were both riding the motorcycle when...

NCUA Issues Several Orders Of Prohibition.
December 1, 2003... NCUA has issued Orders of Prohibition against: Ibell Abellon, former loan officer at Southland Credit Union, Downey, Calif.; Connie M. MacLean, former employee at Searles Lake FCU, Trona, Calif.; Martha Richardson, former employee, Haverhill...

Eight Hawaii CUs Sign Up For Branch Network.
December 1, 2003... Eight of the 12 Hawaii credit unions that in 1999 formed a shared branching CUSO have now joined the Financial Service Centers Cooperative (FSCC) network. The eight members of the HICUSO network-Hawaii Community FCU, Hawaii State FCU, HawaiiUSA...

Sale of 'SimpliCD' Program Is Finalized.
December 1, 2003... The deal to transfer ownership of SimpliCD from a CUSO owned by Corporate One Federal Credit Union to a new CUSO owned jointly by 28 of the nation's 31 corporates, has been completed. SimpliCD, a brokered certificate of deposit program, was...

Aggregation May Be Worth the Aggravation: Charter One enters development pact with Corillian.
December 1, 2003... For many years Charter One didn't want to be bothered with aggregation since there didn't seem to be enough practical uses for having all of a customer's information at one's fingertips. That recently changed when the bank discovered a new...

Currency Conversion Hub Aids Internet Merchants.
December 1, 2003... E-business provider DXStorm.com is expanding its multi-currency conversion product this month for Internet merchants looking to affordably ease into global markets. The Toronto-based DxStorm recently partnered with electronic transaction...

Comerica Taps Citrix for Security at Its Endpoint.
December 1, 2003... A new security company is battling hackers that have been the Achilles heel of traditional remote access products. Launched in March, WholeSecurity, a provider of on-demand endpoint security products, is teaming with Citrix Systems to...

Fee Income: Cash is King For ATM Biz.
December 1, 2003... Banc Investment Group has launched a first-of-its-kind ATM funding program to help independent banks generate fee income from excess liquidity on their balance sheets. ATM Cash Advantage enables banks to advance up to $400 million in...

Bermuda Bank Automates Cross-Border Work.
December 1, 2003... For a bank that does a wide array of complex cross-border trades and transactions like the Bank of Bermuda, automating the processing of these corporate actions is paramount to correcting what many in the industry say can be a mistake-filled...

Linus Finds A Friend In Postal Credit Union.
December 2, 2003... Postal Credit Union here is sponsoring a Linus statue, one of 92 that can be found all over St. Paul. The "Linus Blankets Saint Paul" effort is a tribute to late cartoonist Charles Schulz, native Minnesotan and creator of the Peanuts comic...

SSC Reports Increase In Referrals At Branches.
December 2, 2003... Service Centers Corp. (SCC) said analysis shows that its 26 "stand-alone" shared branches (branches owned and operated by SCC) have generated more than 9,600 credit union product sales referrals for member credit unions during the first six...

Russian Businessmen Get Primer From Minn. CUs.
December 2, 2003... A delegation of 11 financial managers, directors and chief financial officers from established businesses across Russia visited US Federal Credit Union in Burnsville, Minn. The group was part of a three-week intensive management training...

Efforts Grow To Educate Youth On Finances; 213,025 Kids Get Message.
December 2, 2003... The national Youth Involvement Board (NYIB) continues to broaden its efforts to educate youth on financial topics. Case in point is the NYIB's report that credit union representatives during the 2002-03 school year had made 6,815...

Peak-Performing Credit Unions During 2nd Quarter, 2003.
December 2, 2003... On this page are featured credit unions that have been identified, according to one set of criteria, of delivering superior value to their members. Determining how a credit union stands relative to its peers is a complex issue. Callahan &...

Managing Processes Key to Reaping Tech Benefits.
December 2, 2003... It has become clear that the key competitive differentiator for all lenders is not technology itself but the efficient and effective management of business processes. This has given rise to a new process-centric product, one that leverages...

Automating Loan-Sweep Programs Attracts Clients.
December 2, 2003... When National City recog-nized the need to automate its loan sweep program, it was looking for a mainframe platform to encompass loan sweeps, investment sweeps and several other sweep products. The right product, together with superb execution,...

Smart Firms Bank on Customer Intelligence.
December 2, 2003... With the drop in mortgage interest rates, I jumped on the refinancing bandwagon using my current bank. The following impersonal form letter was sent to me as a follow-up to my refi. I changed the bank's name, supervisor name, and phone number:...

Unlocking CRM Value Through Segmentation: Banks have customer insights. Now put them to work.
December 2, 2003... In their efforts to organically attract, grow and retain profitable customers, banks face daunting challenges. They want to know their customers better and track their changing preferences, but struggle to process and analyze huge amounts of...

Record Archives Need Trustworthy Storage: New rules mandate stiffer requirements for data storage.
December 2, 2003... A great deal has been written about a range of archival storage technologies, but very little is being said about how these technologies should be properly integrated into a long-term data storage strategy. Many people consider archival...

The CUJ Daily.
December 3, 2003... 'Free' Is Operative Word at CU PLANO, Texas-More than 4,000 members of Community CU opened a "Beyond Free Checking" account during a two-month promotion. The product offers unlimited free ATMs, free online bill pay, free check-protect...

Businesses Slow To Answer CU's Request To Help Local School District.
December 3, 2003... Four months after launching an impressive goal of raising $1 million to help local schools hit hard by budget cuts, Orange County Teachers FCU is finding area businesses slow to answer the call. On May 12, OCTFCU launched its "Step Up For...

Former EDS' Unit, CUIG, Now IntegraSys.
December 3, 2003... The credit union business unit that Fiserv acquired in July from EDS has a new name, IntegraSys. The unit had been known within EDS as CUIG, for Credit Union Industry Group. The new IntegraSys will continue to operate as an independent...

CCUL Webcast Addresses Hispanic Market.
December 3, 2003... The California league's new Latino Network will hold its first webcast today to educate credit union leaders about the "multifaceted Latino market and how their credit union can extend its reach and expand its services to this rapidly growing...

Credit Union CEO In Race To Become Mayor of Dover Township, N.J.
December 3, 2003... In what he says is a natural transition, Spanish-American Credit Union CEO Javier Marin is running as the Republican Party's candidate for mayor of Dover Township, N.J. "It's just an extension of what I do here,'' he said of his position...

Community Page.
December 3, 2003... Rep. Ross Meets Ark. CU Leaders LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Rep. Mike Ross had a breakfast meeting with several Arkansas credit union leaders, including Becky brosius, Dorothy Wilson Don Cypert, Debbie Kelly, and league CEO Reta Kahley. N.Y....

Community Page.
December 3, 2003... Founders FCU Achieves Milestone LANCASTER, S.C.-Founders Federal Credit Union surpassed a milestone of $700 million in loans. Management thanked employees with random drawings of spa kits. SDCU CEO Thanks Ill. Lawmakers EVERGREEN...

Ongoing Network Automation Key to Profitability.
December 3, 2003... The two-and-a-half trillion-dollar financial services industry offers tremendous opportunities for continued strong growth, and the importance of reliable networking will be a major factor in deciding which companies succeed and which do not....

Branch Revitalization At BofA Raises the Bar: Old channel resurrected with next-generation tech.
December 3, 2003... Throughout the 1990s, efficiency and cost-cutting were central to retail strategies. Banks sought to reduce transaction cycle times to increase branch efficiency. Acquisitions and mergers created larger banks with higher transaction volumes...

Pursuing Risk Management Guidelines.
December 3, 2003... Risk is an inevitable component of any financial organization. The very existence of a financial institution is to take risk. And though there is no method to eliminate risk completely, regulations have been issued from time to time to assist...

The Wait-And-See State: How Gov. Schwarzenegger May Affect Credit Unions.
December 4, 2003... Sworn in the same week as the California Credit Union League was holding its annual meeting, the Golden State's new, high-profile governor is expected to have an effect upon the state's credit unions. But perhaps not in the way many would...

The Board Member-Is-Governor State: Governor-Elect Intends To Remain on Credit Union Board.
December 4, 2003... The newly elected governor-elect of Louisiana is saying she intends to keep her seat on a local credit union board even after taking office. Kathleen Babineaux-Blanco (D), 60, is not just the first woman to be elected governor of...

The Lone Message State: 'Built By You. Owned By You' Is New Ad Theme In Texas.
December 4, 2003... "Built by you. Owned by you. That's the credit union difference." If residents in Texas don't know it by now, they will in the coming months as their state is bombarded with billboards, radio spots (in English and Spanish), newspaper...

NCUA Board OK's 3% Budget Increase; Lowers Oper. Fee.
December 4, 2003... The NCUA board last week approved a 3% spending increase for next year, which includes a reduction in staff by eight positions to a five- year low of 963. The new budget will enable NCUA to lower the annual operating fee rates charged...

VISA Announces It Will Extend Lower Interchange Rates.
December 4, 2003... Visa USA said last week it will extend the lower interchange rates enacted after last summer's massive merchant antitrust settlement into next year. The rates, lowered by a third Aug. 1, have cost credit unions millions of dollars in lost...

ON DEADLINE.
December 4, 2003... FTC Alleges AmeriDebt Misled Consumers WASHINGTON-Debt counseling service AmeriDebt was sued last week by the Federal Trade Commission which charged the company with misleading debtor customers over its fees and status as a non-profit...

PSCU Financial Nabs Employee In ID Theft Effort.
December 4, 2003... PSCU Financial Services said one of its employees has been charged by United States Postal Service authorities after the company discovered the employee was part of a ring involved in fraudulent account takeover activity. In all, some 184...

Franklin Leaves S. Carolina League.
December 4, 2003... John R. Franklin has resigned as president of the South Carolina CU League, having held the position for the past nine years. The SCCUL has named former league CEO Tommy Delk as interim president. Delk, who had been in semi-retirement while...

Governor Supports Maine CU Efforts.
December 4, 2003... At the Maine State House are, from left, the Maine league's Quincy Hentzel, hunger fundraiser Brenda Davis, MCUL consultant Cate Pineau, Gov. John Baldacci, MCUL's Jon Paradise, and consultant Ed Pineau. AUGUSTA, Maine-Maine Governor...

Thieves Steal ATM From Numark.
December 4, 2003... At least two thieves broke into a local landscaping business here last week and stole a front loader they used to rip an ATM out of the wall at NuMark Credit Union. The thieves then dragged the two-ton machine to a nearby curb. The thieves...

Worth Noting.
December 5, 2003... More Than $165K Is Raised VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.-Chartway FCU raised a whopping $165,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Eastern Foundation through its fifth annual Charity Golf Classic.The event marks the second consecutive year the credit...

What's Wrong With This Picture? It's Likely You Already Know.
December 5, 2003... Any regular reader of Ann Landers or Dear Abby is frequently struck by how often people write for advice on problems they could solve themselves. Dr. Randy Harrington has had something of a similar experience in recent years as he's...

Why Members Look Elsewhere For Mortgages.
December 5, 2003... Credit union members may love their CUs, but when it comes time to obtain a mortgage, they usually look elsewhere. According to one expert, the reason is a combination of the low and high expectations people have of credit unions that must...

Patelco Takes Steps To 'Reinvent' Lending Experience.
December 5, 2003... Financial institution consumers are changing, and credit unions must adapt if they expect to compete with banks. That was the message from Chris Oldag, senior vice president of lending for San Francisco-based Patelco Credit Union. Oldag led...

Product & Service.
December 5, 2003... Two More Portfolios Are Sold ATLANTA-InfiCorp Holdings, Inc. has purchased the credit card portfolios of the $123-million Houston Postal Credit Union, and the $88-million Hoodview FCU, Killeen, Texas. Both have also entered into long-term...

Study: Changing CU Tax Status 'Absurd'.
December 5, 2003... A new report by a leading consumer advocacy group's director of research has determined that there is no justification for removing the tax exemption currently in place for all credit unions. The report, written by Dr. Mark Cooper, Director...

Utah Shares Lessons Learned With Alabama CUs.
December 5, 2003... Credit unions in Alabama were told to pay attention to lessons learned by credit union in Utah. Spencer Stokes, president of Stokes Strategies, which works with the Utah league, told credit unions attending a CU-VOTE Luncheon that they...

Kenyan Delegation Visits Mid-Atlantic Corporate CU.
December 5, 2003... Mid-Atlantic Corporate hosted a meeting for three representatives from Kenya's Ministry of Cooperative Development, along with Embassy official, Lina Ochieng, and Lois Kitsch of the World Council of Credit Unions. The visit provided the...

Wash. Foundation Wins $57K Grant For Program.
December 5, 2003... The Washington Credit Union Foundation (WCUF) has been approved for a $57,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to extend the activity of Washington State's Economic Power Project, which provides financial education...

CU Mortgage Officer Takes Top Spot In Rankings By Closing 729 Loans In 1 Year.
December 5, 2003... Wendy Hewitt, financial mortgage loan officer at Dearborn Federal Credit Union, closed a record number of loans last year, making her the only credit union representative nationwide to earn a top spot on Mortgage Originator Magazine's list of...

Bankruptcies Up For The Year; Down For The Quarter.
December 8, 2003... Personal bankruptcies for the fiscal year ended September 30 were up 7.8% over the same period one year earlier, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. During FY2003, 1.63-million Americans filed for personal...

Shared Branches Expand In NJ.
December 8, 2003... Three more New Jersey credit unions have signed up for shared branches in this state. People's First Choice FCU, Tri-Linc FCU and United Teletech FCU have joined three other recent additions, CUMCO FCU, First Jersey FCU and North Jersey FCU,...

Congress Irons Out Details In Fair Credit Bill.
December 8, 2003... House and Senate conferees were finishing up work to iron out the differences between the separate fair credit bills late last week. The measure to reauthorize the federal preemptions of state credit reporting laws is one of the last bills...

Philly CU Seeks Freedom To Serve 6 Million Folks.
December 8, 2003... Freedom CU has applied to state regulators to convert to a community charter that would encompass almost six-million residents in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which would be the largest interstate field of membership ever granted. The...

Banks Out Of RE Biz For One Year.
December 8, 2003... Lawmakers have agreed on a provision that will prevent banks from entering the real estate business for one more year. The provision, including in a bill to fund the U.S. Treasury operations, will prohibit the Treasury from finalizing rules...

Navy Federal Materials On Popular TV Program.
December 8, 2003... A little credit union flavor was added to last week's network television show, NCIS, which added several props from Navy FCU to give the weekly crime drama some feel for a real-life Navy setting. Producers of the popular TV show asked officials...

Jolly Moves Practice To DC's Venable Law Firm.
December 8, 2003... Venable LLP, one of the nation's top law firms, said it has hired well-known credit union attorney Bruce Jolly to join its banking and financial services practice. Jolly, who served as Washington counsel for CUNA and represented NASCUS and...

People.
December 8, 2003... Columbia Credit Union, Vancouver, Wash., named Richard Van Hoose vice president of trust services. Silver State Schools Credit Union, Las Vegas, named Tim Brennan business development and research manager, and Mariclar Reyes business...

Community Page.
December 8, 2003... SDCU Raises $225 For CMN CHICAGO-South Division Credit Union held a Split-the-Pot fundraiser raffle and raised $225 to benefit Children's Memorial Hospital. South Division member Patrick Miller donated $50 from his raffle winnings back to...

Rebate For CUs That Reach Underserved.
December 8, 2003... Corporate Central Credit Union is offering a $500 rebate in monthly services for newly chartered credit unions that use its products and services to assist low income populations. "We have offered something similar for some time," said...

Managing Processes Key to Reaping Tech Benefits.
December 9, 2003... It has become clear that the key competitive differentiator for all lenders is not technology itself but the efficient and effective management of business processes. This has given rise to a new process-centric product, one that leverages...

Automating Loan-Sweep Programs Attracts Clients.
December 9, 2003... When National City recog-nized the need to automate its loan sweep program, it was looking for a mainframe platform to encompass loan sweeps, investment sweeps and several other sweep products. The right product, together with superb execution,...

Smart Firms Bank on Customer Intelligence.
December 9, 2003... With the drop in mortgage interest rates, I jumped on the refinancing bandwagon using my current bank. The following impersonal form letter was sent to me as a follow-up to my refi. I changed the bank's name, supervisor name, and phone number:...

Unlocking CRM Value Through Segmentation: Banks have customer insights. Now put them to work.
December 9, 2003... In their efforts to organically attract, grow and retain profitable customers, banks face daunting challenges. They want to know their customers better and track their changing preferences, but struggle to process and analyze huge amounts of...

Record Archives Need Trustworthy Storage: New rules mandate stiffer requirements for data storage.
December 9, 2003... A great deal has been written about a range of archival storage technologies, but very little is being said about how these technologies should be properly integrated into a long-term data storage strategy. Many people consider archival...

Looking for that Silver Lining? Keep Looking.: This year was marked by great loss...of lives, jobs, even corporate decency. There were painful lessons; a few bright spots. Still, 2004 looks better every day.
December 10, 2003... Two thousand and three won't go down in the history books as one of this country's better years. With one war raging in Iraq and one abandoned in Afghanistan, it's all the Bush Administration can do to deflect Americans' attention from a...

Taking Stock: New York Stock Exchange Works to Repair Its Image: Investors don't care, but seat prices are down.
December 10, 2003... John Reed has proposed sweeping changes to the New York Stock Exchange in his role as interim chairman, yet one question lingers: is it enough to repair the image of the 211-year-old organization? In the wake of Richard Grasso's...

Mergers & Acquisitions: Nara Eyes Pacific Union: Korean-American banking players maneuver.
December 10, 2003... Nara's new CEO, S.H. Hong, looks to be in the catbird's seat at the most aggressive Korean-oriented bank in the country. He's in a good place to pounce. One of his erstwhile competitors, the $1 billion Pacific Union Bank, looks about ripe for a...

Hits and Has-Beens.
December 10, 2003... It didn't take long. Once Bank of America and Fleet Bank announced their merger, Richard DeMartini was given his walking papers. He's out as asset management group president at BofA after the second quarter of next year. DeMartini is the last...

Matz Says CU Tax Exemption Safe, Providing...
December 10, 2003... PORTLAND, Ore.-National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board Member Debbie Matz said there are several ways that credit unions can prevent taxation and thereby protect their safety and soundness. "I closely watched the tax debates in...

CU Reps Turn Out In Force At Meeting That Used To Be All Banks.
December 10, 2003... If credit unions' visibility at BAI's Retail Delivery Conference is any indication, the CU community is on the verge of becoming a force to be reckoned with in the financial services market. "Three years ago we wouldn't have bothered to...

Top Gun's Tough Talk.
December 10, 2003... It's coming. "It" is change, lots of it. And while I'm not sure what the changes will be, you can be certain that the way banks sell mutual funds and other securities soon will be different. The reason? The SEC has awakened from what...

ABIA Study: Insurance Sales Have Long Way to Go.
December 10, 2003... Banks sold an estimated $69.5 billion in insurance last year, an increase of 26% over 2001, according to a study conducted for the American Bankers Insurance Association (ABIA) by Regan Consulting of Atlanta and released at the association's...

Ongoing Network Automation Key to Profitability.
December 10, 2003... The two-and-a-half trillion-dollar financial services industry offers tremendous opportunities for continued strong growth, and the importance of reliable networking will be a major factor in deciding which companies succeed and which do not....

Branch Revitalization At BofA Raises the Bar: Old channel resurrected with next-generation tech.
December 10, 2003... Throughout the 1990s, efficiency and cost-cutting were central to retail strategies. Banks sought to reduce transaction cycle times to increase branch efficiency. Acquisitions and mergers created larger banks with higher transaction volumes...

Members Challenging Washington CU's Conversion To Bank.
December 11, 2003... State and federal regulators are reviewing the Nov. 3 member vote to convert Columbia CU to a mutual savings bank after several members raised questions about potential irregularities in the vote, the closest yet for a credit union conversion...

Loans Are Nothing To Kid About: CUs Find Lending To Child Care Centers Pay Off In Multiple Ways.
December 11, 2003... Credit unions looking to deepen their roots in the communities they serve and open up a whole new lending market for themselves in the process may want to consider offering childcare loans, a specialized form of member business lending that can...

New Bill Offered To Expand Host Of Credit Union Powers.
December 11, 2003... Just before Congress adjourned last week several key credit union supporters introduced a wide-ranging credit union reform bill that would once again expand field of membership allowances, lift restrictions on business lending, and allow NCUA...

Measuring Return On Training Dollars Increasingly Possible.
December 11, 2003... Measuring employee training and development's impact on the bottom line and establishing return-on-investment (ROI) for a training program has long been thought to be akin to "counting water"-just about impossible. That is until now, according...

ON DEADLINE.
December 11, 2003... Earl Leaves Utah League SALT LAKE CITY -- Scott Earl, who has spearheaded the credit union fight with bankers over the past decade, resigned as president of the Utah League of CUs last week. Earl, president of the league since 1991, said...

Referrals Still Draw Reps, But Banks May Need to Spice Up Offering.
December 11, 2003... In their efforts to attract investment consultants, banks continue to highlight the promise of easy referrals from their vast client base. This fosters the hiring of less experienced or novice reps, who are willing to forego the potential for...

Banks' Share of Managed Accounts Grows.
December 11, 2003... Assets in separately managed accounts grew slightly during the third quarter, with banks increasing their market share. The Money Management Institute said that assets in the product increased by 3% in the quarter, to $456.29 billion...

Shared Branching: Credit Unions Band Together: Can the model yield better service at lower costs?
December 11, 2003... When Service centers Corp. and CO-OP Network merged last year, credit unions got a boost with a broader network of branch facilities and ATMs. The concept was simple: credit unions would pool resources to offer their members greater convenience...

Pipeline.
December 11, 2003... Surprise in Your Own Backyard US Bank recently shocked itself after taking a close look at its correspondent banking business. A strategic review of its three businesses-credit and debit card payments processing, ATM transaction...

The Power of Wagon Wheels. A Chronicle of Wells Fargo's History.
December 11, 2003... Stagecoach: Wells Fargo And the American West By Philip L. Fradkin Simon & Schuster, 250 pages, $14.00 In 1860, it was a privilege to pay the equivalent of $3,000 to $7,000 for a 20-day, 2,000-mile, cross-country trip in extreme...