NCUA Announces Philadelphia Workshop
The NCUA Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives will host a Credit Union Workshop in Philadelphia, at the Renaissance Airport Hotel, on Friday, March 26, 2010.
Hot issues will be discussed and latest regulatory developments will be reviewed. An outreach panel will explore resources and partnerships for credit unions. In addition, a morning session will focus on Maximizing Your Bottom Line; and two afternoon breakout sessions will cover Allowance for Loan Lease Losses and Alternatives to Predatory Lending.
Hotel reservations should be made by February 23 to receive the special room rate. Requests for travel expense reimbursement should be submitted to NCUA by March 12. (See information on registration form.)
Agenda
Registration Form
Concerts For Financial Literacy
AmeriChoice FCU, Mechanicsburg, today will present two Concerts for Financial Literacy at Cumberland Valley High School. With more than 3,000 students and faculty enjoying the music, AmeriChoice will bring the message to the students that financial literacy is not just a subject, but a necessity for their future.
In addition to great music by professional performers, they will share their personal experiences dealing with finances as young adults and professional musicians. This will be an interactive event to include the entire student body.
The Concert for Financial Literacy is presented as part of the credit union’s financial education outreach program at Cumberland Valley High School. Students from the business classes run an AmeriChoice branch in the high school. This gives students the opportunity to learn financial education in a hands-on environment and not just out of a text book.
“The Concert for Financial Literacy is our way of getting the financial education message to the students through a fun, interactive method,” said Kim Bindl, AmeriChoice Financial Literacy Manager. “We also have the opportunity to highlight some of the amazing musical talent at CV High School.”
Governor To Hold Statewide Town Hall Meeting On Recovery Act
Governor Ed Rendell will join hundreds of college, business, and community leaders today at 3:00 p.m., to discuss the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in Pennsylvania.
Governor Rendell will be at Shippensburg University to lead a meeting that will be connected via Internet to audiences at the University of Pittsburgh and state universities at Kutztown, West Chester, East Stroudsburg, and Edinboro.
The event will mark the one-year anniversary of the Recovery Act. To date, Pennsylvania has invested more than $6 billion of Recovery Act funds into the economy.
Recovery Act in PA
What Reg CC Changes Mean To A Counterfeiter
The final consolidation of paper check processing regions is scheduled for February 26, 2010. After that occurs, there will be only one paper check processing region for the United States.
Bottom line is that we will say goodbye to “non-local checks” and hello to major changes to our check cashing policies. This translates to the preparation of new disclosures, creation of lobby signage, updating account opening procedures, and conducting teller trainings in preparation for the changes to Reg CC in the coming days.
While our eyes are focused on these changes, the counterfeiters are as well. The absence of “non-local” holds present opportunities for checks to be available much faster than before. Financial institutions with delayed funds check-cashing policies can no longer delay the availability of a non-local check for five days. The longest “standard” delay that can be used will be the two-day availability period which is currently allowed for local checks.
Are you prepared for these changes? Have you considered the potential rise in counterfeit check activity?
Consider Advanced Fraud Solutions, which can provide your credit union with the tools to stop counterfeit checks right at the teller workstation.
Contact your PCUA Account Executive or Shannon Parker from Advanced Fraud Solutions at sparker@advancedfraudsolutions.com to learn more.
Education & Training
Education & Training
The Importance Of Compliance Awareness For Volunteers
Regulatory compliance is becoming increasingly important and complex at all levels of the credit union. Directors and Supervisory Committee members should understand how these regulations are affecting the credit union’s practices and the products and services offered. You need to know about the hot-button issues in order to provide critical oversight. Here’s your chance:
- Attend the Volunteer Development Conference to get the latest information from a NCUA examiner.
- Keep on top of the most critical changes in the realm of compliance and the current areas of focus for examinations.
- Learn what questions to ask of management about compliance and the potential consequences of “non-compliance.”
The Association-sponsored Volunteer Development Conference will be held March 26-27 at the Willow Valley Resort in Lancaster. Shopping, museums, and other tourist attractions are located nearby for the enjoyment of spouses and guests. For more information, click here, or call Rhonda Rumbaugh at 800-932-0661, ext. 5280.
Chapter News
Chapter News
The Lan-Chester Chapter of Credit Unions met Tuesday evening at the Revere Tavern in Paradise. The meeting topic, Member Relationship Management, was presented by Ralph Cain of Citadel FCU. He particularly highlighted the importance of providing the proper environment for improved performance in efficiency, individual training, organizational culture, and leadership. Brenda Walker, Director, Pacul Services Marketing, represented the Association at the meeting.
The Wyoming Valley Chapter of Credit Unions held its 16th Annual Norman G. Fulkerson Bowling Tournament on Valentine’s Day at Chacko’s Bowling Center in Wilkes-Barre. Thirty-two teams from 12 credit unions in the chapter, and a team from the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association, raised more than $3,000 and collected two carloads of pet supplies for the SPCA, Hazleton Shelter, Vision, and MLK-CEO (a heating assistance program). “We had a great turnout, especially on Valentine’s Day, and raised money and supplies for some worthy local causes and everyone had a lot of fun,” said Chapter President Deb Peters, CEO of Incol Credit Union. In addition to Peters, the tournament planning committee included Ken Burke, CEO, Valley Pride FCU, and John Hayduk, CEO, UFCW FCU. The Association’s team participants were John Kilduff, Angelique Pattillo, April McLeod, and Christine Seitz.
Newsmakers
Newsmakers
Congratulations to new credit union CEOs: Cathleen Martin, Blue Chip FCU, Harrisburg; and Kim Zelna, P & G Mehoopany Employees FCU, Tunkhannock.
The Bucks First FCU’s YouTube commercial (by Rhett & Link) has received more than 300,000 views, reports Hilary Reed, VP of Marketing. “Including the behind the scenes videos, we’re totaling more than 600,000 views. We think this is awesome for all credit unions across the nation ... the more we can spread the word about credit unions, the better,” said Reed. The commercial went live on February 3. YouTube Commercial
For the fifth year, Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union served as a sponsor of the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania’s (TCCP) annual Technology Gala, held at the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg. PSECU was a sponsor of the Technology Provider of the Year Award, which was presented by Barbara Bowker, VP of Marketing and TCCP Board Member. This year’s award recipient was Tobyhanna Army Depot. In discussing PSECU’s sponsorship of the award, she explained, “Working with the Technology Council is a perfect fit for PSECU. As a credit union that relies heavily on technology to interact with its members, we believe it is crucial to support the development of the technology industry, particularly in our local community.”
National News
National News
CUNA survey: CUs gaining ground with voters
WASHINGTON (2/17/10)—Just 39% of voters who responded to a Credit Union National Association (CUNA)-sponsored survey indicated that they would favor banks over credit unions if a disagreement over financial legislation broke out in the U.S. Congress or their state legislature, CUNA reported on Tuesday.
CUNA's national voter survey, which was conducted between Jan. 24 and 28 and surveyed 1,000 registered voters across the nation, showed that half of the 1,000 voters who responded said that they would side with credit unions over banks in that potential legislative disagreement.
Large numbers of respondents also favored credit unions on more specific issues, with a mere 27% of them agreeing with banking industry claims that removing restrictions on credit union business lending would give credit unions, which do not pay taxes, an unfair advantage.
Those same respondents overwhelmingly supported giving credit unions the opportunity to assist the economy by helping to create jobs through greater business lending by credit unions, and 69% favorably viewed the MBL legislation that, if approved, would create 108,000 new jobs.
The CUNA survey, which has been taken for 11 years, "has never shown an environment more complimentary to credit unions," CUNA Senior Vice President of Political Affairs Richard Gose said.
"Clearly, jobs and the economy are the issues voters are most concerned about," Gose said, adding that while additional surveys clearly show that "voters support credit unions," the CUNA survey "goes beyond that, showing voters support credit unions' ability to help the economy and grow jobs."
While consumers trust in banks continues to slip, their favorable views of credit unions have not decreased during the past year, with 56% of respondents saying that they would classify credit unions as "safe and sound" financial institutions. The number of consumers who judged banks to be "safe and sound" fell to 50%, down from 55% in the 2009 edition of the survey.
Credit unions have remained steady with 42% of registered voters identifying themselves as credit union members, and 22% saying that credit unions were their primary financial institution. However, there is room for growth.
A large majority of voters had positive impressions of several credit union-specific business practices, including returning earnings to members, specifically working with underserved communities, and the collective, member-owned structure of credit unions, rated extremely favorably among survey respondents.
Surveys by Forrester Research and the Chicago Booth/Kellogg School also noted high customer approval ratings, and Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index, which was also released on Tuesday, found that credit unions rated near the top of scale for their customer service.
Speakers named for NCUA virtual meeting on corporates
ALEXANDRIA, VA. (2/17/10)--The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) on Tuesday announced the agenda for its Feb. 18 virtual town hall webinar, the last in a series of public discussions on the proposed changes to its corporate credit union rules.
Following opening remarks by NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz, NCUA officials, including Deputy Executive Director Larry Fazio, General Counsel Bob Fenner, and Office of Corporate Credit Unions Director Scott Hunt, will provide background on the current corporate credit union situation and discuss both the recently proposed changes to the NCUA's corporate credit union and field of membership rules.
A question and answer session will follow the NCUA staff presentations.
The webinar continues the NCUA's "nationwide listening tour," which also included live town hall meeting sessions in which the proposed corporate rule and related issues, such as the proposed field-of-membership rule, alternative capital, and continuing economic challenges facing natural-person credit unions, were discussed.
To sign up to participate in the virtual session, which is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 18, use the resource link.
NCUA event registration
Reverse mortgage guidance generally helpful: CUNA
WASHINGTON (2/17/10)--The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) in a Feb. 16 comment letter to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) said that it generally supports the FFIEC's proposed guidance for reverse mortgages.
While the majority of credit unions do not currently offer reverse mortgage loans and those that do "are likely already compliant with the principles outlined in the guidance," Bloch said that CUNA understands the need for the FFIEC guidance, as the complexity of reverse mortgage loans may create greater opportunities for "abuses and excessive fees" by some lenders.
Citing the complexity of reverse loans, which can often come with significant fees, CUNA said it supports the FFIEC's requirement for financial counseling "and believes that, with limited exceptions, such counseling should be done in-person, as opposed to telephone conversations," CUNA Senior Assistant General Counsel Jeff Bloch said. CUNA has argued that telephone counseling is ineffective.
"However," Bloch added, "although consumers should receive general information and guidance about reverse mortgages before the application is submitted, much of the required counseling should occur after the application is submitted for a proprietary reverse mortgage loan, since the counseling will be more targeted and, therefore, more beneficial after the consumer applies for a specific loan."
Additionally, CUNA supports portions of the guidance that address potential conflicts of interest as well as the FFIEC's recommended policies, procedures, and internal controls that lenders should take on, including recommendations on how lenders can manage third-party relationships.
Reverse mortgage comment letter
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