Banking Wire articles from September 2004

Banking Wire archives from September 2004

Republicans Target Maine Rep (And CU Director).
September 1, 2004... Republicans have set their sights on Rep. Michael Michaud, the credit union director who narrowly won Maine's second congressional seat in 2002. The race has attracted a lot of attention from the Republicans because it is one of a handful of...

CU Support Returns To Pennsylvania's Holden.
September 1, 2004... Credit unions have switched their support back to Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA) in the race for the state's 17th District this year. The six-term incumbent is expected to win reelection, even though his opponent, Scott Paterno, is son of the legendary...

People.
September 1, 2004... Redwood Credit Union, Santa Rosa, Calif., named Daniel A. Hutchison vice president of business services, and elected Steve Sharpe, Gregory diPaolo, and Krishna Kumar to its supervisor committee. Redstone Federal Credit Union, Huntsville,...

Community Page.
September 1, 2004... CTCEFCU Treats Members To Game READING, Penn.-CTCE Federal Credit Union sponsored a night out at a Reading Phillies baseball game for more than 1,500 members. UHCU Celebrates Members ROUND ROCK, Texas-United Heritage Credit Union...

The CU Journal Daily.
September 1, 2004... Va. Sets New FOM Boundaries RICHMOND, Va.-The state's Bureau of Financial Institutions said it approved a request from Newport News Shipbuilding Employees CU to serve almost 500,000 residents in the area known as Hampton Roads. The...

A 'California-Like Deal With Columbia Board.
September 1, 2004... Four members of a dissident group of Columbia CU members are expected to add their name to that of four incumbents and what is expected to be numerous other candidates on the ballot for four board openings in election called for September. The...

$600M Silver state Schools To Private Insurance.
September 1, 2004... Silver State Schools Family FCU said it has completed the conversion to private deposit insurance, the second largest credit union to opt for private insurance. Effective July 1, member deposits for the $600-million credit union are insured by...

Striking Out From Labor Union?: Group Of Unionized Employees At CUNA Mutual May Break Away.
September 1, 2004... A group of CUNA Mutual Group employees who are frustrated with the current impasse over a union contract have begun an unusual drive to separate from the Local 39 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union and create their own...

No Hard Approach To Software: How 1 CU Handles The Development Of Various Solutions.
September 1, 2004... Software development at MacDill FCU is a Zen thing-programmers may follow shifting ideas during the development process, and they remain open to third-party solutions that may better serve members. "As we move through the software...

Call To ARMS-And Other Products: More CUs Exploring Variety Of New Mortgage Options.
September 1, 2004... Credit union members are apparently listening to the advice offered by Alan Greenspan. The Federal Reserve Chairman told attendees to CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference in February that consumers may want to consider adjustable-rate...

Group Of CMG Employees Says It Has Signatures To Form Unit.
September 2, 2004... The labor conflict at CUNA Mutual Group intensified last week with a group of employees claiming they had gathered enough support to separate the company's union, the local 39 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union,...

The Second Storm: Charley's Gone, But Problems Are Just Beginning, Says Veteran of Andrew.
September 2, 2004... Credit unions working to help members and employees rebuild their lives after Hurricane Charley can expect a chaotic two years or so before things "get back to normal," according to one credit union in the Miami area that went through similar...

Awareness Of CU Option Lags While Remittances Grow.
September 2, 2004... The competition is growing in the international remittance market, and while credit union leaders say their International Remittance Network (IRnet) offers much more than just money transfers, awareness and lagging volumes remain issues of...

CCUL: Big Banks To Join The Anti-CU Fight.
September 2, 2004... After years of remaining in the background, several of the nation's largest banks are gearing up for a legislative attack on California's credit unions, an official with the California CU League warned. Bob Arnould, the California...

Survey Rates The Credit Union Journal As 'Most Valuable'.
September 2, 2004... The Credit Union Journal was rated as the most valuable among publications serving credit unions, according to a readership study conducted by Readex Research. An independent research firm, Readex said it found The Credit Union Journal...

On Deadline.
September 2, 2004... Sale Of Bank Stocks Pushes CU To #1 LYNN, Mass.-Windfall profits of $2.9 million this year on the sale of bank stocks-permissible holdings under state regulations-helped make Brotherhood CU the most profitable credit union in the nation in...

Study: Web-Based Tech An Aid In Repo Sales.
September 2, 2004... Dealer auctions and innovative Web-based auction technology are helping many credit unions sell their increasing numbers of repossessed vehicles faster and at higher prices, despite the tough competition in today's resale market, says a new...

NAFCU Presses NCUA To Not Be Overly Narrow.
September 2, 2004... In a comment letter to NCUA on implementing the affiliate marketing provisions of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT) of 2003, NAFCU said it believes the agency is being too narrow in defining "pre-existing business...

Mass. CU Turns To CMG Program For New Capital.
September 2, 2004... Winthrop FCU, a low- income credit union bumping up against NCUA's net capital standards, has become the first credit union to test pilot CUNA Mutual Group's new secondary capital product, called Capital Notes. The $33-million credit union,...

Founders Federal Latest To Hit $1 Billion In Assets.
September 2, 2004... Founders FCU is the most recent CU to join the billion-dollar club, having surpassed $1 billion in assets. Ninety CUs have reached the billion-dollar mark. "Without a doubt, Founders owes each of its successes to its member," said CEO...

Satisfied CU Boards Don't Micromanage, Study Suggests.
September 3, 2004... Boards that don't seek to micromanage the credit union are the most satisfied, according to a new study that seeks to determine satisfaction among credit union volunteers. The new report from the Filene Research Institute examines the...

CUSO Offering Discounted Drug Program.
September 3, 2004... Blue Line Financial Group, a CUSO of Cleveland Police Credit Union, has partnered with Heritage Consulting Group of Cleveland to offer a discounted drug program to member credit unions. For $19.95 a month, members of participating credit...

Worth Noting.
September 3, 2004... Pete Crear Fund Is Unveiled ATLANTA-The African-American CU Coalition (AACUC) and the National CU Foundation (NCUF) have created the Pete Crear Fund to help foster the coalition's mission of financial literacy, minority internship and...

Banks' Message To Lawmakers Is 'The Never Ending Lie'.
September 3, 2004... With all due respect to noted 70s rockers Bonnie & Delaney, I think it is fair to say that the theme song for the latest banker attacks on credit unions could be, "I've Got a Never Ending Lie For You." The hallmark of this latest round is...

Why You Shouldn't Sell, But Actively Manage Your Cards.
September 3, 2004... Remember the good old days, when credit card portfolios managed themselves and a credit union could focus solely on their core loan products? Well, times have changed and the complacent portfolio manager is a thing of the past. Those credit...

Why The Broad Membership Survey Still Has Great Value.
September 3, 2004... In recent years, general member surveys have taken a backseat to research that focuses on members' experiences with individual transactions. While it's important to gauge performance at the transactional level, broad membership surveys still...

Product & Service.
September 3, 2004... U.S. Central Sees Sharp Increase LENEXA, Kan.-As the second quarter ended, U.S. Central said it saw a sharp increase in demand for overnight funds, coinciding with a 25- basis-point increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve. Average...

One CU Employee Has Particular Bond For New Americans.
September 3, 2004... Even before she joined the staff of Desert School Federal Credit Union on June 7, Emma Garcia knew how important it could be to personally reach out to metropolitan Phoenix's underserved Hispanic population. As a naturalized U.S. citizen,...

Product & Service.
September 3, 2004... CENTRIX Hits The $2-Billion Mark CENTENNIAL, Colo.-CENTRIX Financial, a financial management and services firm, said its loan originations since 1998 have now surpassed the $2-billion mark, and that it is on track to underwrite a total of...

Have Mortgage, Will Travel: Members Warming Up To Portable Home Loans.
September 3, 2004... Earlier this year, Provident Credit Union member Ronald Angeldones spent months searching for a starter condominium in the high-priced housing market in the San Francisco Bay Area. In June, when he finally found a good candidate, he knew...

Customer Confusion.
September 7, 2004... One of the most interesting observations in our coverage of banks' separately managed accounts business this month comes in an interview with veteran market researcher Marcia Selz (see page 40). Marcia worked on a project that involved lots...

IFMG Is Top Third-Party Marketer in ABA Rankings.
September 7, 2004... Third-party marketers (TPMs) are largely satisfying their bank clients in terms of providing products to sell, but they fall short in the marketing support needed to sell those products, according to a recent survey. The survey of 282...

Targeted VAs Must Meet Investor Needs.
September 7, 2004... First it was mutual funds; now it's their insurance cousins, variable annuities. Annuity providers will have to come up with more carefully designed product solutions in the near future to meet the needs of specific investor niches. That's...

Securities Inactivity Dampens Bank Results.
September 7, 2004... Typical of several large banks with securities operations, Wachovia Corp.'s second quarter results reflect the public's muted enthusiasm for investing this past spring. Despite a 13% rise in second-quarter revenue in its wealth management...

Product News.
September 7, 2004... AIG SunAmerica has launched its High Watermark target maturity funds, with target dates of 2010, 2015 and 2020. The funds' investments include S&P 500 index futures, non-callable U.S. government securities and high-grade money market...

Targeting Non-Profits: VanCity Finds Healthy Lending Market In Non-Profits.
September 7, 2004... The not-for-profit VanCity Credit Union has found an appropriate lending niche-other non-profit groups. As part of its renewed focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), VanCity has been aggressive in reaching out to non-profit...

Success Stories In Financial Planning Share Strategies.
September 7, 2004... Credit unions that have built successful programs in financial planning and investment services shared lessons they've learned along the way here. Their insights were presented to more than 50 senior executives from 47 credit unions and...

Financial Lit Effort Aimed At Teens, Young Adults.
September 7, 2004... Bayer FCU has unveiled a new financial literacy program geared toward teens and young adults called Generationz. Generationz is designed to give young people, ages 12 to 18, the tools they need to obtain financial literacy and become masters of...

Press Working Olympics Carry Credit Union Card.
September 7, 2004... Reporters and other staff with the Associated Press who covered the Summer Olympics in Greece carried stored-value Visa cards developed specifically for them by Card Services, an affiliate of the New York State Credit Union League. The card was...

11 Texas Credit Unions Backing Cooperative Campaign.
September 7, 2004... Eleven area credit unions have developed a cooperative advertising and education campaign to explain the credit union difference to consumers. The initiative, called the Credit Union Difference, will soon launch a multi-media campaign to market...

Tax Holiday-Driven Check Spike Smaller Than In Past.
September 8, 2004... Southwest Corporate Credit Union is reporting that it saw its daily check volume spike by nearly 500,000 items during a three-day tax holiday in Texas during which the state exempts taxes on back-to-school purchases at less than $100. The...

Product & Service.
September 8, 2004... CenCorp Hosts Check 21 Webinar SOUTHFIELD, Mich-Central Corporate Credit Union (CenCorp) hosted a Check 21 webinar for about 300 credit union representatives. Joe Baressi, an attorney with the Federal Reserve, discussed the Check 21 Act...

CU's New Magazine Makes It The Biggest In The Market.
September 8, 2004... A new, full-color magazine called "Connections" made its debut to nearly a quarter-of-a-million Redstone Federal Credit Union members. The publication, created and developed in-house, includes 16 pages of "creative, fresh and informative"...

Mortgage CUSO Retooled To Give Each CU An Identity.
September 8, 2004... Wright-Patt Financial Group has packaged its mortgage products into a separate division it believes will allow member CUs to feel a stronger sense of ownership. Called myCUmortgage, it offers the same mortgage processing operation and...

Social Responsibility & The BOTTOM LINE: Community Grants. A Self-Imposed Annual Social Audit. Ethical Investing. Why Canada's VanCity Says It's Worth It.
September 8, 2004... Can the value of demonstrating social responsibility be shown on the bottom line? The answer is a definitive yes, according to one of the world's largest (US$6.75 billion) and socially responsible credit unions. During the World...

Tools and Resources.
September 8, 2004... Financial Times Prentice Hall has released The New Laws of the Stock Market Jungle: An Insider's Guide to Successful Investing in a Changing World by veteran trader Michael J. Panzner. The book highlights 10 "new" laws in the modern...

How Jill Guenther Built a Winning Team at Fifth Third: She's her region's top rep, but no one's a star on her powerhouse team.
September 8, 2004... Last year, Jill Guenther was the number one rep in Fifth Third's Cincinnati region and number two among the $84 billion bank's 220 brokers, who serve 1,000 branches across Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, West Virginia...

Seizing the Opportunities of the SMA.
September 8, 2004... The separately managed accounts (SMA) market represents several ironies for banks. First, banks represent a tiny segment of SMA sales - 7% of the total. Yet that share is growing very fast, almost doubling from just 4% in 2003. Second, while...

Blending Two Bank SMA Programs Into One.
September 8, 2004... Here's a problem that more and more managers will face as the number of bank mergers and bank SMA programs both increase: How to merge two bank SMA programs. Jeff Cusack may have the answer. Cusack, now executive vice president and head...

Announcing The Hartford Allocation Funds.
September 8, 2004... Despite the strong returns for equities in 2003, there are still many disgruntled investors reeling from the recent Bear Market. With nearly $8 trillion in money market funds, T-bills, and CDs1, the opportunity exists for...

Client Concerns About Financial Security Mean New Opportunities for Bank Reps: The Hartford's Annual Survey Finds More Than Half Feel Less Than Secure Yet Fewer People Have Sufficient Life Insurance Coverage.
September 9, 2004... Americans say they feel less than financially secure, a development that can lead to new opportunities for banks to build relationships with their clients. A majority of Americans with annual household incomes of $100,000 or more say they...

The Future of Bank SMAs: Market researcher Marcia Selz says banks can make it big in separately managed accounts - if they are willing to commit.
September 9, 2004... When the top marketing executives in the separately managed accounts business convened recently at an invitation-only session of the Money Management Institute, the person they turned to for marketing guidance was Marcia Selz. A former banker...

Crime: BankHook A Targets 50 Big Banks: Via pop-up ad, 10,000 accounts compromised.
September 9, 2004... A mid-summer cyber attack in which 10,000 global customers' data was stolen highlights just how vulnerable bank Web sites and Internet browsers are, even in today's heightened awareness of security. Amid talk of firewalls and encryption,...

Mortgage: Giants Are Sharpening Their AVMs: RFC, Countrywide and Wamu are honing models.
September 9, 2004... In the face of climbing interest rates and lower volumes of mortgages, refinancings, and home equity loans, lenders are keen to find ways to keep profits up. Reducing their own costs is a good place to look, and that's what's driving lenders to...

CUNA Raises Another $180K During Month.
September 9, 2004... CUNA said it continued to build its campaign warchest last month, raising $180,000 in campaign funds and ending the month with an all-time high of $630,000 of cash on hand for its political action committee. CUNA's PAC, known as CULAC,...

People.
September 9, 2004... The Georgia Credit Union League, Duluth, Georgia, elected to its board: Ed Collins, chairman; Phyllis Cochran, 1st vice chairman; Warren Butler, 2nd vice chairman; Greg Connor, treasurer; and Ruth Artis, secretary. SunCorp Corporate,...

The CU Journal Daily.
September 9, 2004... Calif. Execs Wade Into Campaigns WASHINGTON-Credit union executives around the country have stepped into congressional campaigns in a big way this election season, but nowhere more than in California, according to filings with the FEC. ...

Community Page.
September 9, 2004... TruWest Goes Casual For A Cause TEMPE, Ariz.-TruWest Credit Union employees traded in their business attire for jeans and T-shirts in support of United cerebral palsy. CCU Awards $4,000 Scholarship FRANKFORT, Ky.-Commonwealth...

M&A Pace Picks Up, But To Whose Advantage?: Banks have more than Eliot Spitzer to contend with as mergers pick up and bigger banks are created. There are shareholders, consumer activists and communities to worry about.
September 9, 2004... It's taken some time, but bank mergers are on pace this year to top 1998's record performance. This is good news for the financial advisors on these deals-more mergers, more fees. Look beyond the big numbers and it is clear that with...

Quid Pro Quo? Commerce Reeling From Charges in Bond Probe: Rivals of CEO Vernon Hill less than sympathetic.
September 9, 2004... Vernon Hill and his Commerce Bancorp have taken the Northeast-and Wall Street-by storm, with a formula that emphasizes convenience, service and de novo branches. Assets, deposits and earnings have been growing at a 30 percent-plus annual clip,...

Growing Bigger By Thinking Smaller: To pursue the small-business market, M&T is breaking down the barriers separating investments, lending and trust. Here's how it's working.
September 10, 2004... Located on Lake Erie's often snow-bound shores, Buffalo, N.Y., does not spring to mind as a greenhouse. But if the small-business program conceived by Buffalo's M&T Bank continues to progress beyond the incubation stage, the $50 billion upstate...

How Merri Carol Hall Implements the Program.
September 10, 2004... Two months after Merri Carol Hall joined M&T Securities in January 2003, she passed the certified financial planner exam and became a CFP. "I wanted the designation so I could provide more to my clients," she says. "I knew the investment...

Auto Financing: Full e-Contracts Leave the Lot: DealerTrack, RouteOne products square off.
September 10, 2004... Auto financiers of all stripes, from banks to captives, are getting the lead out when it comes to adopting electronic auto loan contracts, as dealers, lenders and capital markets players get more comfortable with the latest e-lending makes and...

The Skinny On Fraud: Banks Aren't That Helpful When It Hits.
September 10, 2004... Telephone and Internet banking afford consumers bill payment and purchasing conveniences at a time when most are desperately seeking an eighth day in the week. Time is so precious that most people can't live without such technological...

Community Page.
September 10, 2004... 1st Advantage FCU Wins Award NEWPORT NEWS, Va.-Virginia Peninsula Clean Business Forum awarded its Clean Business Award to 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union. COFCU Awards 2 Scholarships ALEXANDRIA, Va.-CommonWealth One Federal...

Hurricane Help.
September 10, 2004... CMG Estimates $500K In Claims MADISON, Wis.-CUNA Mutual Group is estimating it will pay claims of approximately $500,000 stemming from Hurricane Charley. Seeing the most damage was Lee County Postal Employees CU, where the sponsor...

CUs Ahead Of Fed In Raising Rates.
September 10, 2004... The Federal Reserve last week, overlooking indicators of a slowing of the economic recovery, braved ahead with its strategy to raise interest rates. "Fed-watching is always a perilous thing," said Bill Hampel, chief economist for CUNA....

Problems Seen In New FICO Program.
September 10, 2004... A new FICO score that has been specifically designed for underserved populations may be noble in its aim, but some are suggesting it could have unintended consequences for the consumers it seeks to help and the financial institutions who work...

Hits and Has-Beens.
September 10, 2004... Suzanne Timble has jumped from Bank of America, where she was svp and trust officer of its Winnetka, IL, branch, to Chicago-based The Private Bank and Trust Co. She is managing director and senior trust officer in the Winnetka branch of the...

Business Strategy: Ackermann is Off the Hook. Let Deutsche Dealing Begin.: After Mannesmann brouhaha, a refocus on growth.
September 10, 2004... Not long ago Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann, one of the most powerful men in Europe and head of a troubled E90billion ($111 billion) institution, walked out of a Dusseldorf courtroom with no apologies and a gleeful, some would...

Banks Seeking High-Net-Worth Clients Must Look for an Edge.
September 13, 2004... It's no secret that just about every bank investment program hopes to attract high-net-worth investors. But what's the best way to woo these coveted clients? One of the best ways to prepare advisors for the rigors of serving the HNW...

Supervising Variable Annuities Sales.
September 13, 2004... After experiencing a more than 50% increase in variable annuities (VA) sales last year, banks must pay careful attention to supervising sales of VAs at their branches through affiliated broker-dealers (BDs). Under today's risk-based examination...

Automation: Workforce Management Is Getting Warm and Fuzzy: New strategies in human resource technology are focused on fostering worker comfort and loyalty.
September 13, 2004... They're not going so far as to brand it employee relationship management and put it in the jargon toolbox, but many of the human resources technology platforms being rolled out are taking a decided shift toward employee friendliness over...

Top Tech Deals.
September 13, 2004... Number One Barclays has acquired a 50 percent stake in Intelenet Global Services, an India-based business-process outsourcing firm, from Housing Development Finance Corp. Barclays and HDFC plan to operate the firm as a 50/50 joint venture....

Arrest In Abduction-Robberies Is Made.
September 13, 2004... A suspect in the most recent credit union abduction-robbery has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of abduction, robbery and brandishing a deadly weapon. A multi-jurisdictional task force continues to seek a second suspect in the...

CEO's Compensation Again In The Headlines In Oregon.
September 13, 2004... Credit union CEO compensation continues to get headlines here. Just one week after it was learned that Portland Teachers CU CEO Cliff Dias was being paid $1.6 million annually, SELCO Credit Union has notified its members that its CEO was...

Worth Noting.
September 13, 2004... Nominations For Beacon Award RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.-As part of its five-year, $7.5-million "New Day" campaign for financial literacy, the Richard Myles Johnson Foundation, which supports consumer financial education and career...

The Danger Of The Bank Nose Under The CU (In)Tent.
September 13, 2004... "Mission creep" is the latest, and possibly greatest buzzword used by opponents of credit unions. The phrase "mission creep" has it's origin in post-failure analyses of strategies that have gone woefully wrong; strategies that have veered off...

Pipeline.
September 13, 2004... Compliance: Culture of Waste TowerGroup estimates that compliance waste-or the duplication of compliance technology-today gobbles up to 30 percent of all IT spending associated with compliance in the financial services industry; in dollar...

Foreign Exchange: AIB Avoids Sanctions and Fixes Forex Risk Controls: Irish regulator files tough law in response to lapse.
September 13, 2004... Banks Around THE GLOBE are reassessing risk management of their foreign-exchange operations after a banking regulator confirmed that Allied Irish Bank's risk controls failed, prompting AIB to voluntarily refund corporate and retail clients 34.2...

Cops and Robbers: Underworld Romp Of Money Launderers, Drug Traffickers.
September 14, 2004... Crime School: Money Laundering True Crime Meets the World of Business and Finance by Chris Mathers Firefly Books, 240 pages, $16.95 The promise of Chris Mathers' expose of the gritty underworld of money laundering and drug...

A Bank Nearly Forgets Why It's On the Shores of the Rio Grande.
September 14, 2004... When is a bank not a bank? Maybe when it's only made nine loans in its decade-old history? Certainly we're not talking about your average bear, and no, this isn't in '60s-era Romania, either. This is in San Antonio, TX, ground zero for...

Noted and Noteworthy.
September 14, 2004... Proclaimed the summer of geek movies, this year is providing a leading role for a character most likely never seen before-a nerdy Korean-American junior- level investment banker from New York. Gaining notice in Danny Leiner's "Harold & Kumar...

Banks, the Reluctant Warriors: The latest terror alerts did their job, spreading fear in three cities whose financial centers were identified as Al Qaeda targets. But they also bring a price tag for banks.
September 14, 2004... If Al Qaeda strikes again, the East Coast's financial services firms will be ready. Or will they? Warnings in early August that Al Qaeda could be planning attacks on financial centers in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Newark, NJ,...