Banking Wire articles from September 2006

Banking Wire archives from September 2006

Wescom Goes Old School With Truck.
September 1, 2006... PASADENA, Calif. -- Wescom Credit Union is using a restored 1934 Ford stake bed pickup truck as its new marketing vehicle. The credit union was founded that same year as Telephone Employees Credit Union. In addition to the truck, it has...

Arnold Named Marketer of the Year.
September 1, 2006... ORLANDO, Fla. -- Mark Arnold, Senior VP with Neighborhood Credit Union in Dallas, was named Marketing Professional of the Year by the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council. The award was presented during the group's annual meeting...

Low Down Payment Plan Is Added.
September 1, 2006... RALEIGH, N.C. -- The local branch here of Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) has added a first mortgage program it says will make it easier for low-income borrowers to buy a home. "Our members generally hold lower-paying jobs that don't...

Tips, Advice On SEGs, Business Development Shared.
September 1, 2006... ORLANDO, Fla. -- SEGs still have legs. Working with select employee groups remains the primary focus of many executives within credit unions, and a panel discussion of individuals with those job responsibilities was part of the CUNA...

SFG to Stop Buying This Year.
September 1, 2006... GREENVILLE, S.C. -- South Financial Group Inc. said that it won't make more acquisitions for at least the rest of the year after purchases in Florida and in North and South Carolina, The American Banker said. Mack Whittle, CEO of the...

Envision CU Goes For The Green.
September 1, 2006... TALLAHASEE -- Envision CU said it is reducing car loans by 1% (100 bps) for eco-friendly vehicles, like hybrids. The "Go Green, Save Green," campaign will save an average carbuyer $700 on a $20,000 loan over $36 months. The Go Green,...

SEFCU Has Big Expansion Plans.
September 1, 2006... ALBANY, N.Y. -- SEFCU plans to open four new full-service branches in the region this fall, making a total of 19 full-service centers for the $1.3 billion credit union. Plans call for new facilities in Albany, Syracuse, Binghamton and...

NASCUS Welcomes Commissioners.
September 1, 2006... ARLINGTON, Va. -- NASCUS recently hosted four new state regulators for a New Commissioner's Orientation in Washington During the orientation, new state regulators met with leaders from NCUA, U.S. Senate and Treasury, the group said. ...

TAWPI Council Changes Name.
September 1, 2006... CHICAGO -- The Association for Work Process Improvement (TAWPI), an international, not- for-profit membership association representing technology and management professionals in data capture, mail, remittance, document and forms processing,...

Breaks Put On Auto Loans.
September 1, 2006... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Due to growing concerns over indirect loan programs, the NCUA board passed a new rule last week that will limit the amount of indirect loans a credit union may purchase from any one third-party servicer to 50% of net worth...

Storm Surge, Cash Surge: In Year Since Katrina, Managing Cash A Key Issue.
September 5, 2006... MOSS POINT, Miss. -- One year after Hurricane Katrina and the storm surge has given way to subsequent deposit and loan surges. Those credit unions have told The Credit Union Journal that high among the myriad number of lessons that have...

Coming Soon To Websites Near You: Online Bill Payment Movie Show Members The Ropes.
September 5, 2006... YUMA, Ariz -- Netflix doesn't have it-but an online bill payment movie here is good enough that more than one-third of the members who watch it sign up for bill pay. Electronic bill pay services are commonly ignored by members at most...

Examiners Get New Guidance On ROA: 1% Not Carved In Stone.
September 5, 2006... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- What is the ideal ROA ratio for a credit union? NCUA is telling its examiners there isn't one. But several state regulators said that while they're encouraged by the agency's recognition that ROA targets are not fixed,...

Congress Questions LFCU's Conversion: NCUA OK's Disclosure Docs.
September 5, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Although NCUA has now formally approved its disclosure materials, opposition to a plan by Lafayette FCU to convert to a mutual bank grew significantly louder last week as two members of Congress raised questions about the process...

DFCU Members File New Suit In State Ct.: Want Bylaws Upheld.
September 5, 2006... DETROIT, Mich. -- A month after a federal judge rejected a case filed by members of DFCU Financial Credit Union against the CU, Wayne Count Circuit Judge Cynthia D. Stephens has agreed to take the matter under consideration. A hearing...

On Deadline.
September 5, 2006... NY Gov. Vetoes Bill Banning Rate Increases ALBANY, N.Y. -Gov. George Pataki last week vetoed a bill that would have protected credit card holders from increased interest rates because they are late paying other bills. The Governor's veto...

Lending Outpaced Savings Growth During First 2 Qtrs.
September 5, 2006... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The nation's credit unions posted solid and steady numbers during the first half of the year. According to NCUA, the nation's 8,540 federally insured credit unions saw increases in lending that exceeded growth in shares,...

No. Of Cards Down, Balances Up.
September 5, 2006... PORTLAND, Ore. -- The number of credit card accounts at credit unions fell during the second quarter of this year, although average balances per account increased, according to a new analysis. AssetExchange said its analysis of the 2,100...

Worth Noting.
September 5, 2006... Attention All Meetings Hosts WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.-Are you hosting an event in 2007 and looking for credit unions to attend? If so, make sure it's included in The Credit Union Journal's 2007 Meetings and Events calendar. Send the name of...

Lessons From Two Different Kinds Of CU Robberies.
September 5, 2006... Below you'll find an interesting juxtaposition: one credit union has bad news and it tells everyone; another supposedly has good news, yet it refuses to talk. Let's hope that last week's attention from two members of Congress into the...

Contingency Plans Urged If Housing Slide Continues.
September 6, 2006... DANA POINT, Calif. -- Credit unions will get a measure of relief from the flat interest rate curve in 2006-07, according to economist Bill Conerly, who predicted short-term rates will level off while long-term rates will rise approximately...

Ideas Tested For Demonstrating Service To Underserved.
September 6, 2006... DANA POINT, Calif. -- Ever since a November 2005 Congressional hearing, credit unions have been scrambling to respond to House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas' call for proof credit unions are serving the underserved, thereby...

CU Donates Scoreboard, Hopes To Score With Ads.
September 6, 2006... BAYTOWN, Texas -- Community Resource Credit Union has played a primary role in donating a $220,000 scoreboard to Stallworth Stadium, but will have the opportunity to recoup some of that expense by selling advertising on the board. The high...

IT Unions In Their Comm.
September 6, 2006... GALLUP, N.M. -- Later this year a New Mexico credit unions says it plans to offer up an alternative to payday lenders. Ben Heyward, CEO of First Financial Credit Union, told local media during the opening of a new branch that in October FFCU...

CUES Helps Raise $62K For Cancer Research.
September 6, 2006... MADISON, Wis. -- CUES' inaugural Drive for Hope golf outing at the Nakoma Golf Club here raised more than $62,000. The event benefited the "Creating Hope" Lung Cancer Campaign, developed to provide support for lung cancer research at the...

Product & Service.
September 6, 2006... Workway Expands Into IT BURBANK, Calif.-Workway, a staffing firm specializing in serving the financial industry, recently extended its services into 13 different areas of IT staffing, it said, including e-commerce, network engineering,...

Point West CU Adds Services Aimed At Latinos, FIghting Payday Lenders.
September 6, 2006... PORTLAND, Ore. -- Point West Credit Union has expanded its product menu as it seeks to serve the local Latino community and provide an alternative to check cashers and payday lenders. The credit union has rolled out "Fresh Start Checking"...

Testimony Ends In Case Filed By Ex-CUNA Employee.
September 6, 2006... MADISON, Wis. -- Fifteen days of testimony in the Mike Miller vs. CUNA case ended perhaps the longest hearing on record before the Madison Equal Opportunities commission here. "It was certainly the longest hearing that I've presided...

'Warren' To The Rescue Of Sales Opportunities.
September 6, 2006... DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -- Some dogs chase cars, this one helps loan officers sell additional auto-related protection at the time a car loan is being closed. Intercontinental Warranty Services, Inc. (IWS) added "Warren the Warranty Dog" to...

CUNA Mutual Saves Trees, Money.
September 6, 2006... MADISON, Wis. -- CUNA Mutual Group is reporting it will spare some 435 trees a year and save more than $10 million over the next several years as part of a companywide initiative aimed at streamlining operations. The company reported...

Phishing Scams Still Targeting CUs.
September 7, 2006... NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Phishing scams targeting any institution with the words "credit union" in their name show no signs of abating. The Illinois Credit Union League reported that an e-mail with the words "Important Information from Customer...

Rate Rises May Not Be Over.
September 7, 2006... BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Chicago Federal Reserve President said more short-term interest rate increases might be necessary if inflation indicators do not drop, even though the Fed left the Fed Funds Rate at 5.25% when it last met. But...

CUNA Opposes GAAP Standards.
September 7, 2006... WASHINGTON -- CUNA has sent a comment letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) on a proposal to implement changes to the financial and reporting...

Texas Man Gets Life In Robberies.
September 7, 2006... LUBBOCK, Texas -- A Texas man has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in multiple credit union robberies. James Edward Peacock, who was found guilty of four counts of bank robbery, including two robberies at Plains FCU here, was...

CU Invests In CU Business Capital.
September 7, 2006... JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jax Federal Credit Union has become an equity partner by investing in CU Business Capital, LLC (CUBC), a business services CUSO originally chartered by Eastern Financial Credit Union in Miami. Among the business...

Authenticate Yourself: In The Near Future, Members May Take Responsibility For Validating Websites.
September 7, 2006... ATLANTA -- Credit unions can get rid of those widely publicized website authentication tools, as they will no longer have to shoulder the responsibility of proving to visitors that their websites are valid, according to one authentication...

Technology News: Study Examines Security Vs. Ease Of Use Online.
September 7, 2006... NEW YORK -- With phishing scams remaining prevalent, the Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC) said it is taking a "major step forward" with the launch of a major project aimed at authenticating financial institutions to their...

ITems.
September 7, 2006... Wolters Kluwer Acquires Gulf Pak MINNEAPOLIS-Wolters Kluwer Corporate & Financial Services has agreed to acquire GulfPak Corp., a Jackson, Miss.-based provider of automated lending and account origination solutions to more than 700 credit...

Why One CU Turned To Its Members On Authentication.
September 7, 2006... SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Keep security simple. That's what online members told Technology Credit Union here, and the $1.2-billion credit union obliged when it launched website authentication at its Internet banking site in November. ...

Small CUs, Big E-Mail Risks?: How CUs Deal With Security Threat Posed by Employee Web Surfing, Web Mail.
September 7, 2006... WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Employees at smaller credit unions may have fewer resources than their counterparts at large credit unions, but they often have greater freedom to surf the Internet and check outside e-mail, opening up all the...

How Larger CUs Set E-Mail Policies: How CUs Deal With Security Threat Posed by Employee Web Surfing, Web Mail.
September 8, 2006... ORLANDO -- Employees may do more than get mail when they check their outside e- mail accounts from the credit union. Social security numbers, electronic statements, and loan approvals go whizzing over the Internet through popular services...

Why One IT Exec Emphasizes 'People Dimension'.
September 8, 2006... HONOLULU -- Technology projects often fail because business employees are left out of the loop, according to one credit union IT manager here. "The 'people dimension' in Information Technology is most often ignored and is where the...

Year-End Deadline For Internet Authentication.
September 8, 2006... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- NCUA notified credit unions they need to enact a multi-factor authentication system for all high-risk financial transactions over the Internet by the end of the year. Credit unions providing Internet-based services to...

EPL Offers Members Secure Authentication.
September 8, 2006... BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- EPL Inc. has inked a deal to provide secure authentication for credit union members' online-account-access through EPL's CUe-Branch home banking. Having analyzed the top security providers, EPL found RSA Security's proven...

Open Solutions, Celero Reach Agreement.
September 8, 2006... GLASTONBURY, Conn. -- Open Solutions Inc. announced that its Canadian subsidiary, Open Solutions Canada, and Celero Solutions have reached an agreement on a comprehensive suite of Open Solutions' strategic products to the Calgary,...

Nevada FCU Selects Corillian As Partner.
September 8, 2006... PORTLAND, Ore. -- Corillian Corp. announced that Nevada Federal Credit Union, an $850- million credit union headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., selected Corillian as its partner to deliver stronger online authentication to Nevada FCU's online...

Fiserv Introduces New CPM Products.
September 8, 2006... ATLANTA -- FISERV announced that its business unit IPS-Sendero, provider of technology, education and professional services for corporate performance management (CPM) in financial institutions, is introducing new CPM products and is enhancing...

MRG's Miracle Online Is Available To Users.
September 8, 2006... DALLAS -- MRG Document Technologies (MRG) announced its Miracle Online, an ASP-based software package that provides automated data entry, document selection and electronic delivery of loan documents for mortgage lenders, is now available to...

Los Angeles Firemen's CU Offers CUDeposits.
September 8, 2006... LIVERMORE, Calif. -- CUBUS Solutions announced that Los Angeles Firemen's CU has become the first customer to implement its new CUDeposits system for web-based deposit-taking. The system allows members to access their accounts online and...

CU Goes Live With Presentment System.
September 8, 2006... ROCKVILLE, Md. -- National Institute of Health FCU has gone live with Integrated Media Management's TotaleAtlas document presentment system and TotalReceipts indexing and signature capture solution. The separate systems were integrated...

Vive la Difference!
September 11, 2006... What you're holding right now is the new, improved Bank Investment Consultant. Pretty, isn't it? But as you read it, we hope you'll notice the changes are more than skin deep. We've worked long and hard to come up with content that will help...

Lifecycle and Lifestyle Funds Gain Ground.
September 11, 2006... It's no longer anecdotal: Lifecycle and lifestyle mutual funds have been touted as all the rage among investors. The Investment Company Institute's latest retirement market study backs that up with numbers. The study, U.S. Retirement...

Content Management: ECM's Next Big Frontier For Banks: HR: Legal, compliance issues are the top drivers.
September 11, 2006... As community financial institutions adopt and expand their use of enterprise content management over the next five years, one segment of the business slated to have the fastest growth over the next five years has been one of the longest...

Branch Performance: Good in the Neighborhood: Banks go high tech to maximize branch locales.
September 11, 2006... When Huntington National Bank is scoping out locations for its new branches, the institution is not necessarily looking to saturate a neighborhood with an army of centers. Just being in the best spot in that neighborhood is enough. "Each...

Comments Laud, Criticize NCUA On Charter Conversion Plan: Conversion Comments: Some Call For Even Stronger Proposal From NCUA, Others Say Agency Is Overreaching.
September 11, 2006... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The NCUA was both highly praised and harshly criticized by CU industry leaders, conversion consultants and anti-conversion advocates for proposed revisions to its charter conversion regulations in the comment letters it...

Not Getting Their Share: CUs Struggle To Break Past 2% Market Share; Soft Real Estate Market Poses Additional Challenge.
September 11, 2006... ARLINGTON, Va. -- While numbers may be grim for the housing industry nationally, with existing home sales down 4.1% in July, and with home prices in hot markets decreasing and inventory rising everywhere, the challenge that remains for credit...

Aussie CUs' Venture Raises $100M In Secondary Capital.
September 11, 2006... SYDNEY, Australia -- In what is believed to be the first cooperative raising of secondary capital, 21 Australian credit unions have banded together in a special venture that raised $100 million. The credit unions worked with ABN AMRO and...

Institutional Card Attracts 28 CUs; Set To Break Even.
September 11, 2006... SAN DIMAS, Calif. -- Just one year after launch, a CUSO that offers credit unions an institutional credit card that includes a rebate feature and other benefits reports 28 CUs have signed on, and that the program will soon recover all start-up...

Mid Tiers' Performance Proves Size Matters Little: While the industry may be at odds over what accurately defines a community bank versus a mid-tier one, strong financial performance isn't at issue. Mid tiers have made that point this year.
September 11, 2006... Since the 1990s, mid-tier banks have suffered an identity crisis, thanks in great part to ongoing market consolidation. They lack the geographic reach and scale of large commercial banks and the customer intimacy commanded by community banks....

Prosecution: Fourth Conviction in NHSB Case Shakes Up Industry: Did bank do enough to thwart the fraud?
September 11, 2006... Regulators hope the fourth fraud conviction in the 2004 mutual-stock conversion of New Haven Savings Bank to a stock-issuing bank-the first criminal trial involving attempts to obtain pre-offering price shares in a bank case-sends a strong...

Banks' VA Sales Set an All-Time High.
September 12, 2006... After being flat for about a year, banks' variable annuity (VA) sales reached an all-time high in the first quarter of 2006, but observers doubt this trend will last. The 15%, or $5.3 billion, jump in VA sales-from $4.6 billion in the...

A Bright Future for ETFs.
September 12, 2006... Growth in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is gaining momentum according to a report by Boston-based consultancy Celent Communications, ETFs-All Aboard! Are ETFs Gaining on the Mutual Fund Industry? The report predicts that ETFs will see 33%...

Security Woes: Debit Fraud Costs Surge: Card and check theft get a lot of play, but debit losses are stacking up.
September 12, 2006... Anyone keeping score of debit fraud losses can add $700,000 to the 2006 totals, as hundreds of Dollar Tree customers report this amount siphoned from their bank accounts in a summer data breach. The bank-card industry projects debit-card...

Branches Take Center Stage: Invest or Fall Behind.
September 12, 2006... Whether it's Umpqua CEO Ray Davis's new "neighborhood store" concept, Wachovia CEO Ken Thompson's urban service centers or Commerce Bank CEO Vernon Hill's 24/7 service commitment, it's clear that branches are a top priority among chief...

On Deadline.
September 12, 2006... Mo. CU Commission Withdraws FOM Plan JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-The Missouri Credit Union Commission approved changes to its merger and consolidation rule, but withdrew the proposed changes to its field of membership rule at its meeting here,...

NCUF Preparing To Unveil Online System For Raising Funds Following Disasters.
September 12, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Seeking to move more quickly when collecting and distributing funds for disaster relief, the National Credit Union Foundation this month plans to unveil a new online system. Called "CU Aid, Credit Unions Helping Credit...

Study: Bankruptcy Law Hurts FIs More Than Deadbeats.
September 12, 2006... BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A recently released study on the new bankruptcy law asserts that the act will cost consumers and financial institutions more time and money while doing little to stop deadbeat debtors. The study, underwritten by a group...

'Checking' In With One Company On Six Market Trends.
September 12, 2006... Four Questions Asked Of Counseling Agencies Credit counseling agencies were asked the following questions: 1. How many debtors have you served since the new bankruptcy law took effect on Oct. 17, 2005? 2. Of those, what percentage...

Pipeline: Study: Bank Directors' Pay Rates 16th Out Of 21.
September 12, 2006... Commercial banking ranked 16th in a list of 21 industries on director compensation in a recent survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Banks paid their directors an average of $139,824 each annually in total compensation, which included...

Litigation: In Rare RICO Case, BNP-P Gets Defensive: Did it help launder Congolese oil money?
September 12, 2006... Entangled in a civil corruption and racketeering case in U.S. federal court, BNP Paribas stands accused of helping to divert oil revenues from the Republic of Congo's state-owned oil company. Attorneys say this is the first use of the The...

Columbia Purges Conversion Opposition: Action Raises Spector Of Expulsion Over Politics.
September 13, 2006... VANCOUVER, Wash. -- A three-year-long battle over a failed credit union conversion to savings bank came to an end when Columbia CU kicked dissident members of its board and supervisory committee out of the credit union. Or did it? The...

Resurrecting The 'Dead Zones': Experts Tell How To Make Every Square Foot Count.
September 13, 2006... MILWAUKEE -- The "Dead Zone" isn't just a paranormal television show-it's also that wasted space in your branch that isn't contributing to your ROA. But you can vanquish these vacuums, according to several facilities experts. "We find...

FHLBs' Capital Rule In Jeopardy, Key Reps Seeking Withdrawal.
September 13, 2006... WASHINGTON -- A proposed new capital standard for the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks appeared to be in jeopardy last week after key members of Congress took turns scoring the measure, which could severely cut into fat dividends paid by the FHLBs...

On Deadline.
September 13, 2006... Savings, Loan Growth Down From Last Year MADISON, Wis.-Credit unions' year-to-date savings growth and loan growth both are down from last year, to 1.9% and 4.9% respectively, increasing the loan-to-savings ratio to 81.8% in July from 80.4%...

Documents: A Shred of Safety in Pennsylvania: Leesport Financial Corp. is offering a document shredding service to its customers.
September 13, 2006... Customers of Leesport Financial Corp. are able to not only deposit money in the bank, but also securely dump unwanted, and potentially risky, paper documents. The $993 million southeastern Pennsylvania community bank is installing a secure...

News Makers.
September 13, 2006... IMAGED ITEMS EXPAND; VOLUME BESTS CARDS Federal Reserve/Electronic Check Clearing House Organization (ECCHO) data shows the image-based processing volume of converted checks grew at an "unprecedented" pace in June to 200 million monthly...

Cold Cash Is Heating Up.
September 13, 2006... Money market fund yields rose with the mercury this summer, and the long-neglected instruments are enjoying inflows not seen since 2000, according to data from New York-based iMoneyNet. "I don't think there's anything out there as...

Failure To Merge: Why do banks that buy brokerages so often wind up running them as separate units?(Company overview)
September 13, 2006... In 1998, Key Corp., the parent of Key Bank, had a small in-house investment division. But with the bull market raging, management wanted to turbo charge the bank's investment services by acquiring a successful existing brokerage. So...

Fresh Ink.
September 13, 2006... 1. National City Corp. agreed to buy Fidelity Bankshares, the fourth-largest publicly traded bank in Florida. Fidelity has $4.2 billion in assets and operates 52 branches along the state's east coast. National City eventually will have 92...

Word Is... Stock Options Charges Emerge As the Next Corporate Scandal.
September 13, 2006... Finally, the poised ax has fallen. After months of warning that up to 80 companies are being investigated for manipulating employee stock options, Federal prosecutors in July charged former officers of technology group Brocade Communications...

CUNA Launches Radio Talk Show In 30 Markets.
September 14, 2006... WASHINGTON -- CUNA launched a different tactic this week to promote the CU message with an hour-long weekly radio show on consumer finance issues. The show, "Home and Family Finance"-the same name as CUNA's quarterly newsletter-began...

Former CU Falls Into The Red As Viewpoint Bank.
September 14, 2006... PLANO, Texas -- Viewpoint Bank, known until January as Community CU, fell into the red to the tune of $172,000 for its fiscal second quarter, compared to a profit of $1.7-million for the same quarter last year, due to $362,000 in tax...

CUSO Loans, Investments Surpass $1B Mark.
September 14, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Investments in or loans to CUSOs surpassed the $1-billion threshold at year-end 2005, according to new analysis by Callahan & Associates. The $1.1-billion in investments and loans was a 40% increase over the same figure from...

Worth Noting.
September 14, 2006... Defense CUs Honored By Military SAN ANTONIO-Three defense credit unions and three defense CU leaders were recognized for their distinguished service at the Defense Credit Union Council's 43rd Annual Conference. Fort Sill Federal Credit...