Banking Wire articles from February 2007

Banking Wire archives from February 2007

Now In The Market.
February 1, 2007... Tranax Releases ATM Software FREMONT, Calif.-ATM vendor Tranax Technologies announced the release of a new application software solution to help prevent unauthorized access to Tranax ATM terminals and operator menus. The new system...

Why Fluctuating Rate Scenarios Mean Biz Lending Will Only Grow In Importance.
February 1, 2007... LENEXA, Kan. -- Expansion by credit unions into business lending is no secret to anyone who reads the trade press. But one person is noting the daily mass media also provide plenty of examples why business lending and business services have...

One World In The Morning, Another In The Afternoon.
February 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- On the morning of September 11, employees of XCEL FCU were right where they were every other morning, riding the subway to the station in the cavernous base of the World Trade Center, exiting across the crowded platform and riding...

Terrorist Attacks Dominate The News, But Other Issues Also Required CUs' Attention.
February 1, 2007... WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The top story affecting credit unions in 2001 is the same that affected all of the world, and continues to be felt today: the terrorist Attacks of Sept. 11. A look at our Top 10 List of Stories from 2001: ONE:...

Where Are They Now?
February 1, 2007... Carol Aranjo: Former CEO of the D. Edward wells FCU, Springfield, Mass., and one-time chairwoman of the NFCDCU; was sued by NCUA for embezzlement after it placed the CU into conservatorship and is now under indictment. Dan Mica: the former...

What The New Millenium Brought CUs.
February 1, 2007... WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- What did the real first year of the new millenium bring to credit unions? Among the trends, developments and news: * Credit bureaus begin making credit scores available to consumers * When CUs meet for GAC in 2001, they...

Hard To Believe, But Big Issue Is All The Profits.
February 1, 2007... WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The top story affecting credit unions in 2002 is hard to believe today: what to do with all the deposits flowing into credit unions, and how to manage all the resulting profitability! Following the bursting of the...

A Common Theme In The Leading Stories of 2002 All Had To Do With Money-Too Much And Too Little.
February 1, 2007... ONE: Too Much Money Woes: As billions of dollars flood into CU deposit coffers even as savings rates are slashed, making for healthy profit margins (see related story, right). TWO: No Payday Heyday: A few credit unions began to respond to...

I Think, Therefore I Am-Or Maybe Am Not, In 2003.
February 1, 2007... WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The good news? In 2003, Americans said that losing their job wasn't a primary concern. The bad news? More Americans said losing their identity was. For credit unions in 2003, the news related to identity theft was...

Banks' Promise In 1998 (To Attack At State Level) Is More Than Apparent Five Years Later.
February 1, 2007... ONE: NCUA passes expansive FOM rules, approving the concept of "reasonable proximity" and creating the TIP (or Trade, Industry, Profession) charter. Not surprisingly, the bank trade groups are sharply critical of the new interpretation. NCUA...

CUNA Helps Replenish Parties' Coffers With Annual Donations.
February 2, 2007... WASHINGTON -- CUNA made its annual contributions to the two major political parties this month, including the senate and congressional campaign committees, a total of $90,000 to both the Democrats and Republicans. CUNA makes the maximum...

Congressional Restructuring to Impact Some NCUA Spending.
February 2, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Congress was in the process of a restructuring last week that included the addition of two new subcommittees to the key House Appropriations Committee, part of a renewed effort to control spending. A new financial services...

Interest-Rate Risk Pushes Freddie Mac Into the Red.
February 2, 2007... McLEAN, Va. -- Secondary mortgage market giant Freddie Mac reported a 50-basis-point drop (0.5%) in long-term interest rates caused it to lose $550 million for the third quarter, and the second-largest purchaser of home mortgages expects to...

Dissidents Routed From Columbia CU Board.
February 2, 2007... VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Columbia Credit Union said members elected seven new directors and five new members of its supervisory committee, successfully eliminating from its governance a group of dissident members who defeated the credit union's bid...

Check Casher settles with Washington State.
February 2, 2007... OLYMPIA, Washington -- The state Department of Financial Institutions here announced a settlement with payday lender Check 'N Go of Washington Inc., following an investigation and charges filed by the department last August. The DFI's...

Affordable Housing Project Piloted.
February 2, 2007... AHOSKIE, N.C. -- State Employees CU joined local school representatives to break ground on a 24-unit affordable housing project aimed at attracting more teachers to this low-income rural county in the northeastern corner of the state. The...

Correcting Record On Comments From Conversion Discussion.
February 2, 2007... WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- In the Dec. 4 issue, The Credit Union Journal misquoted remarks made by Peter Duffy of Sandler O'Neil during a discussion on credit union charter conversions hosted by the American Enterprise Institute. The text of the...

Now In The Market.
February 2, 2007... Southwest Gains 100 Clients PLANO, Texas-The number of credit unions now using Branch Capture services provided by Southwest Corporate has topped 100 in less than two years, officials said Client Dallas Telco Credit Union officials are...

Measurable CU Growth: Corporates Offer Strategies.
February 2, 2007... WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Corporates have become a lot more than the "credit unions' credit union." For 2007, corporate CUs say they have more options and products than ever to assist credit unions when it comes to growing their options. Their...

Congress Eyes Credit Card Reform In 1st Senate Hearing.
February 2, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The new Democratic-controlled Congress last week began a series of hearings on the credit card industry that are expected to result in legislation to rein in credit card issuers, increase consumer disclosures and possibly regulate...

Trouble In Riverside City: City Council Protests The Merger Of Raincross With Visterra.
February 5, 2007... RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Over protests from the Riverside City Council, Raincross Credit Union will merge with Visterra CU in approximately two months following a Jan. 18 membership vote. The uproar is over Raincross's choosing of Visterra,...

Patchwork Quilt of Directives From IRS Guide UBIT Reform.
February 5, 2007... WASHINGTON -- In the latest twist of a long-standing battle between credit unions and the Internal Revenue Service more than a dozen state-chartered credit unions have received the most definitive guidance to date on what is taxable under the...

TJX Data Security Breach Takes Toll On Financial Svcs.
February 5, 2007... BOSTON -- Credit union industry officials are still trying to determine the extent of a massive data breach that could match the 2005 debacle at Card Systems Solutions, Inc. in Arizona. Retail giant TJX, which owns discount stores TJ Maxx...

On Deadline.
February 5, 2007... CDCU Works to Rebuild New Orleans' 9th Ward NEW ORLEANS-ASI FCU's initiative to help rebuild the city's upper Ninth Ward, flattened by Hurricane Katrina, received a $300,000 boost from NeighborWorks. The grant will help the...

NCUA Orders DFCU Supervisors To Investigate Member Claims.
February 5, 2007... DEARBORN, Mich. -- DFCU Financial's Supervisory Committee has been asked by the NCUA to investigate two members' complaint alleging bylaw and election procedure violations related to the upcoming board elections. In a letter addressed to...

Colorado CU Employee Fatally Shot Outside Branch.
February 5, 2007... Greeley, Colo. -- Colorado State Employees Credit Union supervisor Heather Garraus, 37, was shot to death in the parking lot of the CU on Jan. 23 after leaving work for the evening. Local news reports identified Garraus as the wife of Greeley...

America First CU Hosts Operation Best Wishes.
February 5, 2007... Rick Craig, President/CEO of America First Credit Union in Ogden, Utah, webcasts a greeting and message of support to deployed members of his credit union during Operation Best Wishes. Tom Connors, Chairman of the Board looks on. The national...

Worth Noting.
February 5, 2007... CDCUs Now Have BALANCE NEW YORK CITY-The generosity of three credit unions will help bring financial counseling and education service, BALANCE to all members of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (NFCDCU) with...

LPL Acquires UVEST, Creating Third-Party Investment Svc. Giant.
February 5, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- Linsco Private Ledger Corp., LPL Financial Services here has acquired the Charlotte, N.C. based UVEST Financial Services Group Inc., creating the nation's largest provider of third-party investment services. The merger of the...

Buried Treasure Reveals Merged CU's Heritage.
February 5, 2007... HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Following the merger of Pan Am Horizons FCU into Power Financial CU, the credit union marked another milestone: the unearthing of a time capsule buried 25 years ago. Among the treasures found within: mementos from the...

Keeping Score.
February 6, 2007... This month's cover story features the TPM report card, a biannual bank ranking of the most prominent third-party marketers in the country. The report card has proved controversial in the past. BIC's news story on the last report, in our...

Production Is Up at Community Banks.
February 6, 2007... Sales of investment products in community banks and credit unions picked up in October, the second consecutive increase in two months, according to a January 3 joint report by Kehrer-LIMRA and third-party marketer Invest. Bank brokerage...

Customer Service: The Hand Behind the Desktop: AnchorBank is using desktop sharing to help customers remotely.
February 6, 2007... AnchorBank hopes that in the very near future, staff will be able to help customers use the Internet for banking by actually logging onto the customer's desktop to make fixes and help with navigation from a remote location. "One of the...

Wealth Management: A Turf War to Win the Rich: Wealth platform functionality is forging a battle between brokers and banks.
February 6, 2007... Over the next three years, the number of affluent individuals in North America is expected to bulge from 30 million to 37 million, fueled mostly by Baby Boomers whose retirement assets mature. In that same timeframe, the amount lining the...

Now In The Market.
February 6, 2007... Desert Schools Selects Elan PHOENIX-The $2.7-billion Desert Schools FCU said it has selected Elan Financial Services to provide credit card issuing solutions. "The credit union ultimately made the move because Elan presented a better deal...

Credit Unions In The Media.
February 6, 2007... League Report Cited FONTANA, Calif.- The Fontana Herald News reported that the California and Nevada CU League's third-quarter 2006 WestScan economic activity report for the states' 574 credit unions expect savings and lending to grow as...

Your CU Doesn't Have To Grow And You Don't Have To Attend This Meeting Either.
February 6, 2007... Grow or die. I had initially written that those three words are the fundamental mantra of business known to every credit union leader, not to mention business school undergrad, but then I hit the delete key. Not everyone practices the...

Join Your Peers For 'A Night At The Museum'.
February 6, 2007... Credit Union Journal has a very special announcement. Thanks to the support of the CO-OP Network, as part of our Business Development & SEG Conference April 12-13 in Boston, the Journal has arranged for a tour and dinner at America's Credit...

Hold the Phones: Mobile Commerce's Here: That a Tupelo bank was the first to cut a deal with Firethorn speaks to the ubiquity of cellphones and the likelihood that consumers will use them for banking.
February 6, 2007... The debate over when, or if, mobile banking would take off came to a hard stop in November when BancorpSouth, an $11.9 billion-asset institution in Tupelo, MS, went live with a pilot program of its mobile-banking and payments application...

Philanthropy: BofA, RBC Offer The Gift of Giving: Even for the bajillionaire with everything.
February 6, 2007... Bank of America is the latest institution to give the gift of giving-and make its customers feel like philanthropists. Later this year, Bank of America will give its high-net-worth customers gift certificates, worth $500 each, via...

New Rule Could Sweeten Referral Fees.
February 7, 2007... Regulators have proposed long-awaited rules to determine the size of fees banks can pay employees to refer customers to broker-dealer affiliates. The proposal, made by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve, makes...

Income Market "Has a Long Way to Go".
February 7, 2007... Annuity providers are still only in the early stages of creating the type of products specifically geared to retirement income. "The industry is beginning to focus on the retirement income issue, but most people would acknowledge that there's a...

When Using World's Best Marketing Tool, Show Restraint.
February 7, 2007... After the PC and the Internet, email is the innovation to have the greatest impact on corporate America and consumers. It has transformed not only how people communicate in business and in personal circles, but also the frequency with which...

Legal: Breaches in Court: No Harm, No Foul: Several times in the past year, data breach victims have argued the potential for harm is enough to make banks and other firms pay. Judges have soundly disagreed.
February 7, 2007... A New Jersey woman had lost nothing, save for peace of mind, when she sued Wachovia Securities for losing track of a UPS package that included a printout of her account information. A Minnesota victim of a mass data breach took Brazos...

Make Sure Your Website Drives Revenues, Develops Relationships.
February 7, 2007... A good website should make a difference to your credit union. It should drive revenues, strengthen relationships, save costs, and increase member satisfaction. Here are key issues to consider when selecting a vendor to redo your site: people,...

Research: Has Your CU Learned The Power Of Ultimate Question?
February 7, 2007... According to Fred Reichheld's recent book, "The Ultimate Question," there is one very powerful question that gets to the heart of both loyalty and growth for any organization. For CUs that question is: "How likely is it that you would...

Indirect Lending: Weighing In-House Vs. Outsourcing Program.
February 7, 2007... Credit unions around the country realize that one of the most efficient and effective ways to grow their loan portfolio and potentially their membership is to build a successful indirect lending program. Although such programs offer tremendous...

NAFCU Explores Costs Of Data Security Breaches To CUs In Its Recent Survey.
February 7, 2007... ARLINGTON, Va. -- Just days before TJX, parent company of discount retailers TJMaxx and Marshalls, reported a massive data breach (see related story this issue), NAFCU released data showing data security breaches continue to be a growing...

Marketing: Affluent Asian Americans Elusive for Some Banks: A group with $400 billion in buying power.
February 7, 2007... While a number of banks, like Los-Angeles-based Nara Bancorp and Wilshire Bancorp, were created to sell predominantly to Korean Americans or Chinese Americans, other banks in other parts of the U.S. have struggled to make the Asian American...

Hits and Has-Beens.
February 7, 2007... Citigroup has named Robert Druskin as COO, reporting to chairman and chief executive Chuck Prince. Druskin had been president and chief executive of Citigroup corporate and investment banking. Michael Klein and Thomas Maheras are succeeding...

ING Seeks Distribution Boost From Banks.
February 8, 2007... Robert Crispin, the top executive at ING Investment Management Americas, says his firm expects to distribute more of its products through banks this year, as banks continue their move to broader, open-architecture platforms. Crispin, the...

TPM Report Card: How banks rate third-party marketers on everything from marketing to technology.
February 8, 2007... Third-party marketers earned an OVERALL grade of B in the "Banker's Report Card on Third-Party Marketing Companies," from the 2006 Study of Bank Brokerage & Retail Investment Services conducted by American Brokerage Consultants and American...

News Makers.
February 8, 2007... CHECKFREE EXPANDS ITS CONSULTING ROLE CheckFree is planning to greatly expand its role in consulting for check and electronic payments convergence, as well as processing and risk management for ACH, check and cash services, with its $206...

Techies.
February 8, 2007... Leslie Mitchell has been appointed director of network risk policy by NACHA, the electronic payments association. Prior to this, Mitchell was with the Risk Management Association. * Obopay, a U.S. mobile payment service provider, has named...

On Branding: Is Your Veteran Brand, Logo Holding Your CU Back?
February 8, 2007... There's been a lot of change in the credit union industry over the past few years. Mergers, changes in charters, and the continued emergence of electronic banking options are all changing the way credit unions market, and to whom they're...

Super Deals: CUs Tie Promos To Super Bowl XLI.
February 8, 2007... INDIANAPOLIS -- Credit unions across the country are gearing up for Super Bowl XLI's Midwestern battle between the The Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears. Andy Mattingly, SVP strategy and marketing, at the $980-million FORUM CU in...

Strategies For Measurable Growth: Corporates Share How They Can Help CUs In 2007.(Interview)
February 8, 2007... Solutions For Every Scenario SAN DIMAS, Calif.-There isn't any one solution for every credit union. Rather, there are different solutions unique to every credit union's challenges when it comes to growing, according to WesCorp. Kevin...

NCUA Eyes Enforcement of Bylaws By Fed Regulators.
February 8, 2007... PALM DESERT, Calif. -- NCUA, which has been exploring new ways of deterring credit union conversions to mutual savings bank, or at least making it more difficult, is looking at having the federal regulator become the enforcer of credit union...

Fresh Ink.
February 8, 2007... 1. Huntington Bancshares will buy Sky Financial Group for $3.6 billion in a stock-and-cash deal. Huntington expects the deal to offer annual cost savings of $115 million. The deal, which creates the 24th largest bank, strengthens Huntington's...

Financial Execs See Modest Growth In 2007, But Fret Over Rising Rates.
February 8, 2007... Financial professionals are cautiously optimistic about economic growth in 2007, according to a new survey by the Association for Financial Professionals in Bethesda, MD. Forecasting modest growth for the year ahead, respondents expect their...

And the Winner Is...An inside look at the Report card's top three third-party marketers.
February 9, 2007... Name: Investment Professionals Location: San Antonio, Texas Number of Bank Clients: 73, ranging from $50 million to $5.5 billion in size Footprint: 23 states, primarily southern, with a recent signing in Pennsylvania ...

The Go-To Guy: Jack Salemi provides his elderly client with a lot more than financial planning or products.
February 9, 2007... If you're in Eastham, Orleans or Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Mass., and you see a well-dressed, middle-aged man in a car being tailed by a senior citizen, that may well be Jack Salemi, taking the time to guide one of his elderly clients to where...

Trustworthiness: Customer Loyalty Stems From Competence: How important is security? Consumers want safety and competence from their banks, which are different values than they want from retailers.
February 9, 2007... From the days of Jesse James all the way to the most heinous phishing scams and data breaches, consumers have always wanted the same thing from their bank-a sense that the people who are holding onto their money know what they're doing. ...

Cards: Opportunities Abound In Crowded Payments Field: Although credit and debit card usage accounts for more than half of all in-store purchases, a multi-trillion dollar slice of the payments market remains for the taking.
February 9, 2007... In the course of a decade, card-based payments have doubled in volume to account for 28 percent of all consumer payments. It's nearly half of the payments pie when excluding the amount spent on auto loans, mortgages and other debt vehicles...

House Bill Would Reduce Money Laundering Reports.
February 9, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The House voted overwhelmingly to allow credit unions and banks to handle large currency transactions from regular customers, so-called seasoned customers, without having to file reports aimed at tracing money laundering and...

Pentagon FCU Foundation Builds New Wing at Hospital.
February 9, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Army officers joined medical personnel and family members of stricken soldiers last week to dedicate a new Oncology Palliative Care suite at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which was built by the Pentagon Federal Credit Union...

Check 21 Comes of Age.
February 9, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Four years after passage of Check 21, the federal law that makes electronic images the same as legal tender has apparently come of age, with conversion of paper-to-electronic transactions exploding in the latter part of 2006. ...

New CU Charters Dry Up.
February 9, 2007... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- NCUA said it approved a charter last month for a new credit union in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Union Baptist Church FCU will serve about 225 members of the Fort Wayne parish. The credit union was only the eighth chartered last...

Noted and Noteworthy.
February 9, 2007... Every 31 seconds, someone who speaks little if any English enters the U.S., according to the Census Bureau. Citigroup is responding to this dilemma by tapping Language Line Services, which allows consumers to dial one number and, through an...

A Bogeyman Rises in Europe: Set for November 1, the financial instruments directive is supposed to make the markets integrated, consistent and transparent. But it's stirring up a great fear of the unknown.
February 9, 2007... The MiFID, the Markets in Financial Instruments directive set to become law across the securities markets of the 27 European Union nations on November 1, has so far inspired a singular emotion among investment bankers, asset managers and...

The 90-Day Dazzle: Master the only chance you will ever have to make a good first impression.
February 12, 2007... If you ask bankers why they don't refer more business, you will often hear the same concern: "I am worried that if they don't service the client well, it will damage my relationship, too." When bankers refer business, particularly clients...

Sample Referral Letter.
February 12, 2007... Mr. Ideal Client [address] Dear Mr. Ideal, In these hectic times we often don't have as many opportunities as we might like to stop and take note of just how good we have it. With headlines of the war, crime and political...

Meeting Regulators' Ends, Not Means, Lowers Risk: Favoring an outcomes-based regulatory environment, former BofA compliance chief and UK regulator says 'principles' over 'rules' makes for better risk mitigation.
February 12, 2007... How would principles-based regulation differ from a rules-based system? Principles-based regulation is about effectiveness. When a regulator tries to prescribe what a firm can do to achieve the outcome the regulator's [looking for], it...

Remote Deposit Capture: RDC's Results Go Way Beyond Expense Cuts: Hooking a client up with a remote check scanner can shave expenses and grow deposits. But there are also less obvious impacts on operations, product development and risks.
February 12, 2007... When Atlanta's Piedmont Bank made the jump into image deposit capture more than a year ago, the small business bank expected to nab some additional activity from remote clients. What they didn't expect to capture was a remote suitor. ...

Addison Avenue Names New CEO.
February 12, 2007... PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Addison Avenue FCU, the CU for Hewlett-Packard companies has hired J. Benson Porter, an executive at Washington Mutual, as its new president. Porter, formerly the chief administrative officer and head of corporate affairs...

Fiserv, Federal Reserve Banks Sued.
February 12, 2007... ST. LOUIS -- A Canadian software company has filed suit in federal court here against Fiserv and three client Federal Reserve Banks claiming that Fiserv is infringing on its patent for check fraud software. Advanced Software Design, of...

Exodus From Utah Charter Ongoing.
February 12, 2007... OGDEN, Utah -- Alliance CU, one of the largest remaining state charters in Utah was approved by NCUA to convert to federal charter. The $85-million-CU joined an exodus that began four years ago when the state's bankers heightened their attack...

Reader Resources.
February 12, 2007... Credit Union Journal Subscribers can access all content from the print edition every Monday simultaneously with its publication at www.cujournal.com. Additional resources include: * Front-page news stories are accessible by clicking on the...

Corporate Payments: Double E-Signatures Double the Security: A double-digital signature pilot from Citigroup and IdenTrust may prove a turning point in the quest to ease corporate treasury headaches and expand the transaction banking business.
February 12, 2007... About 150 global companies with multiple banking relationships have been drawn to the SWIFT network to interact with their banks, utilizing both SWIFT's accessibility and public key infrastracture-based security standards. But those...

How to Win Fans and Influence Consumers: Banks are funneling more marketing dollars away from TV commercials and direct mail into sports sponsorships. But how do they turn fans into customers?
February 12, 2007... When Citibank announced a blockbuster 20-year deal recently to be the official bank of the New York Mets, which includes naming rights to Citi Field stadium, a lot of fans were agape at the $400 million price tag. But sports marketing experts...

The Dividend Dividend: It may not be new and exciting-but it's rewarding, especially in retirement portfolios.
February 13, 2007... What's not to like? An investment that is a great way to own solid companies, get a dependable return to combat inflation and generate steady income. It's even tax efficient. It's not a hedge fund, private equity, or other new derivative. In a...

New Improved EIAs: Could simplified models of this market-linked annuity make it a bigger draw for banks?
February 13, 2007... Equity-indexed annuities would seem a natural for sell for the wave of retirees starting to wash up on banking shores. EIAs allow holders to capture some of the gains from a rising stock market, without risking the invested capital-and receive...

Market Expansion: Cape Ann Trusts Automated Process: In order to serve Baby Boomers better, the Massachusetts community bank is automating the processing of mutual fund trades and trust management functions.
February 13, 2007... Gail Ramos says that in her job as vp and senior trust officer for Cape Ann Bank, the market changes so fast it requires her to reinvent strategy every five years or so. And the latest plan relies more on automated investment models with less...

Don't Shoot The Messenger: Yes, broadband video and marketing blogs are here. Suggestion? First, banks need to finally get e-mail marketing right.
February 13, 2007... A decade and a half after AOL hit the mainstream in the fall of 1989, e-mail is a ubiquitous, essential and inescapable part of daily life. The downside is that of the tens of trillions of emails sent around the globe, the majority are spam....