Banking Wire articles from October 2005

Banking Wire archives from October 2005

Rebuilding Lives & Livelihoods: Online Access Savior For Many.
October 3, 2005... BATON ROUGE, La. -- For even the hardest-hit of credit unions, one location is high, dry and open for business after Hurricane Katrina-the online branch. "Judging by the traffic, online banking is much needed and has helped us reach out...

Many CUs Not Expected To Live.
October 3, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- A disaster recovery team led by NCUA, data processors and other private vendors and civil relief workers had succeeded in restoring some operations to all of the 139 credit unions in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama damaged...

Congress Mulls Ways To Help CUs, Banks After Storm.
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Congress was working last week on a slew of bills that would aid victims of Hurricane Katrina and the institutions, including credit unions and banks, that were carrying a heavy load in the relief effort. Lawmakers were...

CUs Repairing From Katrina, As Others Preparing For Rita.
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- As recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina continue, Gulf Coast credit unions were bracing for an equally scary Hurricane Rita in a one- two punch from Mother Nature that threatens to lock down a number of credit unions,...

Rep. Still Wants To Limit NCUA Powers.
October 3, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Congressman Patrick McHenry wants to limit NCUA's powers to regulate credit union conversions to bank charters. The freshman House member said last week the credit union regulator should focus on overseeing the process of...

Storms May Slow Growth In '05, Says Economist, But Will Help During '06.
October 3, 2005... LAS VEGAS -- Despite the hysterical proclamations by some economists in the wake of the devastation of New Orleans and other cities in the Southeast by Hurricane Katrina late last month, the economy is "doing pretty good," according to Dr....

CUs Get $3.9M In FA Grants.
October 3, 2005... NEW YORK -- Credit unions were significant winners of the Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund's FY 2005 Financial Assistance (FA) Grants. A total of $32,847,674 in grants was given out in the FA...

On Deadline.
October 3, 2005... Regulatory Relief Likely Dead WASHINGTON-A bill to provide credit unions and banks with regulatory relief is expected to die again this year in the Senate, even as the House prepares to vote on the credit union-backed measure. Senate...

Frankly, An Award Recognition That's Long Overdue.
October 3, 2005... In all of Global Credit Union Land-136-million members spread across 91 countries-there is just one, lone, solitary point upon which all credit unions everywhere agree (unless you count the fact most agree they don't agree). And it's a...

ITems.
October 4, 2005... Fiserv Sees EFT Volume Surge FBROOKFIELD, Wis.-Fiserv, is reporting that its EFT business unit has seen record volume in key transaction categories for the first six months of 2005. The company reported volume of 2.28 billion...

STRESS & IT: Tech Execs Talk About The Job's Toll-And How To Avoid Paying One.
October 4, 2005... RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Although employees work under "heavy stress," and managers are hurting for specialized skills, Information Technology staffing is "adequate," according to three credit unions of various sizes. "The demand to turn...

Tech News Briefs: OSI Hosts Exec Forum; Adds New CU Clients.
October 4, 2005... HALF MOON BAY, Calif. -- Open Solutions Inc. hosted more than 40 senior executives during a Credit Union CEO/Directors Forum here. The meeting brought together the key leaders of Glastonbury, Conn.-based Open Solutions' senior management...

SLCCU Learns To Make Right Offer At Right Time At Right Price.
October 4, 2005... ST. LOUIS, Miss. -- Talk to members about the right offer at the right time for the right price. That's what St. Louis Community Credit Union officials are looking for after implementing Cross Sell and Tracking offered from Integrasys....

Reader Question #1.
October 4, 2005... What do you think of so-called 'spear-phishing?' A third-party has offered to phish all of our members for whom we have e-mails. Those who respond will be sent e-mails explaining what happened and warning members not to respond to such requests...

Reader Question #2.
October 4, 2005... What we can do about all this report-generating capacity?! Every solution we have can generate a myriad number of reports, which vendors always use as a sales point. Is there any way to compile all this information to make it more digestible...

10th CU Signs For aaBeck's WebMRM.
October 4, 2005... CHICAGO -- aaBeck Technology Group said it has signed its 10th credit union client to use its online, automated targeting and delivery system, called WebMRM. The most recent to go live with the solution is Oak Trust Credit Union, Oakbrook...

Numerous CUs Move To Symitar Solutions.
October 4, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- Symitar Systems has announced numerous credit unions moving to its solutions. Moving to its Cruise and Episys core solutions were: Oregon Pioneer FCU; Wyandotte Community FCU; Communications Family CU; Financial Partners Credit...

PassMark Security Acquires Vocent Solutions.
October 4, 2005... MENLO PARK, Calif. -- PassMark Security, a developer of Internet authentication systems, has acquired Vocent Solutions, a developer of authentication solutions for the telephone channel. Vocent's voice authentication solutions will expand...

Digital Insight, TriCipher Enter Partnership.
October 4, 2005... CALABASAS, Calif -- Digital Insight Corp. has entered into a strategic partnership with TriCipher, Inc. (www.tricipher.com), a provider of authentication technologies, to help enhance online banking security. Multifactor Authentication is...

Bluepoint, CUTEK Alliance Is On Display.
October 5, 2005... VISTA, Calif. -- Bluepoint Solutions, a provider of document management solutions for credit unions, and CUTEK, a new leader in technology integration services for credit unions, said initial results of their alliance will be demonstrated at...

IntegraSys Renews Agreements With 54 CUs.
October 5, 2005... FRISCO, Texas -- IntegraSys, a business unit of Fiserv, Inc., reported that it has renewed agreements with 54 credit unions to continue delivering the company's advanced core processing solutions. "Those solutions feature innovative...

Service Bureau Is Live; Skip Payment Debuts.
October 5, 2005... HARRISBURG, Penn. -- eCU Technologies, an automated financial service technology provider and a CUSO of Pennsylvania State ECU, has gone live with its new service bureau solution at the $45-million Choice CommunityCU, Greensboro, N.C. Choice...

USERS Hosts More Than 500 At EdCon.
October 5, 2005... LAS VEGAS -- USERS, Inc. hosted more than 500 attendees at its EdCon 2005, the company's 22nd annual educational conference, at the JW Marriott here. The focus of the meeting, entitled "Leadership Through Collaboration," was on best...

ONE's Technologies Marks 20th Anniversary.
October 5, 2005... FERNDALE, Mich. -- ONE's Technologies is celebrating its 20th year anniversary. The CUSO of Credit Union ONE specializes in providing credit unions with an array of information technology services such as online core processing, network...

Matz Exits With Concern Over Pace of CU Growth.
October 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- In her final appearance as a member of the NCUA Board, Deborah Matz said she is concerned about slow membership growth throughout the credit union movement. Membership growth was just 1.4% last year and is hovering around 2%...

Fed Again Boosts Funds Rates By Another 25 BPs.
October 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve boosted short-term rates again last week, and signaled more rate hikes are likely in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It raised the target rate for overnight Fed Funds by 25 basis points, to 3.75%, the 11th...

CUNA Makes $99K In Donations To Supporters.
October 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- CUNA made $99,000 in congressional campaign contributions last month, most of it targeted at House and Senate leaders, or lawmakers sponsoring CU-favored legislation. The largest contributions in August went to: House...

Clinton Helps Celebrate Affordable Housing Mark.
October 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- New York Sen. Hillary Clinton celebrated last week with representatives of her state's CUs the surpassing of a $100 million affordable housing goal. The New York CU Loan Fund for Underserved Neighborhoods, created during NCUA's...

The CU Journal Daily.
October 5, 2005... Shared Branching Ads Launched SEATTLE-The Washington CU League said 19 of its credit unions have contributed $500,000 to finance a television advertising campaign for the state's shared branching system. The campaign, designed by...

CEO At Beleagured New Orleans CU Says NCUA Needs To Be Understanding.
October 6, 2005... BATON ROUGE, La. -- ASI FCU CEO Audrey Cerise's letter to the NCUA Board and staff, which described the plight of her community development credit union that serves the poorest of the poor in beleaguered new Orleans, appears to be both a...

Reporter's Notebook-Driving Through Katrina's Wake.
October 6, 2005... GULF COAST -- Like most reporters who came to the hurricane stricken states, I was taken aback by the extent and violence of the damage that followed Hurricane Katrina. Growing up in South Florida, I have been through more storms than I can...

Pumping up Loan Volume: As Gas Prices Soar, CUs Have Responded With Special Loans On Hybrid Automobiles, Rebate Offers & More.
October 6, 2005... NEWARK, Ohio -- Free gas. It's an offer that has piqued the interest of many members at Fiberglas Federal Credit Union here, tired of paying as much as $3.09 per gallon. The CU, in conjunction with one of its SEGs, Englefield Oil,...

In Other News.
October 6, 2005... Western Division Expands BUFFALO, N.Y.-Western Division FCU said it has become the first CU in its region to be approved for a multi-county community charter by NCUA. Under the new charter, anyone who lives, works, worships, volunteers, or...

Sign of the Times, Indiana CU's Message Earns It Publicity.
October 6, 2005... BUCHANAN, Ind. -- It was a simple message below the marquee meant to bring humor to an otherwise serious situation, climbing gas prices. "We're now offering gas loans," stated the sign that also offered the time and temperature. And,...

FinancialEdge Extends Gas Rebate Program.
October 6, 2005... BAY CITY, Mich. -- FinancialEdge Community Credit Union said it will continue to help members weather skyrocketing gas prices by extending its special gas rebate program until the end of the year. The credit union had offered to rebate 5%...

BECU Rescues Manufactured Home Community.
October 6, 2005... TUKWILA, Wash. -- BECU has come to the rescue of owners in a manufactured housing community in nearby Mill Creek, Wash., who have had difficulty selling their homes or refinancing to take advantage of recent low mortgage rates. The...

Kenyan Delegation Visits NCUA Headquarters.
October 6, 2005... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- NCUA hosted a delegation of Kenyan credit union officials and professionals at its offices here. NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson greeted the delegation, which included the chief executive officer from the Kenya Union of...

Product & Service.
October 6, 2005... Diebold, TSS In Security Alliance NORTH CANTON, Ohio-Diebold has entered into an agreement with Trusted Security Solutions (TSS) to offer an end-to-end solution for deploying cryptographic keys to ATMs. Together, Diebold and TSS offer both...

Wyoming CUL Meeting Touts 1-In-3 Status.
October 6, 2005... ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. -- More than 60 professionals and volunteers from 17 credit unions turned out for the 48th Annual Meeting and Convention of the Wyoming Credit Union League in Rock Springs, Wyoming. The meeting was themed "1 in 3: The...

Internal Attacks: Banks' Biggest Exposure Is From Within: Deloitte findings reveal a spike in internal incidents.
October 7, 2005... The amount of attention the press has given to ID theft, data breaches and phishing suggests that these are the greatest security threats faced by institutions. But while these external dangers can't be discounted, other hazards-notably...

Checks: Small Check Printer Goes Against Grain: Shrugs off concerns of shrinking check volume.
October 7, 2005... A small check-printing company is making some noise in the shadow of the industry's big boys, Deluxe Corp. and John H. Harland Co. Georgia-based Acom is pursuing community banks and credit unions to provide its check-printing services,...

Web-site Redesign: A Nod to Function: Bank of the West works out the kinks on its site.
October 7, 2005... Bank of the West's iconic brown bear was in no danger of being flushed when the BancWest-owned San Francisco institution went through a Web-site redesign a year ago. The view of the bank's operations, on the other hand, needed a substantial...

Measuring Likelihood of Consumer Adoption of 'Cool' Tech.
October 7, 2005... The pace of technological innovation across industries-financial services, media, entertainment and healthcare, for example-is at once greater than consumers could have hoped for and more promising than corporate America could have imagined....

Battle Of Tech Titans: Oracle Vs. Sap: Smoke, But No Fire: Bank platform war salvos only warming up.
October 7, 2005... Figuring out who's winning the SAP-Oracle battle in banking platform services doesn't require a scorecard yet. But an umpire might help. Despite each company's high-profile gambits to siphon away the other's application customer base, and...

Numerous CUs Remain Closed.
October 7, 2005... FARMERS BRANCH, Texas -- State leagues along the Gulf Coast are still working to identify credit unions hit by Hurricane Rita even as the Louisiana league continued to distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to CU employees displaced by...

Hurricanes In Gulf May Affect Building Codes Everywhere.
October 7, 2005... ST. LOUIS -- Your credit union may be far from the coastline, but it could soon feel the effects of recent hurricanes anyway-in the form of new building codes. In the wake of Hurricane Andrew in Miami in 1992, Miami-Dade County...

New ABA Chair 'Rabid Anti-Credit Unionist'.
October 7, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- In an unsual personal attack launched at CUNA's Future Forum last week, top CUNA executives criticized Harris Simmons, the Utah banker who was scheduled to be named chairman of the American Bankers Association. Under...

Donovan Exits NAFCU For Firm.
October 7, 2005... WASHINGTON -- In a surprising move last week, long-time NAFCU executive Bill Donovan, announced he is leaving the national trade association to become a partner in well-known Washington law firm, Venable LLP. "This is one of those things...

Matz Departs NCUA Hoping To Have Made A Difference.
October 7, 2005... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Three and a half-years after joining a federal agency she admits she knew little about, Debbie Matz has exited the NCUA board hoping to have made a difference during her term. Matz resigned her NCUA board seat Sept. 30,...

On Deadline.
October 11, 2005... CUNA Expects To Show $1M In Net Income SAN FRANCISCO-CUNA said it expects to report net income of around $1 million for 2005. The net income is down from 2004, when the national trade association reported a net of $1.8 million. As a result,...

NCUA, Export/Import Bank Sign Memorandum.
October 11, 2005... WASHINGTON -- NCUA has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Export-Import Bank of the United States that seeks to strengthen financing support for America's small businesses. NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson and Ex-Im Bank Acting Chairman...

NACUSO Seeking To Fill President/CEO Position.
October 11, 2005... LAS VEGAS -- The National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations (NACUSO) is seeking a full-time president. Victor Pantea, president of Member Gateways, LLC, South Bend, Ind., has been serving as interim president since the...

Graham Named As New CEO At SunCorp.
October 11, 2005... DENVER -- SunCorp has named former Kinecta FCU President Thomas Graham as its new CEO. Graham fills a vacancy created by the departure of Eric Kenealy, who was let go by SunCorp. Graham has a 25-year history in credit unions, including seven...

Michigan CEO To Visit All 7 Branches-By Bike.
October 11, 2005... PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- Community Financial Credit Union CEO Bill Lawton has set out to visit all of its seven branches-by bike. A longtime biking enthusiast, Lawton is taking his vacation with a bike tour of the credit union's seven branches,...

News Makers.
October 11, 2005... Roundtable Assembles New Check fraud Unit The Financial Services Roundtable has launched its next initiative in combating check fraud. The FSTC's check imaging and truncation standing committee will oversee an industry project to develop...

Top Tech Deals.
October 11, 2005... Number One Oracle Corp. continued its expansion into the business applications field by acquiring customer relationship management player Siebel Systems in a $5.85 billion stock and cash transaction. Siebel has a customer base of 3.2...

Network Security: An Arkansas Bank Protects Communications Inside- out: ANB Bank is embracing biometrics as part of a project that also includes safety measures that work throughout the network, to meet the increasing threat of internal sabotage.
October 11, 2005... A couple of years ago, good security meant a good firewall at the periphery of your network. Today, given the wide range of threats that are coming at financial institutions, both internal and external, that is no longer enough. Instead of...

Legacy System Conversion: It's Finally Time for Banks To Learn New Languages: The cost to manage old core systems is going up, and the talent pool that knows the old systems is shrinking. Maybe that means the time to convert is now.
October 11, 2005... For banks that have been developing core banking applications since the 1970s and are still relying on those codes, the costs to manage those systems will likely be increasing, while the pool of talent that understands those systems will...

Vetting Customers: Authentication Today Means More Questions: Plus: Surcharge-free ATMs set up shop at the Astrodome from Cardtronics and Ventus.
October 11, 2005... George Waller, evp and co-founder of Strikeforce Technologies, has been selling identity security technology to firms for a number of years, enough time to know that proving you are who say you are in today's climate is much harder than it used...

Seizing Opportunities.
October 12, 2005... This issue's cover story explores what the largest banks are doing to lure new talent, encourage fee business and retain staff through the various permutations of deferred compensation. It also discusses how these banks are almost exclusively...

How Katrina Could Play Out in the Markets.
October 12, 2005... Although economists and Wall Street's investment strategists tend to view hurricane Katrina's impact as short-lived, the biggest U.S. natural disaster in memory may end up prolonging the hot real estate market. And, depending partly on just how...

Treasury Touts Benefits Of Direct Deposit In Ads.
October 12, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve last week rolled out a nationwide campaign urging Americans to use direct deposit for Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and other federal benefit payments....

Loan Rate Is Discounted If Vehicle Is Fuel Efficient.
October 12, 2005... DENVER -- With the price of gasoline near or over $3 per gallon in many areas of the country, one credit union here is offering to discount the APR on its auto loans depending on the vehicle's mileage per gallon. New Horizons Community...

Help Offered With Fuel Costs As Winter Nears.
October 12, 2005... QUINCY, Mass. -- As fuel prices continue to rise, Quincy Credit Union has introduced a new loan product to help members "ease the burden" of unforeseen heating expenses in the coming months. "We began looking not only at the gasoline prices...

Worth Noting.
October 12, 2005... NCUA To Host Public Hearing ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA will host its fifth annual Budget Briefing and Public Forum at hits headquarters here Oct. 19. The meeting will run from 10:00 a.m. to noon. NCUA described the meeting as an opportunity to...

Stemming Losses: Bridging The Silos Of Fraud Management: New research from AITE say that while many banks still have single managers handling reports from anti-fraud units, most agree that detection should be handled on a single platform.
October 12, 2005... Banks are finding success in efforts to stamp out check and card fraud losses. But, on an enterprise level, the culprits are still finding a way into the house. Loan-related fraud losses in the past five years have shot up from 19 to 30...

Making Personal Inroads with Businesses.
October 12, 2005... Susan Pittman President, CEO and Chairman Wheatland Bank Wheatland Bank operates on the premise that, while it's a business bank, it shouldn't have to lose share simply because its customers want a product that isn't part of the...

Talent Tinkering: Banks Prep For Next Battle: John Stumpf. Ajay Banga. Steven Freiberg. Deanna Oppenheimer. Michael Amatto. Terri Dial. Richard Anthony. Alvaro de Molina. What do they have in common? They're the face of banking's future.
October 12, 2005... The recent spate of reorganizations and promotions at major banks is a telling indicator of stiffening competition and ambitious, if not expansive, agendas. Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Synovus, Washington Mutual, Barclays and...

Management Shakeup: As Magner Breaks Rank, Analysts Size Up Deputies: Observers concede the loss of an outperformer.
October 12, 2005... The past 12 months at citigroup has been anything but predictable. Marjorie Magner, chairman and CEO of Citi's Global Consumer Group, made things that much more interesting in late August when she abruptly announced she would step down October...

Student Loans: Slashing Origination Fees Keeps Banks Competitive: Seeking a 'total relationship' with students.
October 13, 2005... Many banks are starting to cover students' origination fees for education loans. But geography will determine how far three percent gets them. To better compete in the highly competitive market, more banks have begun paying the federal...

Fresh Ink.
October 13, 2005... 1. Sun Bancorp plans to acquire Advantage Bank in a cash-and-stock deal worth $37 million. The deal, which will add $166 million in assets to Sun, will enable it to grow more effectively into a contiguous New Jersey market, say officials. Sun...

Health Savings Accounts: As HSAs Multiply, So Do Tech Plays: With a market predicted to surpass that of 401(k)s, health savings accounts are becoming the hottest commodity. The market's explosive potential also has tech providers' tongues wagging.
October 13, 2005... Got milk? In a few years, health savings accounts, or HSAs, will be a fundamental banking product, a staple, like milk in a grocery store, says John Reynolds, svp and business director for Wells Fargo's health- benefits service. Right now,...

Payroll Cards: City National Removes Branch Clutter With E-salaries: Salary debit cards create a safe, quick way for the unbanked to get paid. But liability issues loom that could hinder high adoption.
October 13, 2005... City National Bank of Florida could see a potential problem from the traditional methods some of its business customers were using to pay their largely unbanked employees. These payroll methods often required the bank to dispatch tellers...

How To Become The Chief Executive-Of Your Own Job.
October 13, 2005... Staying on top of your job and career is no easy task these days. By becoming CEO of your own job, you take 100% responsibility for what you do, how well you do it, and what results you produce. You don't rely on "they" to take care of you, to...

Ten Steps To Providing Directors With Better Board Packets.
October 13, 2005... Do you yearn, as I often do, for a simpler time? Who wouldn't? In the early days of the credit union movement, board members came together and looked at reports every couple of weeks, typically monthly. They talked about loans, committee...

Where Indirect, Subprime Lending Fits Within Credit Unions.
October 13, 2005... With my background as both a former credit union CEO and NCUA Chairman, I am approached frequently by credit union executives who ask my thoughts as to whether they should be involved in indirect lending in general, and third-party, subprime...

What CUs In The Western U.S. Have Planned For Rest Of Year.
October 13, 2005... RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. -- Credit unions in the western half of the United States will be busy as 2005 winds down and the calendar moves to 2006. Here's a look at what lies ahead: CALIFORNIA RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.-The...

Arab Bank's $24 Million Lesson: Your Clients' Clients are Yours, Too.
October 13, 2005... The New York branch of Arab Bank has agreed to pay a $24 million fine for its systemic failure to follow Bank Secrecy Act anti-money- laundering rules, as sought by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of the Comptroller of...

Noted and Noteworthy.
October 13, 2005... Many kids want to become big-league ballplayers or firemen when they grow up, but not Louisiana Little League catcher Jordan Romero, who wants to be a bank president. The 12-year-old's dream came true in July, when MidSouth Bank in...

Community Banks Press IRS Change: De novo and startup banks are eager to consider LLC status. But to be truly worthwhile, an IRS rule change is needed to make the switch more tax advantageous. So what's the holdup?
October 14, 2005... All eyes are on the Internal Revenue Service this fall as its Office of Tax Policy responds to intensifying pressure from lawmakers, lawyers and community banks to modify the IRS code to give a tax break to state- chartered institutions that...

ROI Measurement: A Crystal Ball For IT Success: IT executives mention ROI frequently when pondering new initiatives. But going beyond a "money in/money out" metric is fundamental to measuring success.
October 14, 2005... As Wachovia Mortgage Group's director of operations, Tom Wood watched the refinance boom gather steam in recent years and wondered whether the bank was doing all it could to capitalize on it. "We believe we lost a lot of opportunities," he...

Family Banking: Keeping The Kids Tethered To The Nest: Corillian's new product allows parents to better manage their teenagers' financial lives. The upside for banks? A foot in the door to future customers as they grow up and move on.
October 14, 2005... What is the best way for a bank to capture teen and young adult loyalty? Corillian Corp. hopes to convince client institutions they can start with constraints on the purse strings. Keeping spendthrift college students away from their cash...

Protecting Customer Data: Grappling With Lost Data, Broken Trust: Data loss is an institution's worst nightmare. And with high profile cases like CardSystems, the largest players are playing damage control with customers-and facing the ire of Congress.
October 14, 2005... By force of numbers alone, this year is going to be remembered for a long time as the moment when it became stunningly obvious that customer data is anything but secure. This raises the question: just how much of an effect on customer trust...

CU Mortgage Lenders Cautioned To Keep Eye On RESPA Legislation.
October 14, 2005... LAS VEGAS -- Credit unions are being urged to keep a close eye on efforts to reform several aspects of the real estate and mortgage lending markets, including proposed changes to RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) and oversight of...