HEADLINE NEWS

Celebrate Credit Union Day – October 20
     Credit unions worldwide are gearing up to celebrate International Credit Union Day this Thursday. A letter from President George W. Bush underscored the importance of CUs for more than 123 million members nationwide.
     “By providing valuable services, credit unions encourage local development, assist small businesses and help their members achieve financial dreams. Your efforts enhance the quality of life of our communities and contribute to their financial stability and success.”
     Several Delaware CUs have reported their plans for this annual celebration.
§      Dover FCU will be holding its second Annual Member Appreciation Day event on October 20. Board and senior staff will be at each branch performing a satisfaction survey. When the members complete the survey, they will receive a tape measure that asks “How do we measure up?’ Pocket calendars and pens will also be given away at the teller lines.
§      Chestnut Run FCU will also be doing a mini survey and giving away a tape measure to participating members, who will be entered into a drawing for a coin storage box.
§      New Castle County School Employees FCU and Sussex County FCU will set up refreshments in their lobbies for members.
§      Newport Site Employees FCU will celebrate on Wednesday and Thursday to accommodate shift workers at the CIBA plant, where the CU is located. The CU will have soft pretzels, popcorn, and giveaways and will sponsor a special $1,000 loan promotion.
§      Wilmington Postal FCU will hold the grand opening of their new office in Newport on Credit Union Day. The CU is also celebrating its 60th year of service this October – the oldest CU in Delaware!

Report and Remittance of Unclaimed Property Is Due November 10
     All credit unions are required to report to the Delaware State Escheator at the Bureau of Unclaimed Property by November 10, 2005, certain funds that have remained unclaimed for five years (i.e. June 30, 2000). Unclaimed property refers to various types of personal property of Delaware residents that have been abandoned for five years or more, including share and share draft accounts, uncashed share drafts, dividends, etc.
     Every Delaware CU, regardless of whether it holds unclaimed property, must file a copy of Form AP-1 (Report Verification), which provides a summary of the CU’s report and which must be signed and verified by a CU officer. An additional itemized form must be completed if you hold unclaimed property. A preliminary report was due in August, and the final report and remittance of monies in any such accounts are due by the November 10th date. Checks should be made payable to the “Delaware State Escheator” and mailed to P.O. Box 8931, Wilmington, DE 19899.
     Unclaimed property forms and a booklet describing the process for submitting unclaimed property is available from the League or online at http://www.state.de.us/revenue/default.shtml (click on “unclaimed property”). A copy of this material has previously been mailed to all CU managers/CEOs, and additional copies are still available from League compliance director Susan Fallon.
     Remember, amounts in excess of $25 must be reported to the state of the member’s last known address. You will need to contact each applicable state to obtain the correct filing forms, deadlines and dormancy periods (which vary state to state). Susan can also provide a list of abandoned property offices in other states.

SYSTEM NEWS

Tab for CUs’ Hurricane Losses Is $27 Million
     Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have caused an estimated $27 million in losses to CUs in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, according to CUNA Mutual Group. Re-insurance will cover about $12 million of the losses, with the net cost to CUNA Mutual running about $15 million.
     Through October 10, the National CU Foundation had collected $1.718 million for disaster relief. Individual credit unions in Delaware have reported the following contributions to the League:
§      Diamond State FCU contributed $300 to the NAFCU Foundation/American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina relief fund.
§   Pipefitters FCU donated $250 and Seaford FCU donated $400 to the National Credit Union Foundation.
§      DPL FCU contributed $1000, plus an additional $250 from their staff members, to the hurricane victims through the National Credit Union Foundation. In addition, the CU’s staff also made a direct contribution of $1100 to the family of a former employee; several of her family members were affected by Katrina.
§      Dover FCU’s efforts have raised a total of $8,000; half will go to the National Credit Union Foundation and half to the Air Force Aid Society.
§      Newport Site Employees FCU set up a donation jar and collected $300 from their members. The donation is being split between the American Red Cross and the ASPCA. In addition, the CU’s sponsor, CIBA, matched the Red Cross portion of the donation. Another fundraiser is being planned for October.

Golf Outing Benefits Disaster Fund
     The proceeds from the recent CU/Business Mixer golf outing held on October 4 will go to the National Credit Union Foundation for disaster relief. Fifty-nine golfers participated in the event. The first place team was from the Motor Auction Group: Alan Wagenschor, Pete Sapienza, Jim Everett, and Angelo Santiago. Second place went to the team of Don DiMatteo, Paul Torbeck, Tom Prichard, and Bruce Santorella. DPL’s team of Bob and Kevin Oakes, Jack Ritter, and Anthony Hinds took third place. Individual prize winners were Kathy Adams and Ed Bennett – closest to the pin – and Kevin Oakes – longest drive.

CU Budgeting Help for 2006
     2006 is approaching…and your CU’s commitment to continuing education, member service, advocacy, governmental affairs, and sharing the CU philosophy should be part of your budget considerations. Some of the line items to keep in mind for 2006:
§      2006 Dues – The League’s dues analysis committee has recommended that the League dues cap be increased by 2.5 % to account for inflation. To find out what your CU’s assessment will be, contact Charlie Jenkins at the League office.
§      Governmental Affairs Contribution – The League governmental affairs committee is suggesting that each CU contribute $.03 per member to help with political activity to stop the threat of taxation and to promote pro-CU bills such as CURIA and regulatory relief.
§      2006 Annual Meeting and Convention – This annual event will be held in 2006 on April 20-22 at the Baycenter in Dewey Beach.
§      Credit Union Councils – The League will continue to offer this premier networking series, with seven councils again being offered for a total cost of $1400 for two participants from each CU.
§      Continuing Education – Plans are underway to offer various avenues for education and training in 2006, including seminars, webinars, QuickBites, STAR, MERIT, VAP, and VLP testing, the Volunteer Leadership Conference, and more.
§      Credit Union Supplement – Budget now to place an advertisement in next October’s Credit Union Supplement, published by the News Journal.
     Maximize Your Budgeting Dollars. Through the League and CUNA’s Strategic Services’ carefully selected providers, special, limited time offers are available to help CUs maximize their budgets while preparing for growth in 2006. These special offers promise outstanding value from respected providers Diebold, Strohl Systems, Canon, De La Rue, 3SI Security Sytems, and OfficeMax and are valid from October 1, 2005, through March 31, 2006.
     In addition to free white papers and exclusive online offers, Budget 2006 is available now for download at www.strategicservices.cuna.org. Or to have the brochure mailed to you, contact Brenda Hennessy at bhennessy@cuna.coop.

NCUA NOTES

NCUA Outlines Hot Exam Topics
     At a recent CUNA Compliance Conference, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) outlined areas of concern and “Hot Topics” that examiners will be focusing on in 2006, in addition to scrutinizing rigorous compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act. 
     Regulation B – Next year, NCUA expects to focus on compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Reg. B). Other financial institution regulators report Reg. B violations to the Department of Justice (DOJ); however, NCUA is not required to do so at this time. Consequently, NCUA wants to ensure that CUs are complying with the regulation.
     HMDA – NCUA stated that HMDA data reporting errors in CUs are excessive compared to other financial institutions. Another area of concern is the number of CUs that are filing late reports. The Federal Reserve Board does not consider HMDA data “received” until an error-free report is submitted. NCUA suggests that credit unions file no later than February 15^th in case corrections need to be made. The Federal Reserve Board does not make exceptions to the March 1 deadline. For the first time ever, NCUA assessed civil money penalties in 2005 for HMDA violations. Penalties ranged from $10,000-$225,000. Although many CUs appealed and finally settled on a lesser amount, the penalties were still hefty. HMDA penalties are based on a “per day” assessment.
     Fair Lending – NCUA conducts a minimum of five “Fair Lending” exams annually in each region. NCUA reviews the loan denials (gathered from HMDA data) to determine which credit unions are examined. CUs that have minority denials in excess of 5 times greater than non-minority denials are most likely to be examined.
     Flood Insurance – NCUA examiners will assess compliance with the Flood Disaster Protection Act (FDPA) and NCUA’s Flood Insurance Regulation 12 CFR 760 (which applies to all federally insured CUs). Related violations could result in civil money penalties of up to $350 per loan with a maximum penalty of $100,000 per credit union in any calendar year.
     Third-Party Due Diligence – “The process of investigation by a potential partner or acquirer of a business’s claimed and actual financial and operational performance.” As more and more CUs offer products that pose a greater safety and soundness risk (sub-prime lending, loan participations and indirect lending), NCUA will take a closer look at the due-diligence performed by CUs prior to contracting services.
     Bank Secrecy Act – A third of U.S. CUs have now been written up for violations of the BSA, and while this is not the end of the world, it does show corrective steps need to be taken, according to a top NCUA compliance official.
     Disaster Recovery Plans – Based on the fallout from Katrina, NCUA warns CUs to reexamine their disaster recovery plans. Problem areas that have already shown up include unsuitable backup sites, no limit ATM debit transactions, and poor or “no communication” with members after the disaster.

President Nominates Gigi Hyland to NCUA Board
     On October 29, President Bush announced his nomination of Gigi Hyland as a member of the NCUA Board. Hyland is senior vice president/general counsel for Empire Corporate FCU in Albany, New York. If confirmed by the Senate, Hyland would fill the Democratic seat on the three-person board recently vacated by Debbie Matz. The other NCUA Board nominee, Rodney Hood, still awaits Senate confirmation. Assuming confirmation, Hood's term would expire in 2009, and Hyland's in 2011, according to the White House.

NCUA Accounting Bulletin 05-02
     This bulletin provides guidance on the sale of held-to-maturity (HTM) debt securities (investments) under Statement No. 115, Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities, for FCUs seeking to sell HTM investments to meet member share withdrawals and other immediate cash needs of the CU.

Reg D Low Tranche Reserve
     The Federal Reserve Board has amended Regulation D to reflect the annual indexing of the low reserve tranche and of the reserve requirement exemption amount for 2006 that will be used in the calculation of reserve requirements and deposit reporting. Contact Susan at the League for a copy of the full ruling.

DELAWARE NOTES

Two DOVER FCU executives recently attended the Credit Union Executive Society’s CEO Institute, an advanced executive education series. Karen Simpson, executive vice president, completed her second year of studies. Karen served as CFO/vice president of finance prior to becoming executive vice president in 2005. Bobby Naftzinger, vice president of member services, completed his first year of studies.

Our condolences go out to Vanessa McCall, manager of Newport Site Employees FCU, and her family on the recent death of her mother, who resided with Vanessa.

Get well wishes to League board secretary Kate Toner, who is recuperating from surgery.

BRANCH MANAGER: Three years experience in a credit union or similar financial environment.  Minimum requirement: high school diploma. Supervisory experience a necessity. Proficiency in computer skills required. Send resume to HR Dept., Dover Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 02009, Dover AFB, DE 19902, or FAX to 302-678-8037.

COLLECTOR: Dover Federal Credit Union is seeking a qualified individual for a full-time collector position at its Dover Air Force Base location. Must have a high school diploma, valid driver's license, two years collection experience and /or experience working for credit unions. Must have working knowledge of Word and Excel. Fax resume with cover letter to: ATTN:  HR Department, 302-678-8037. Closing date for applications and resumes for this position is November 4, 2005.

CU POSITION SOUGHT: Individual with eight years experience in the financial industry seeks CU position. Has experience as a financial sales consultant, account officer, credit analyst. Call Ruth at the League and ask for resume 09-30-05.

EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES

League Council Meetings in October/November
10/25    Tri-State Compliance Council – 10 a.m. – Lancaster Host Resort. $50 fee.
10/27    Marketing Council: Working with the Media. Registration deadline: 10/20.*
11/2      Human Resource Council: Rewards and Recognition/Discipline and Discharge. Registration deadline 10/28.*
11/9      Financial Management Council: Overdraft Privilege. Registration deadline: 10/29.*
11/16    Cards Council: Selling Your Cards’ Portfolio. Registration deadline: 11/9.*
*No fee for council members; $65 for non-council members. Sessions begin at 10 a.m.  

October QuickBites Teleconferences
10/18    CUs 101: Introduction to CUs, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
10/20    ALM Seminar, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
10/26    Identity Theft, 11 a.m.-noon
The fee for each one-hour session is $99; the two-hour session is $169. Deadline to register: one week prior to the session. Call Bernadette to enroll.

One-Hour BSA Compliance Webinars
§       Thursday, October 20, 10 a.m. – Bank Secrecy Act
§       Thursday, October 20, 2 p.m. – USA Patriot Act
§        Tuesday, October 25, at 10 a.m. – CTR and SAR Form Filing Details
§        Tuesday, October 25, at 2 p.m. – OFAC, CTR, and FinCEN Exemption Form Filing Details
The fee for each session is $100. For more information or to enroll, phone Don Baumann of the co-sponsor Verisure at 315-638-4334.

Other Opportunities
§       Bankruptcy Webinar. October 27 from 1-2:30 EDT. Subject: “The Automatic Stay.” Fee: $125.
Registration is done online by going to http://www.culaw.com/wbnr-051027-    autostay.php4.
§      Cool Solutions: Marketing to the 18-28 Year-Old Market. November 10 at the Marriot Inner Harbor,  Baltimore.
9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Fee: $250.

Mid-Atlantic Corporate Asset/Liability Management Conference Call. October 27. Call 800-622-7494, ext. 3106, to enroll. There is no fee.

League Activities in September/October

COMPLIANCE/COMMUNICATIONS

            Credit Union Week Supplement in The News Journal. This year’s supplement will be published Tuesday, October 18, and will focus on the difference between banks and credit unions. One of the major articles will emphasize the role of volunteers in credit unions and will spotlight Delaware CU volunteers who have served their CUs for over 20 years.

            Delaware League Staff Quoted in CU Trade Publications. Two recent issues of the Credit Union Times had articles which focused on the Delaware League. The first was a letter to the editor written by communications director Alice Smith in response to an editorial by Mike Welch in which he asked the question, “Does a league keep track of all the volunteers serving its credit unions?” The Delaware League has done this for many years, Smith responded.
             In the September 28^th issue of the Credit Union Times, interim CEO Jane Bailey and communications director Alice Smith were interviewed regarding happenings at the Delaware League, specifically the president/CEO search and governmental affairs initiatives, especially the proposed Delaware Senate Bill 109, Consumer Credit and Identity Theft Protection Act.

             League Staff Travel. Interim CEO Jane Bailey attended CUNA’s Future Forum in San Francisco, California. Members of the League staff will be attending Wilmington Postal FCU’s open house/ribbon cutting on October 20, and Alice Smith has been invited to attend a small CU dinner hosted by Debbie Cohn of Mid-Atlantic Corporate on October 17.

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

             Luncheon for Senator Carper at CU House. The League has worked directly with CUNA’s governmental affairs staff in setting up a fundraising luncheon for Senator Tom Carper on October 19 at CU House in Washington. The League governmental affairs committee is providing transportation for the 18 Delaware credit union members who will attend. The League will present Senator Carper with a CULAC check for $10,000 at the event. Following the lunch, CUNA staffers will give attendees a legislative update. 

             Breakfast with Congressman Castle. Four members of the League’s governmental affairs committee will attend the October 18 legislative breakfast sponsored by the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce at which Congressman Mike Castle is the speaker.

             Washington Lunch With Governor Minner. Alice Smith attended a luncheon hosted by the Washington Area State Relations Group, at which Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner was the featured speaker. Alice was the guest of Phil Drager and Nancy DeGrandi of CUNA’s state governmental relations staff.

             Taxation Threat. The League is closely monitoring the possibility that Congress may again evaluate the CU tax exemption. Because of the recent natural disasters, the war in Iraq, and the overall economy, Congress is seeking new revenue sources, such as taxes. The entire CU movement must remain diligent to urge our members in Congress to protect the credit union tax-exempt status.

             CURIA, H.R. 2317, the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act of 2005. Currently there are 99 co-sponsors for CURIA, only one shy of CUNA’s 100 co-sponsor goal. Congressman Castle is not on the list.

             Legislative Update Regarding Credit Report Freeze. GAC committee member George Fitzgerald continues to lobby members of the state legislature in support of Delaware Senate Bill 109, Consumer Credit and Identity Theft Protection Act. He and Peg Conway of DEXSTA FCU, along with representatives from CUNA Mutual Group and ING Bank, recently met with Senator Venables, the bill’s sponsor, to discuss the proposed Delaware Security Freeze law and any proposed changes we’d like to see made in preparation for the January session.

LEAGUE SERVICES

             Second Chance for Special CU Pricing From Allpoint ATM Network. The League will soon offer Delaware CUs another opportunity to benefit from group pricing from the Allpoint ATM Network, which provides 32,000 surcharge-free ATMs in retail locations nationwide. The League has negotiated with Allpoint so that all member CUs can enroll in the ATM network at reduced pricing and with a discounted implementation fee. The sale will run from October 15-January 15. Delaware had 12 CUs sign up in the spring sale. Contact Jane Bailey for more information.

             Fall Car Sale. There are eight Delaware credit unions and eight car dealers participating in the League-organized Fall Car Sale, slated for October 27-29.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

             Volunteer Leadership Conference. This annual board and supervisory committee training event has the largest attendance ever in its nine year history. Co-sponsored by the Delaware League and the Maryland/DC CU Association, the 1 ½ day event held on October 15-16 hosted 19 Delaware credit unions and 21 from Maryland and D.C. This represented 144 registrants and 80 guests, vendors, and speakers.

             Bank Secrecy Act Training. Five credit unions have signed up to use the Bank Secrecy Act video training resource from the League’s lending library. Call Bernadette to borrow this resource.

            Quickbites and Webinars. The League continues to partner with the Illinois League to offer the Quickbites teleconferences. The League has also partnered with the Verisure Company to present monthly webinars on the Bank Secrecy Act, USA Patriot Act and OFAC, risk management issues and ACH. Most recently we have partnered with the North Law Firm in California to provide a series of webinars on the new bankruptcy act, which for the most part became effective on October 17, 2005.

            September Education Sessions. Here is a listing of the sessions offered by the League during September. Attendance information for sessions which are offered through our education partnerships is still pending.