Banking Wire articles from November 2008

Banking Wire archives from November 2008

CU Offers Financial Makeover To Four Kansas Families: Ray Birch, Correspondent.
November 3, 2008... KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In the midst of a tough economy, four Kansas City families are showing credit union members how to improve the household bottom line, and in the process, one will win $10,000. CommunityAmerica Credit Union is midway...

CUJ Quick Reads: Because your time counts.
November 3, 2008... SCMS Creates Advocacy ROCKS! DALLAS-Seeking to take a "different tack" with their Advocacy Class, students at Southwest CUNA Management School (SCMS) wanted to inspire credit union leaders to become credit union activists. The result, a...

Study: Changing FOMs Demand Changed Market.
November 3, 2008... MADISON, Wis. -- As credit unions move away from single sponsors to multi-SEG and community charters, the face and behavior of credit union members is changing-meaning some long-held credit union strategies must change, as well. That's the...

Under the Microscope: Latest Developments In Research.
November 3, 2008... Financial Institutions Say Green Initiatives In Works ATLANTA-Nearly three-quarters (73%) of financial institution executives say they plan to build a new branch or undergo a major remodel of an existing branch in the next year and the vast...

FORUM CU's New Marketing Gurus Are It's Own Members.
November 3, 2008... INDIANAPOLIS -- FORUM Credit Union members like the credit union so much they're telling their friends about it. The word-of-mouth publicity FORUM is enjoying here isn't happening by accident. It's driven by a viral marketing strategy...

NOW IN THE MARKET.
November 3, 2008... Regional Auditor Acquires CU Firm MINNEAPOLIS-Accounting and consulting firm LarsonAllen said it is expanding its Washington, D.C., presence with the acquisition of Schreiner, Legge & Co., a popular auditor for large credit unions. ...

7. Mollie Hale Carter: President & CEO, Sunflower Bank.
November 3, 2008... Mollie Carter jokingly calls herself the accidental CEO. Although her family has owned Salina, KS-based Sunflower Bank for 116 years, nobody in her family had ever worked for the bank, other than to serve on its board of directors. "My...

8. Diane D'Erasmo: EVP and Regional President, Commercial Lending, HSBC Bank USA.
November 3, 2008... It's not always that a long-time employee of one institution survives and thrives after its acquisition. But Diane D'Erasmo, who worked at Republic National Bank for 20 years before HSBC purchased the smaller bank in 2000, has seen her career...

SMALL BUSINESS: Got Your Back: KeyBank's Fraud Tool: The Cleveland bank expands its small business treasury services to give the long-neglected segment a unique check/ACH fraud prevention tool.
November 3, 2008... KeyBank, which has been carving out a niche in the often-ignored small-business banking segment, is looking to extend that strategy with the introduction of a combined online check/ACH fraud prevention tool that allows small and mid-sized...

CORE SYSTEMS: Despite Tons of Talk Banks Don't Upgrade: Only three of the top 100 U.S. banks replaced their core systems in 2007, and there is little reason to believe that banks will suddenly adopt a "rip and replace" approach.
November 3, 2008... For vendors pitching in the U.S. core systems replacement market, it's always the third of July. Analysts and experts each year proclaim that large U.S. institutions' renewal and replacement needs are growing critical, so expect new...

CUs Help Each Other As MET Moves Into RCU.
November 4, 2008... EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -- Recalling the days when a larger credit union helped his then smaller operation to get off the ground, Royal Credit Union is returning the favor now that it has grown. After moving two departments to a central downtown...

NOW IN THE MARKET.
November 4, 2008... FirstClose Signs Arizona State CU PHOENIX-Arizona State CU and First Close, a service of First Lenders Data Inc., said they have entered into a business relationship where ASCU will access multiple mortgage settlement services through a...

Reverse Mortgages Popular, But Economy Adds To Risk.
November 4, 2008... FAIRFAX, Va. -- With the graying of the population, it's no wonder demand for reverse mortgages is on the rise-but that popularity is also coming at a time when it may be trickier for CUs to offer this product. "As more members are...

CU Nixes Closing Costs To Put Members In Home.
November 4, 2008... SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Instead of backing away from real estate loans like many financial services providers, one credit union is pushing all the harder, offering a unique mortgage refinance promotion with no closing costs. "What we did, in...

9. Sheila Schauer: President & CEO, Four Corners Community Bank.(Company overview)
November 4, 2008... Sheila Schauer loves math, opened her first checking account at age 11, and started work as a part-time bank teller when she was a junior in high school. But she says it's her passion-even "obsession"-for detail that best explains her success...

10. Charlotte McLaughlin: President and CEO, PNC Capital Markets, The PNC Financial Services Group.
November 4, 2008... Never mind the recent mayhem in financial markets: times are good for Charlotte McLaughlin, president and CEO of PNC Capital Markets. McLaughlin is riding a contrarian business boom over the last year in running a division which sells risk...

11. Catherine Keating: CEO, U.S. Private Bank, JPMorgan Chase.
November 4, 2008... "There is a frustrated writer in the heart of this banker!" So says Catherine Keating, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase's U.S. Private Bank-arguably the gold standard in wealth management-and a self-described "voracious" reader. Trouble is,...

12. Diane Reyes: Global Treasury and Trade Sales Head, Global Transaction Services, Citigroup.
November 4, 2008... Winning the Department of Defense's travel card business-the largest travel card program in the world-was hugely important. And Diane Reyes and her team weren't about to let it slip through Citi's fingers. So the Global Transaction...

Keep the Grid Going and Reap Rewards.
November 4, 2008... U.S. banks are among the largest commercial consumers of electrical power. They're in for a shock, too, as they open their utility bills in the months ahead: electricity rates, already high, are rising fast and poised to soar even higher. ...

Strategic GRC Yields Clear Payback.
November 4, 2008... Can a financial institution's governance, risk and compliance effort be a strategic tool, or is it simply a cost of doing business? Are compliance efforts simply items to check off an organizational "to do" list, or can best practices actually...

CU Investments Vast, But Limited.
November 5, 2008... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- NCUA said last week that federally insured credit unions held more than $76 billion worth of so-called agency bonds, those issued by one of the government sponsored enterprises, at mid-year. The vast majority of these...

'Nobody Immune' As Analysts Tally Market's Effects On Portfolios, Options.
November 5, 2008... WALL STREET -- Last week's earthquake in the financial markets was being felt throughout the credit union industry, as gyrating rates and a variety of holdings were delivering a major shock to balance sheets all over the country. "Look,...

NCUA Chairman Fryzel: 'No Time For A Passive Approach' To Any Problems.
November 5, 2008... WASHINGTON -- New NCUA Chairman Michael Fryzel promised last week to monitor credit unions closely during the ongoing financial crisis, that is pushing many institutions, including credit unions, to the brink. "Now is not the time for a...

The New CU Objective: Weathering The Storms: Lesson Learned On Capitol Hill: Prioritize Reg Reform.
November 5, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress from both parties agreed on one main lesson they learned from the ongoing financial crisis-the need for regulatory reform as a main priority for the next Congress. New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a leading...

'Turmoil' Sends Corporate CUs On An Up, And Then A Down Ride.
November 5, 2008... LENEXA, Kan. -- The travails of the financial markets the last two weeks have sent a handful of corporate credit unions on an up-and-down ride, lifting prospects, then depressing them, for billions of dollars in underwater mortgage securities...

In Texas, Wall Street Crisis Compounded By Damage From Hurricane Ike.
November 5, 2008... ALVIN, Texas -- In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, which battered the Texas coast and ripped inland all the way to the upper Midwest, credit unions are demonstrating their resiliency and dedication to serving members. As Credit Union...

13. Amy Woods Brinkley: Global Risk Executive, Bank of America.
November 5, 2008... Though mired along with the rest of the financial sector in the blow-off from the housing market collapse, the mortgage-backed securities tsunami, and what looks to be a global economic cooling, Bank of America has avoided the big losses...

14. Diane Thormodsgard: Vice Chairman & Head of Wealth, Management & Securities Services, U.S. Bancorp.
November 5, 2008... With markets off as much as 20 percent over the past year, many investors are jittery about their futures. To the uninformed, it might sound like a bad time to be running a wealth management business. Diane Thormodsgard, however, sees the...

Take Steps To Head Off An IP Audit.
November 5, 2008... Compliance has been an ongoing discourse in the banking sector (and, the financial services industry, in general) since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Both a mantra and curse, financial institutions continue to struggle to maintain best...

For Cost Cuts BPO and SaaS Still Deliver.
November 5, 2008... Banks are constantly looking for ways to dramatically reduce their IT costs. According to the November 2007 Gartner report IT Mass and Complexity Drive Banks' IT Expense, some banks have already launched programs targeted at cost reductions in...

'Red Flag' Still At Half Mast: CUs Gear Up To Comply With New Reg.
November 6, 2008... SCRANTON, Penn. -- Credit unions are mixing technology with manual processes as they work to gradually comply with "Red Flag" rules. "Most of the monitoring we do now is manual," said Charlene Jeffers, operations manager at $98-million...

ON DEADLINE.
November 6, 2008... CUs Urge Against Merging Financial Regulators TOPEKA, Kan.-This state's CUs are urging the legislature to reject a plan that calls for merging the Kansas Department of CUs, the Kansas Banking Commissioner's Office, and the Kansas Securities...

CU Voters' Guide Also Targets Lawmakers.
November 6, 2008... ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Credit Union Association of New York has released its 2008 voters' guide-a move that is as much about educating credit union advocates about which lawmakers are "CU-friendly" as it is about letting those lawmakers know...

WOCCU Lobbies Against Anti-CU Legislation In Poland.
November 6, 2008... GDANSK, Poland -- Representatives of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) are meeting with legislators here after legislation hostile to financial cooperatives was proposed to the Polish Parliament. Participants in a WOCCU engagement...

Its FOM Restricted, Members 1st FCU Has Message For Bankers.
November 6, 2008... MECHANICSBURG, Penn. -- The bankers may have convinced a federal judge to scrap the broad community charter for Members 1st FCU, but that won't slow down the rapid growth of the $1.4-billion credit union. "If the bankers thought they...

California CU League Is Awaiting Word On Data Security Bill.
November 6, 2008... SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The countdown continues toward a Sept. 30 deadline for a data security bill to be signed or vetoed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Melissa Ameluxen, state legislative and regulatory lobbyist for the...

WORTH NOTING.
November 6, 2008... Mission FCU Taps Schwarz As CEO SAN DIEGO-The $1.8-billion Mission FCU has named Debra Schwarz as its new president and CEO after having served in that capacity on an interim basis since April of this year. Schwarz has more than 25 years...

For Now, No National Data Security Legislation In Sight: Michael Bartlett, Reporter.
November 6, 2008... SACRAMENTO -- A credit union-backed data security bill is sitting on California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk awaiting his signature-but don't expect similar legislation to make its way to a U.S. president's pen any time soon. That is...

15. Kathleen Murphy: CEO, ING US Wealth Management, ING Group.
November 6, 2008... For a little performance pressure, nothing beats having your business unit identified as a key global growth engine by your bosses during the worst financial crisis the banking industry has seen in a generation. That's exactly what Kathleen...

16. Iris Chan: EVP, Head of Commercial Banking, Wells Fargo & Company.
November 6, 2008... You wouldn't know it by talking to the soft-spoken leader that she is, but Iris Chan, head of commercial banking at Wells Fargo, has turned cross-selling into an art. "Wells Fargo is very strong in middle market business," according to Judson...

States Not Holding Their Breath Waiting On Congress.
November 7, 2008... DALLAS -- The near-unanimous opinion of those interviewed: action on the state level is helpful in building momentum towards national data security legislation, but much more work must be done before Congress shakes off inertia. But as...

Calif. Bill Heads To Governor's Desk-Again.
November 7, 2008... SACRAMENTO -- The California CU League backed legislation that passed both state legislative houses in 2007 before falling to a Schwarzenegger veto last fall. League representatives were told the veto was prompted by a possible effect on...

Data Security Law Already In Place In Oregon.
November 7, 2008... BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Pamela Leavitt, SVP-governmental affairs and public relations for the CU Association of Oregon, noted the state passed comprehensive identity theft legislation in 2007. The bill, known as the Oregon Consumer Identity...

Action In States Could Pressure Congress To Act.
November 7, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Dillon Shea, director of political affairs for NAFCU, said while he is not familiar with the efforts of state lawmakers, "Certainly the more things are passed at state levels creates incentives to get things passed at the federal...

Washington State Shoots Down Security Bill.
November 7, 2008... FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- The state house here passed data security legislation last year before getting hung up in the state Senate. Stacy Augustine, SVP for the Washington CU League, said WCUL sponsored the bill and will continue to fight to hold...

'Really Big, Big, Big Issue' No Go In Texas.
November 7, 2008... DALLAS -- An effort to pass data security legislation in Texas died when the 2007 legislative session ended-which is especially problematic in a state whose lawmakers meet every other year. Buddy Gill, chief advocacy officer for the Texas CU...

Offering Some Different Views On 'Once-A-Century' Events.
November 7, 2008... I was at a meeting last week in Orlando when someone observed that the front page of that morning's USA Today was all about one topic: risk management. There was coverage of the damage from Hurricane Ike competing with coverage of Tropical...

1st Step In Defending Against Identity Thieves: Don't Hire Them.
November 7, 2008... Despite the increased media attention and numerous forms of protection out on the marketplace, identity thieves continue to wreak havoc on businesses and their employees and customers. And there are no signs of stopping. Credit unions have...

17. Barbara Stymies: COO, Royal Bank of Canada.
November 7, 2008... Barbara Stymies had a busy summer. In July, the 14-handicapper partnered with professional golfer Fred Couples to win the Pro-Am at the RBE Canadian Open in Toronto. She also caught a six-pound salmon while fly-fishing near her family cottage...

18. Deanna Oppenheimer: CEO, UK Retail Banking, Barclays Bank.
November 7, 2008... As the only female member of the Global Retail and Commercial Banking business leadership team at London-based Barclays Bank, Deanna Oppenheimer knows a little something about facing challenges on two continents. In her three years at...

19. Beth Mooney: Vice Chair, Community Banking, KeyCorp.
November 10, 2008... Much in the industry is shrinking, but in two years at the helm of KeyCorp's new 8,800-person Community Banking unit, the word that describes Beth Mooney's tenure is growth. For 2008, Key Community Banking has had seven-percent growth in...

20. Cynthia Smith: SVP and Director of BankCard Products and Services, Zions Bancorporation.
November 10, 2008... Cindy Smith is a master at keeping things plastic. As Zions Bancorporation's svp and director of BankCard Products and Services, Smith has inspired her division to triple revenues over the past three years while increasing operational expenses...

21. Ellen Alemany: CEO, RBS Americas, Citizens Financial Group.
November 10, 2008... As any writer will tell you, a simple blank sheet of paper can be a daunting thing. Back in mid-2007, Ellen Alemany was handed her own blank sheet of paper, on quite a grand scale, when Royal Bank of Scotland hired her as CEO of RBS Americas....

22. Ranjana Clark: Senior EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Wachovia Corp.
November 10, 2008... Wachovia's recent moribund financial performance has been called "disappointing and unacceptable" by its own chairman, Lanty L. Smith But thanks to a handful of shrewd initiatives by Ranjana Clark and her team, attention's been brought to the...

23. Alberta Cefis: EVP & Group Head, Global Transaction Banking, Scotiabank.
November 10, 2008... It's a good thing Alberta Cefis likes to travel so much, because as Scotiabank's head of global transaction banking, she does a lot of it. The Toronto-based bank has offices in 50 countries, and Cefis' division contributes a big and growing...

24. Jacque R. Fiegel: Evp & COO, Coppermark Bank.
November 10, 2008... As a 32-year veteran of Oklahoma City-based Coppermark Bank, Jacque Fiegel is proud of many of her bank's accomplishments over the past couple of years. But there's one figure that stands out: $1 billion in total assets, as of June 2008. ...

25. Lisa Binder: President and COO, Associated Banc-Corp.
November 10, 2008... Lisa Binder's first stretch on the job as president and COO hasn't been easy. Associated Banc-Corp, Wisconsin's second-largest bank, has been hit hard by the housing crisis. "When you look at our numbers, the area that shows the most stress is...

1) Colleen Johnston.
November 10, 2008... Two compelling threads comprise the 2008 story of TD Bank Financial Group and Colleen Johnston, its CFO: the $500 billion bank is one of very few North American institutions that didn't write down a single penny in subprime mortgage losses, and...

2) Carol Nelson.
November 10, 2008... Slumping home values and a teetering economy may justify lower revenue projections for the banking industry, but Carol Nelson's work ethic, which she attributes in part to her Japanese-American heritage, has her once again exceeding...

3) Avid Modjtabai.
November 10, 2008... The economy may be tanking, but demand is still driving hard in one regard: the relentless thirst for technology. American finance is one of the central proving grounds for this and, as CIO at one of the country's most tech-forward...

Big Losses At NCUSIF Raises Questions About NCUA Acting As Insurer.
November 11, 2008... [The Sept. 15 CU Journal Daily Briefing] article [Losses Mount At NCUSIF]noting the largest single-month loss for our fund has given me and should give all credit union's pause. It is long overdue for a reconsideration of the Regulator/Insurer...

NOW IN THE MARKET.
November 11, 2008... CSCU Schedules Workshops CLEARWATER, Fla.-CSCU has released the schedule for its upcoming Card Growth Workshops aimed at helping CUs strengthen the performance of their credit and debit card programs. Workshops are slated for: Sept....

As markets stumble, Losses Continue To Mount At NCUSIF.
November 11, 2008... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- NCUA said losses for the National CU Share Insurance Fund continued to grow in July, as the credit union deposit insurance fund reported its biggest single- month loss ever of more than $225 million. The July losses...

More Ailing CUs Are Seeking Merger Solution at NCUA.
November 11, 2008... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Red ink is forcing more credit unions into the arms of a merger mate, as increasing numbers of troubled credit unions have announced plans to combine in recent weeks. Central Florida Healthcare Federal Credit Union, the...

Key Player In TJX Cards Data Breach Pleads Guilty.
November 11, 2008... BOSTON -- One of 11 individuals charged in the data security breach at TJX Cos. and numerous other retail chains pleaded guilty to his role in the largest ever theft of credit card information. As part of his plea deal with prosecutors,...

Coffers Swell at Alaska CUs.
November 11, 2008... ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The state's 12 CUs recently were inundated with new deposits, as the state paid its residents $1.6 million worth of annual Permanent Fund Dividends and "resource rebates." About 500,000 residents received up to $3,269...

Mazuma Contest To Reward Gen Y.
November 11, 2008... KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Young members of Mazuma CU can win up to $9,000 worth of prizes and have their videos chosen as the credit union's television commercials as part of a contest launched to promote its new social networking site, called WAYA,...

Members Line Up For Sale On Gas.
November 11, 2008... WESTLAND, Mich. -- Drivers waited patiently in line at a local Mobil station and a BP station in Dearborn to fill up their tanks at a 25-cents-a-gallon discount, courtesy of Livonia-based CO-OP Services CU. The gas special allowed motorists...

4) Elyse Weiner.
November 11, 2008... In the past 18 months liquidity concerns have gone from the bottom of most executive worry lists to the very top. "Sometimes it's all they want to talk about," says Elyse Weiner, Managing Director and Global Head of Liquidity and Investments,...

5) Maura Markus.
November 11, 2008... How has Citigroup's International Consumer Banking unit performed during the past 12 months of financial market turbulence? Revenues are up, assets have increased, and deposits have risen. The group has been "managing and growing our business...

Member Wins $1,000 'Swipestakes'.
November 12, 2008... RALEIGH, N.C. -- Michelle Hunt, a member of Local Government Employees FCU won $1,000 from her CU just for swiping her debit card in the CU's "Swipestakes." The contest celebrates the credit union's 25 years of service. It is open to any...

How 1 CU Maintains Close Relationships Even After Opening Up Its FOM.
November 12, 2008... HAMPDEN, Maine -- The small, single-sponsor credit union advantage is a close relationship with its members. The challenge is maintaining that edge after a field of membership expansion. But that's just what Bangor Hydro FCU has managed to...

Credit Unions In The Media.
November 12, 2008... The Long Beach Press Telegram detailed a checking program from First City Credit Union that has raised more than $26,000 for three local charities. The newspaper offered coverage of First City's Reality Check program, which pays $25 to each new...

NOW IN THE MARKET.
November 12, 2008... SoftPro Wins Stevie Award JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-Lender Processing Services Inc., a provider of technology and services to the mortgage industry, announced that its SoftPro division has won a Stevie Award for Best Customer Service Organization...

Silver Linings.
November 12, 2008... The past month has been nothing short of shocking in the sheer breadth and speed of the economic changes we've seen. We are living through historic times. People will look back on the great credit crisis of 2008 the way they reference 9/11 or...

Tech Support.
November 12, 2008... The BankInvestmentConsultant.com Website has been abuzz with advisors using our discussion boards to air their fears and prognostications about what's happening in these treacherous markets. Mindy Diamond, head of recruiting firm Diamond...

6) Lynn Pike.
November 12, 2008... As president of Capital One Bank, Lynn Pike is grappling with the credit crunch like everyone else. But she also has a much more elemental question to address: can two recently acquired banks with wildly divergent geographies and cultures find...

7) Mary McDowell.
November 12, 2008... Mary McDowell's experience running 10 marathons is the sort of endurance training that's well suited to today's credit crisis - which just seems to go on and on and on. She is president and CEO of CitiFinancial North America, which offers...

Crisis Woes Mean Less Focus on Innovation. Bad Timing.
November 12, 2008... A major player in the industry recently remarked to me that his greatest concern was that the credit crisis would diminish innovation, something that would only worsen an already difficult market environment. It's understandable why such...

M&A: Consolidation Threatens IT Spending: With four of the nations' largest retail banks becoming two, expect a dose or two of bloodletting. Just when that happens is anybody's guess.
November 12, 2008... In Wells Fargo, Wachovia, JPMorgan Chase and Washington Mutual, the financial tech industry had four of its biggest customers, adding up to about 20 percent of North American retail bank IT spending a year, according to TowerGroup. You can...

Directions Scores Chance To Be Part Of ABC's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'.
November 13, 2008... TOLDEO, Ohio -- A new home for a deserving family was constructed from Sept. 7 to 14 for the Toledo edition of the ABC television series "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," and Directions CU here was proud to be one of the lead sponsors. The...

NOW IN THE MARKET.
November 13, 2008... TNB Acquires Parda Portfolio DALLAS-TNB Card Services has acquired the $10-million credit card portfolio of PARDA FCU in Michigan. The acquisition adds more than 5,000 cardholder accounts to TNB's card portfolio. For info:...

OCCU Sponsors Endangered-Species Carrousel At Santa Ana Zoo.
November 13, 2008... SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Orange County's Credit Union and its members donated more than $12,500 to sponsor the new Endangered-Species Carrousel at the Santa Ana Zoo in Prentice Park, Calif. The effort was part of a "Community Spirit Project" to...

Repeat Sales, Not Explanations: Ability To Track Interactions A Critical Tool.
November 13, 2008... ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Members can't stand it when they have to restate their case each time they contact the call center, according to Leslie Ellis, CEO of Credit Union 1 here. "With 55,000 members across the state, it's impossible to track...