e-Weekly
June 17, 2009
Homes for Our Troops holds 3rd Annual Gala Saturday, June 13 in Boston
Homes for Our Troops and title sponsors the Massachusetts Credit Union League, the New Hampshire Credit Union League, and the Credit Union Association of Rhode Island hosted a spectacular gala on June 13. This third annual gala was held at the Copley Marriott Hotel in Boston to celebrate the brave and unselfish service of the men and women of the nation’s armed forces who have been severely injured in the course of their service, and to raise money for the specially adapted homes that they need and deserve.
Daniel F. Egan, Jr., spokesman for the three credit union groups that were the title sponsors for the event, presented a check for $180,000 to John Gonsalves, president and founder of Homes for Our Troops. Gonsalves voiced his gratitude saying to Egan and the many credit union representatives in the audience, “I can’t thank our friends from the credit unions in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island enough. Once again they have proven that the “people helping people” philosophy of credit unions is not a slogan but a very real and tangible principle.” Gonsalves went on to say, “Because of the help of the credit unions, we will be able to move another severely injured veteran, Nathan Hunt, off of our waiting list and start the process of building a home for him and his family.”
Egan described the evening as a tremendous success. “It was a very moving experience. Hearing Staff Sergeant Mathew Keil, who is a quadriplegic as a result of a sniper attack in Afghanistan, speak of his recovery and his admiration for the wives and families of severely injured veterans was truly inspiring. His determination, good humor and compassion are a lesson to us all.” He went on to say, “At the same time, it was a high spirited evening marked by a great show of generosity and camaraderie. It was truly a privilege to sponsor this event.”
WMUR-TV’s Chronicle Covers CU4Reality
WMUR TV Chronicle program featured a segment about the CU 4 Reality™ Financial Education Program, in particularly a CU 4 Reality Fair, on its Monday, June 15th broadcast. The segment, which ran six minutes, focused on three students as they experienced the financial ups and downs that the CU 4 Reality Fair is designed to present. This particular fair was sponsored by Bellwether Community Credit Union and brought in 70 middle school students from the Crawley Middle School in Hooksett.
The fair was held at America’s Credit Union Museum and, as is the usual practice for CU 4 Reality fairs, volunteers from many other New Hampshire credit unions helped out by manning booths and providing the students with credit counseling as they sought to keep their “financial lives” in balance. The students approached the exercise with real enthusiasm and imagination.
The coverage of this event was organized by the New Hampshire Credit Union League’s Marketing Committee who brought the idea to WMUR with the help of its marketing agency Rain Advertising.
The CU 4 Reality Financial Education Program was developed by the Financial Literacy Education Committee of America's Credit Union Museum. To learn more about it please click this link. http://www.cu4reality.org/
Annual CU National Youth Involvement Board Conference
The 2009 National Youth Involvement Board (NYIB) Annual Conference is perhaps the nation's largest and most comprehensive gathering designed to provide credit unions with information and strategies regarding how they can provide value to young people. NYIB has a long reputation as the best resource for helping credit unions and partner organizations on reaching and teaching youth.
This year’s conference will be held at the Tempe Mission Palms in Tempe, AZ, August 3-6. The event will provide valuable insight and resources you can use to understand young consumers, teach them good money management skills, and offer the services they can use, all from experienced professionals and credit union peers.
Non-Members like On-line Banking
When it comes to preferred service delivery channels, non-members report they are using internet banking and bill pay more frequently now than a few years ago, says a new CUNA survey. According to the 2009-2010 Survey of Potential Members: Membership Growth Strategies, 68 percent of non-members who use Internet banking and 62 percent of online bill payment users report an increased use. Additionally, 59 percent of debit/check card users use them to pay for purchases more often now than three years ago.
"Many industry analysts believe that online banking and bill pay have reached the point where credit unions must offer them not just to compete for new members, but to retain current members as well," said Jon Haller, director of business to business publishing for CUNA. "Credit unions should also consider adding online loan application capabilities, preferably with an automated approval feature, if they have not done so already."
The survey uncovers new issues, opportunities, and strategies for reaching and attracting the more than 100 million potential members, as it breaks down this group by:
- Membership growth opportunities, demographics, and eligibility;
- Keys to attracting more members;
- Loyalty to current primary financial institution, including overall satisfaction and net promoter scores;
- Use of financial services, such as: convenience, savings, and loan services, along with loan usage and outstanding loan amounts; and
- Delivery channels, use and frequency of the most common channels for members versus eligible non-members.
Each chapter concludes with a number of strategic considerations and suggestions on how to best identify and leverage your credit union's competitive advantages to lure eligible non-members away from their current provider(s).
Additionally, the 2009-2010 National Member Survey - CUNA's companion report to this survey - reveals trends involving members' use of financial services and attitudes, along with strategies to build loyalty and attract more business. It also provides information and analysis related to members' demographics, satisfaction, interest in new services, delivery channels, and more.
The Survey of Potential Members (stock number 28533) and the National Member Survey (stock number 28532) are available in PDF or print format and can be purchased individually or at a reduced package price. For more information or to order, visit advice.cuna.org; choose the "Reports" link, then "Credit Union Growth." To order by phone, call (800) 356-8010, press 3, and use the stock number as a reference.
NCUA webinar on new law implementation June 24
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) will present its guidance on implementing its new corporate credit union stabilization plan in a webinar scheduled for Wednesday, June 24 at 1:00 p.m. EST. Registration for the webcast will open on Friday, June 19. Participants will be able to register up to 1 hour prior to the start of the conference. A link with the registration information will be posted on NCUA’s website at www.ncua.gov on June 19.
NCUA Chief Financial Officer Mary Ann Woodson has said that she would analyze the financial impact that the newly enacted provisions would have on the agency. Once completed, the results of this analysis will be reported to the NCUA board, and will also be released to the public.
The corporate stabilization plan, which President Barack Obama signed into law as part of S. 896, increases NCUA's borrowing authority to $6 billion, with a possible further extension to $30 billion under exigent circumstances. The stabilization plan will also allow credit unions to spread the cost of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) 1% deposit replenishment over seven years. Credit unions will also be granted up to eight years to deal with the cost of a premium assessment that has resulted from losses at wholesale corporate credit unions.
Additionally, any impairment related to the NCUSIF replenishment may be booked over a seven-year period.
The NCUA has provided the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) with further information on estimated credit losses sustained due to WesCorp and U.S. Central's investments in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities after CUNA submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act. CUNA is also filing a follow-up request that would seek more data on the losses.
Due to the continuing progress being made in stabilizing the corporate network, updates on the situation will be provided periodically on an as-needed basis.
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