Credit Union Management

If you ask Rick Craig's colleagues at America First Credit Union what makes him a great leader, they will mention his strategic thinking abilities, they will mention his work ethic, and they will mention his integrity. All of these are important attributes, but Craig's colleagues agree that his exemplary achievements can be traced to one overriding quality: his vision. John Lund, America First CU's executive vice president, says that Rick is a good thinker. He thinks strategically, analyzing ...

Talking Taxes

Taxation hasn't slowed ever since the US government enacted the first income tax in 1862 to support the Civil War effort. Benjamin Franklin would likely be apoplectic if he saw what today's taxpayers face. Part of the tax headache comes from the myriad rules and regulations that seem to change every year. For some low-income individuals, the complexity of the tax forms scares them away from even filing a tax return. Credit unions can take some of the sting out of April 15 (May 1 in Canada) w...

Filling the Gaps

A host of new products and services from corporate credit unions are designed to help their client credit unions expand member services such as business lending and maximize investment revenue. Through partnerships with the "corporate's corporate," US Central Credit Union, and their peer organizations across the country, corporate credit unions are joining forces to offer natural person financial cooperatives a wider range of securities investment options and advice from "within the family."...

Human Resources

Throw a Better Gala

The evergreen is up in the lobby, lights have been hung all around, and you have a holiday party to plan for. Don't do the same thing you did last year. Vamp your holiday party with the following suggestions: 1. Have your party in January. 2. Give to the needy. 3. Have a take-away gift exchange. 4. Hold a potluck, not an extravagant dinner. 5. Treat your board well. 6. Treat your employees well.

Successful Mergers

Consolidations among credit unions have occurred for a number of reasons - availability of technology allowing credit unions to offer full service, one-stop financial services, increasing demand among consumers for broader and more sophisticated service options, regulatory demands and rising costs of compliance. Orange County's Credit Union (www. orangecountyscu.org) with 242 full-time equivalents in Santa Ana, Calif, "has had several mergers" representing various situations from "mergers whe...

Board

Warning Signs

Executive benefits are great tools to attract and retain competent management for credit unions. However, all such tools have certain tax and regulatory limitations. In the case of 457(f) arrangements, the big limitation is the required "substantial risk of forfeiture" for tax deferral. Credit union boards and executives often look for the magic bullet to overcome this limitation. But if the plan design goes beyond certain guidelines, 457(f) plans can cause problems for boards and management...

Search Assistance

HRx (www.hrx.net), a human-resources consulting firm owned by the Florida Credit Union League Service Group, got its start five years ago in response to credit unions' call for assistance on the human resources front. They kept that they need help recruiting top managers, HRx Senior Vice President Anita Stoumbelis says. She estimates that today some 80% to 90% of credit unions are receiving outside expertise in filling executive positions, a number that's been on the climb for the last sever...

Operations

No Quick Fix

CUs should know the overall loss ratio for their indirect portfolio. But some don't know their exact credit mix, much less what their loss ratios are per credit tier. Given CUs' reliance on credit scoring (along with classifying loans based on their FICO score) and the ability most CUs have in tracking scores, you should have this information at your fingertips every 90 days at a minimum. As an alternative, you may want to talk to your credit bureau. If you haven't tracked credit scores per ...

Closing In

American borrowers get their home loans somewhere other than a CU about 95% of the time. As an industry, CUs have taken little advantage of the opportunity to make mortgage loans that the US Congress opened to them more than 25 years ago. But, there is a silver lining. That's an untapped market opportunity, suggests Steve Browne, a former CU mortgage manager and CEO and now regional manager of CU Members Mortgage (www.hotneloancu.com), Dallas. A member of CUES Financial Suppliers Forum, CU ...

Marketing

More Per Call

Boeing Wichita CU has worked with the ServiStar sales and service program (www.cues.org/servistar/) to develop its sales culture. Its new call center incentives, part of an overall employee incentive program for credit union employees, pays call center staffers for three kinds of achievement: 1. meeting "Quality Loop" goals, 2. meeting product referral goals, and 3. internal service survey results. SVP/Chief Lending Officer Bill Vogeney says lending call center incentives at $1.7 billion Ent...

Makeover Marketing

SAFE Credit Union in North Highland, Calif, is using "Trading Spaces" as the template for its successful "Fall Fix-Up" promotion, launched in 2003 and repeated this October. It ties into what people are interested in, and right now, they're interested in reality themes, reports Faith Galati, VP/marketing for the $1.1 billion credit union and a CUES member. The promotion was conceived during a brainstorming session conducted by the seven members of SAFE CU's marketing department. Like "Tradin...