Banking Wire articles from January 2008

Banking Wire archives from January 2008

Study Finds State Charters Are Serving, Low-, Middle-Income Folks.
January 1, 2008... ARLINGTON, Va. -- The majority of members served by state-chartered credit unions are low- and middle-income workers, according to a study released by the National Association of State CU Supervisors (NASCUS) last week. The study, which...

On Deadline.
January 1, 2008... Congress Moves To Protect Forgiven Debt WASHINGTONCongress passed legislation last week to protect mortgage borrowers from having to pay taxes on debt forgiven in a bankruptcy or restructuring, which is expected to prompt an increase in...

N.Y. CDCUs Meet To Help Fight Poverty.
January 1, 2008... NEW YORK -- The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) held a special gathering at its offices with a goal of identifying ways to fight poverty in this city. The meeting brought together CDCU leaders from New...

High Schoolers Help Create Campaign; 150 Accounts Opened.
January 1, 2008... LIMA, Ohio -- Superior Federal Credit Unions newest marketing campaign came from an unlikely sourcea group of high school students. In February, the junior-year Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) class from Lima Senior High...

Fed Cuts Being Seen In Card APRs.
January 1, 2008... NEW YORK -- Reductions in the prime rate by the Federal Reserve are starting to show up in more attractive terms on credit cards. During October, the average Single/Go-to APR based on credit card solicitations was 12.51%, down from 12.94% in...

Worth Noting.
January 1, 2008... BizKid$ Set To Go In January FEDERAL WAY, Wash.PBS television stations in 31 states have committed to broadcast the BizKid$ TV series sponsored by Americas Credit Unions to teach kids about money. Starting in early 2008, the 26-episode...

Two Families Win $10,000 In GECU's 2007 Savings Challenge.
January 1, 2008... EL PASO, Texas -- What if someone told you that you could win $10,000 just by being on a reality show about budgeting and paying down debt? Thats just what happened to two fiscally disciplined families who won Greater El Paso Credit Unions...

High Marks For Freedom CU.
January 1, 2008... PHILADELPHIA -- Freedom Credit Union was given the highest mark of credit unions in the Delaware Valley during a TV news Broadcast by local CBS affiliate channel 3. As part of Reporter Jim Donovans story on findings by Consumers CHECKBOOK, the...

Avanzamos Recognition Awarded.
January 1, 2008... FARMERS BRANCH, Texas -- The Texas Credit Union League has just awarded the Juntos Avanzamos designation to Shell FCU in Deer Park. The designation signifies that the credit union has a long-term vision and commitment to serving the needs of...

'Twister' Funds Are Distributed.
January 1, 2008... FARMERS BRANCH, Texas -- The Texas Credit Union Foundation (TCUF) received a donation of $17,000 for its Financial Literacy Fund from the Credit Union Twister board. The Credit Union Twister board oversees the Texas Twister 10K in Austin,...

Members Always Know The (FICO) Score At PSECU.
January 1, 2008... HARRISBURG, Penn. -- Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union is providing members with their FICO scores on a monthly basis to help them better understand what affects their credit-and better manage their finances-in this tough economy. ...

The Gift That Keeps On Joining: MCU Program Draws Members.
January 1, 2008... ROSEVILLE, Mich. -- Credit unions have come to recognize that life changes, such as young adults moving on to college or marriage, are opportunities to attract new members inexpensively. But few have developed programs to effectively leverage...

Effective Site Design Seeks To Drive Desired Member Behavior At DuPage CU.
January 1, 2008... NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Extending the credit union's reach via the Internet has become a necessity for most CUs. But to ensure sites drive business rather than take up space on the Web, design should focus on the transactions the credit union wants...

An Ordinary Strategy, Extraordinary Results.
January 1, 2008... LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State University FCU attributes its exceptional three-month summer loan promo results-which include reaching 168% of its mortgage lending goal-to candy bars and the human touch. Joyce Banish, VP of marketing for...

Less Paper + More Productivity: It Adds Up To Savings At Monroe County CCU.
January 1, 2008... MONROE, Mich. -- Monroe County Community CU clamped down on employees having to shuffle paper-a process that only increases expenses and slows member service-by moving ever closer to the much-vaunted paperless work environment. The...

The Good News Challenge: CU, CUSO Tackle Mortgage Servicing Issues.
January 1, 2008... BASKING RIDGE, N.J. -- The good news for Affinity FCU and its CUSO, CUMAnet, was that by July 2007 it had grown to more than 6,000 mortgage loans in its servicing portfolio. The bad news was it had outgrown its ability to efficiently manage...

AD Beat: FirstBank Highlights Its Sec***ty: The Colorado bank hopes to build on its success with twenty-somethings with an advertising campaign touting its online and mobile security.
January 1, 2008... It's not often a bank with $8 billion in deposits focuses an ad campaign on its online and mobile security features. But when 40 percent of that bank's growth over the past two years has come from adults aged 24 and younger, telling a...

When Boom Goes Bust: The banking industry can't fully rebound without a housing recovery; housing can't recover without banks loosening the lending strings. Throw in what has the makings of a crippling recession, and bankers in markets like Las Vegas, southwest Florida and central California, where home prices have imploded the most, are holding on for their lives. Can they ride out the storm? Can the rest of the industry?
January 1, 2008... The towering casinos that line the strip have long defined Las Vegas. This decade, Sin City became known as a boomtown as well, its population surging 30 percent between 2000 and 2006, to 1.8 million people. The ensuing spike in housing demand,...

Golden Pacific De Novo Has Statewide Aspirations: With its fresh capital and community focus, the Sacramento-based bank holding company believes it can successfully build a network of community banks despite a very tough market.
January 1, 2008... This might not seem like the most opportune time to open a de novo. But Kirk Dowdell, the CEO of Golden Pacific Bancorp, isn't planning to open just one bank, he envisions a whole fleet of community banks scattered throughout California. The...

Another Bank's UnHappy Clients Are Prime Prospects: Consumers are more likely than ever to research banks' checking account options and make a switch. That makes customers easier to lose, but it's also an opportunity to lure them away.
January 1, 2008... Of the many lessons learned from the financial meltdown, perhaps the greatest is the value of deposits. And with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs jumping into the fray, competition for deposits is only going to get fiercer. Given this reality,...

On Deadline.
January 2, 2008... Pacific NW Storms Close, But Don't Damage CUs OLYMPIA, Wash.-The strong storms that roared through the Pacific Northwest last week led to the closings of several credit unions in Oregon and Washington, but no reports of damage to...

TJX Cos. Agrees To Pay As Much As $40.9M In Data Breach Case.
January 2, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- The parent company to TJMaxx and Marshalls last week announced it had agreed to pay as much as $40.9-million to settle litigation filed by Visa, Fifth Third Bancorp and other payment card issuers over the retailer's failure to...

Loan-To-Share Ratio Hits 2-Decade High.
January 2, 2008... MADISON, Wis. -- Thanks to a combination of accelerated loan growth and flat savings growth, the CU community's overall loan-to-share ratio has hit its highest mark since 1979, according to CUNA. Data show the ratio rose to 84.3% in October...

Mass. CU, Bank Still Pursuing Merger As Some Question How Deal Came To Be.
January 2, 2008... HAVERHILL, Mass. -- Executives at Northeast Community CU and Haverhill Bank are working with regulators to get the go-ahead for their unusual merger, which some see as by-passing the normal member disclosure procedure for credit unions...

Enterprise Wide Risk Mgmt. Society Is Being Formed.
January 2, 2008... COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Corporate One FCU has chartered a Credit Union Enterprise Wide Risk Management Society (Credit Union EWRM Society), with a mission to educate CUs and develop consensus around enterprise wide risk management. The founding...

Worth Noting.
January 2, 2008... $26M Loan Auction This Week FORT MYERS, Fla.-As reported earlier by Credit Union Journal, NCUA and Boston-based DebtX plan to hold an online auction to sell $26-million in bad loans the agency is managing after taking control of the failed...

CURIA COUNTER 138.
January 2, 2008... At press time, the number of co-sponsors on the CURIA bill. 217 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

1 CUSO (Wescom Resources) Acquires Another (eCU Technologies).
January 2, 2008... PASADENA, Calif. -- Wescom Resources Group (WRG), a CUSO of Wescom Credit union that provides Internet Banking and other solutions, has acquired another CUSO, eCU Technologies, a unit of Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union. The...

New Jersey's CUs, Banks Seek To Provide Some Mortgage Relief.
January 2, 2008... HIGHTSTOWN, N.J. -- New Jersey's Department of Banking and Insurance and Department of Community Affairs, along with representatives of financial services institutions in this state, have announced a public-private alliance designed to both...

Now In The Market.
January 2, 2008... CO-OP Moves Anti-Fraud In-House RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.-CO-OP Financial Services announced it has moved its anti-fraud center and its 20 analysts in-house. The new Fraud Service Center was created to focus on CO-OP member credit unions...

Trade Assn. Execs On The Air, In The Air.
January 3, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The CEOs of the two major credit union trade associations are getting some air time. NAFCU President Fred Becker appeared on Washington's 24-hour local cable news channel, NewsChannel 8, as part of a report on identity theft....

Wear Beard, Shoot Photo, And Kids Get 10 Bucks.
January 3, 2008... HOLLISTER, Calif. -- Redbeard Communications, a marketing and branding agency, has sent a Christmas card to some 700 credit unions in which it encourages recipients to remove the red beard from the card, take a photo of themselves wearing the...

CUs In World of Sports, World of Banking, World Of Language.
January 3, 2008... As you're all too aware, we are approaching the happiest and most joyous season of the year-by that, I mean, of course, college bowl season. What you may be less aware of is that a credit union is the title sponsor to one of those bowls: the...

Why Cooperative Finance Models Should Focus On Teaching A Man To Fish.
January 3, 2008... There is no doubt that most people have heard the parable, "give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime." Traditional financing models often miss this important psychological element of...

CUs Should Stop Blaming The People They're Supposed To Help.
January 3, 2008... The Credit Union Journal's recent Mortgage Mess coverage (CU Journal, Nov. 26) is not only amusing, but a joke as well as an insult to anyone of average intelligence. Wescom Credit Union reports more than $9 million in losses and...

Will Mistakes Of The Few Outweigh The Good Of The Many?
January 3, 2008... Unfortunately, it has become a truism in the credit union industry that the many will pay for the mistakes of the few. The National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) stands to lose hundreds of millions from the speculative real estate...

Research: Do You Really Know What Your Staff Thinks Of Your CU?
January 3, 2008... Many management gurus claim employee satisfaction and accomplishments are keys to organizational success. That's why it's critical to truly understand what employees feel and think. One approach to assessing employee satisfaction is to conduct...

CUs Lobby Against Reforming Mortgages VIA Bankruptcy.
January 3, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Credit unions continued to lobby against themselves last week over solutions to the continued meltdown in the mortgage markets. On the one side were the traditional credit union lobbies, CUNA, NAFCU and NCUA, telling Congress...

Local Government FCU Refinances Subprime Loans.
January 3, 2008... RALEIGH, N.C. -- Local Government FCU said it mortgage refinance program aimed at helping subprime borrowers stay in their homes has refinanced $6 million in mortgages for 50 families. "We understand that some people simply got into a bad...

Federal CUs Can't Self Insure for Collateral Protection.
January 3, 2008... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Federal credit unions cannot replace third-party collateral protection insurance and private mortgage insurance with their own internal programs, according to NCUA. Credit unions may not self insure, as was proposed by...

Greylock Offers Insurance Discount.
January 4, 2008... PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- In conjunction with the first ever Long Term Care Awareness Week, Greylock Insurance Agency and Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America announced an arrangement enabling Greylock FCU members to secure long term care...

Padak Appointed To Commission.
January 4, 2008... NAPERVILLE, IL. -- Frank Padak, CEO of Scott Credit Union was recently appointed to the Illinois Electronic Recording Commission. The Illinois Electronic Recording Commission consists of the Illinois Secretary of State and 14 other...

Anoka CUs To Merge Dec. 31.
January 4, 2008... COON RAPIDS -- Anoka Hennepin Credit Union (ACHU) and Anoka County Federal Credit Union (ACFCU) will officially become one financial cooperative on Dec. 31, following the recent vote of the members of the Circle Pines-based ACFCU. The...

NCUA Posts Record CDRLF Loan Volume.
January 4, 2008... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- NCUA last week announced its Community Development Revolving Loan Fund had reached its threshold, having processed 40 loans totaling over $7 million during 2007 and bringing the total fund to more than $13 million. This is...

Stepping Up.
January 4, 2008... While our cover story, "Year of the Bull," on page 14, shows just how bullish program managers are about the success of advisory business this year, how much support their efforts get from the bank remains a serious problem. This is clear...

Banks Are No. 1 in Growing Funds Assets.
January 4, 2008... Banks are likely to grow their mutual fund assets faster than any other distribution channel, according to a new report by market research firm Financial Research Corp. in Boston. What's more, banks should be able to grow net sales at almost...

As the Credit Crisis Worsens, All Banks Suffer: The growing resentment in the banking community runs the gamut from the presumed industry bailout of Countrywide to the backlash of waning consumer confidence in bank stocks.
January 4, 2008... Ringing in the New Year generally involves making resolutions aimed at improving ones situation, personal or professional. The start of this year will certainly bring with it one helluva hangover, but the remedy for what ails industry players...

Crime: Websites Help Nab Today's Bonnie & Clyde Wannabes: Using the public's private eyes to catch thieves.
January 4, 2008... From coast to coast, more than a dozen Internet sites are helping to snare bank robbers by posting their photos and gathering public tips. Over the past 13 months, the FBI has either funded or backed three sites dedicated to catching bank...

Hiring: IT Recruiters Gear up for a Busy Year.
January 4, 2008... Credit crisis, revenue pinch wont dent most hiring Despite the global credit crunch, more than half of U.S. financial services firms are planning to increase hiring in 2008, with IT and sales staff in greatest demand, according to a survey by...

Systems Integration: Command Center CRM.
January 4, 2008... PNC upgrades with Siebel for ambitious single view of sales channels At PNC its referred to as the portal. At Rabobank, its reportedly called the cockpit. Whatever the name, it signifies how important cross-departmental CRM platforms are...

Layoffs Caused By Mortgage Market.
January 7, 2008... SAN DIEGO -- USA FCU, which reported a third quarter loss of more than $1.1 million, said it laid off 30 employees, about 10% of its workforce. Officials with the $700-million credit union said the losses were attributable to rising...

AFCU Pays Out $5-Million Bonus.
January 7, 2008... TULAHOMA, Tenn. -- Ascend FCU said it will pay a bonus dividend to members of approximately $5 million this month. The refund, the third consecutive year the credit union has made the payment, will be calculated as a percentage of total...

San Francisco Asks Lenders Help.
January 7, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Mayor Gavin Newsom called on the city's lenders to help forestall thousands of expected foreclosures by reaching out to at-risk borrowers and modifying loan terms for those who have made timely mortgage payments. Among the...

SECU Offers Biweekly Payments.
January 7, 2008... RALEIGH, N.C. -- State Employees CU announced it has added a payment option to its mortgage program that will allow homeowners to make semi-monthly payments. Officials with the credit union giant said they believe the biweekly...

Capitalizing on Charitable Contributions.
January 7, 2008... Your altruistic clients are missing a chance to save while giving to charity, according to a new Fidelity report. Internal Revenue Service data shows itemized charitable deductions totaled $166 billion in 2004, and $123 billion, or 74% of that...

Bank Brokerage: A Bright Spot amid Subprime Woes.
January 7, 2008... It's all over the media-the subprime crisis is hitting banks hard with huge write-downs, falling stock values and significant job cuts. Is it time to panic? Industry observers don't think so. While parent banks are suffering, the effect is...

Shareholder Suits Against 2 Banks Show Depth of Subprime Debacle.
January 7, 2008... And so it goes. Shareholder suits citing the subprime nightmare have been filed against both Citi and Countrywide Financial in the last month, highlighting how fiercely the storm continues to whirl on Wall Street. The November 5 lawsuit, which...

Noted and Noteworthy.
January 7, 2008... Nearly two thirds of stolen personal data is used to open a new credit line in victims names, according to a survey by Identity Theft Resource Center. Charges made to such accounts ranged from between $50 and $500,000 and, in aggregate,...

Database: What's In a Name?
January 7, 2008... Much more than bank identity management systems can handle Its somewhat incredible that fifty years into the digital age, large data-intensive, data-driven organizationsfinancial institutionsare still confronted with questions about the...

Debating The Top Technology Trends Of 2008.
January 7, 2008... The new year brings many things: resolutions, a chance to rethinkproactively where banking is headed, and, of course, a set of predictions on the top technology trends of 2008. Celent issued a recent report with its annual forecast for the...

Floundering Home Prices Are Taking A Bite Out Of Home Equity Car Loans.
January 8, 2008... ARLINGTON, Va. -- During the recent run-up in home prices (approximately 2003-2006 in most markets), consumers reportedly were using their home equity to pay off auto loans, or even to purchase cars, but credit unions can expect to see that...

For Members With Credit Issues, 'New Road Loan' Offers 2nd Chance.
January 8, 2008... PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Greylock Federal Credit Union has launched an auto loan product for consumers with impaired credit but who also have a willingness and ability to make their loan payments. The New Road Loan Program resets every six...

NAFCU Analysis Sees Auto Sales In The Slow Lane.
January 8, 2008... ARLINGTON, Va. -- In his analysis of vehicle lending trends, NAFCU Economist Dr. Tun Wai noted that while vehicle sales actually increased slightly to 16.2-million annualized units in November, the year to date average of 16.1-million units is...

Now In The Market.
January 8, 2008... CUDL To Host Booth At NADA RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.-CUDL said it will represent more than 600 credit unions at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention for the fifth consecutive year, when the group meets in San...

BofA's ATMs Talk Retirement.
January 8, 2008... Later this month, Bank of America is following up its new print and online retirement advertising campaign, with complimentary messaging on the 10,000 of its 18,000 automated teller machines (ATMs) that are equipped to handle advertising. ...

PNC Sells Hilliard To Buoy Internal Biz @By#By Paul Davis, American Banker.
January 8, 2008... PNC Financial Services Group is selling its brokerage unit, Hilliard Lyons, opting to invest instead in its own internal advisory operations. The bank concluded that it had to "invest in the Hilliard brand and build that out or simply...

Street Still Cool to Super SIV Fund: Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has been pushing the idea for a super SIV fund for nearly three months, but the idea has yet to take off. Is it too self-serving?
January 8, 2008... Given that BlackRock emerged unscathed from the credit and mortgage failures, its selection as manager of the proposed $50 billion super structured-investment-vehicle fund of Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America has lent credibility to...

Customer Feedback: Will Research Tactics Of Egg Hatch at Citi?: There's much to admire in Egg's marketing machine, such as how it quickly gathers client feedback. The trouble Citi confronts is whether the service translates into profits.
January 8, 2008... Citigroups purchase of the UK-based Internet bank Egg could have a much bigger impact going ahead than the $1.13 billion deal would indicate, bringing not only new accounts and credit card balances into the fold but also introducing Eggs...

Card Processing: Shake Down, or Shaking Hands?: Heartland alleges that Chase Paymentech is using close ties with a restaurant acquirer to undercut competition and rip off merchants. Will its suit spur challenges to fight processor and POS arrangements?
January 8, 2008... Heartland Payment Systems calls it insidious. An analyst says its a commonly known practice. A point-of-sale vendor at the center of the dispute refutes it as a mythology. All three groups are describing what Heartland alleges is a tying...

News Makers.
January 8, 2008... China Syndrome: Hack In The Works? A leaked letter from an MI5 intelligence official in the U.K., as well as a new report from McAfee, each warned that specific hacking attacks from China were hitting the U.K., the U.S. and Germany. The...

How 1 CU Says Thanks To Its Members.
January 9, 2008... SANTA ANA, Calif. -- The only increase Orange County Teachers FCU is seeing this holiday season is in credit card balances. But Erin Mendez, senior VP-Finance, said that's not indicative of the holiday season, just of the economy. Instead...

Now In The Market.
January 9, 2008... Alliant CU Signs On With CU 24 TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Credit Union 24, Inc., the only national credit union-owned POS network in the U.S., said that the $4.5-billion Alliant Credit Union has become the newest member-owner of the Credit Union 24...

'Fear' Is Driving Investment Decisions.
January 9, 2008... DULUTH, Ga. -- The financial markets have all but abandoned the traditional measures used to determine value for investing, with fear becoming the ruling determinant for decisions, according to Sarina Freedland, AVP-Investment Services for...

NFCU, Freddie Partner To Help Military.
January 9, 2008... HAMPTON, Va. -- Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) and Freddie Mac have joined in an initiative to expand homeownership opportunities for military families, that includes affordable mortgage products and financial education workshops in the...

Morningstar's VARDS Comes Under Fire.
January 9, 2008... Over the past summer, rumors surfaced that major participants in the annuity industry-carriers and broker-dealers-were dissatisfied with Morningstar's Variable Annuity Research and Data Service (VARDS), on which they rely for crucial...

Year Of The Bull: Despite a lurking bear market, this could be the year that bank brokerage finally comes into its own.(Company overview)
January 9, 2008... While growth in the year ahead may not break any records, the bank advisory business has become a bright spot against the dark cloud of the subprime mortgage crisis. At the same time, a general tightening of margins on deposits and a squeeze on...

Direct Banking Appeals To the Up-and-Comers: The direct-banking sector pioneered by ING Direct and Egg is booming, thanks to great savings-account interest rates. But can growth continue without other products?
January 9, 2008... At the turn of the millennium, direct banking was viewed as being almost taboo. Internet upstart ING Direct was scoffed at by the traditional, stodgy brick-and-mortar banks. Now the bank is the envy of the booming direct-banking sector, defined...

AD Beat: At 2 Banks, Rethinking Rebranding Strategies: Severn Savings Bank of Maryland and Willow Financial Bank of Pennsylvania both needed a new brand image. But each needed a dramatically different execution strategy.
January 9, 2008... When Severn Savings Bank did a recent phone survey of Marylands Ann Arundel County, executives learned two things. One, potential customers in the Chesapeake Bay community would join a community bank. Two, not many people were aware of Severn....

ID Theft: Assessing the Impact of An Odd ID Theft Survey: The Federal Trade Commission's latest survey seems to prove the difficulty, and maybe futility, of measuring identity theft crime. Will it be used to set back prevention efforts?
January 9, 2008... When the Federal Trade Commission launched its first identity theft survey in 2003 it was cited endlessly, and became a landmark in defining the magnitude of the challenge and influenced subsequent victim assessments. But its new survey...

Top Tech Deals.
January 9, 2008... Number One Metavante Technologies signed a merchant processing deal with Discover Financial Services, covering acquiring and processing, settlement, pricing, statements, risk management and customer service. Metavante clients gain more POS...

How 1 CU Says Thanks To Its Members.
January 10, 2008... SANTA ANA, Calif. -- The only increase Orange County Teachers FCU is seeing this holiday season is in credit card balances. But Erin Mendez, senior VP-Finance, said that's not indicative of the holiday season, just of the economy. Instead...

Now In The Market.
January 10, 2008... Alliant CU Signs On With CU 24 TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Credit Union 24, Inc., the only national credit union-owned POS network in the U.S., said that the $4.5-billion Alliant Credit Union has become the newest member-owner of the Credit Union 24...

'Fear' Is Driving Investment Decisions.
January 10, 2008... DULUTH, Ga. -- The financial markets have all but abandoned the traditional measures used to determine value for investing, with fear becoming the ruling determinant for decisions, according to Sarina Freedland, AVP-Investment Services for...

NFCU, Freddie Partner To Help Military.
January 10, 2008... HAMPTON, Va. -- Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) and Freddie Mac have joined in an initiative to expand homeownership opportunities for military families, that includes affordable mortgage products and financial education workshops in the...