HEADLINE NEWS

     The Delaware League invites credit union staff, volunteers, and supporters to join us in a celebration of achievement at the 11th Annual Education Awards Night on Tuesday, March 8, at the Holiday Inn in Newark. This event will honor 44 Delaware CU professionals and volunteers who have earned certification in various CUNA and League education programs during 2004. They represent the following credit unions: American Spirit, Delaware, Delaware State Police, DEXSTA, DPL, First State, New Castle County School Employees, and Pipefitters.
     These achievers are invited as honored guests of the League to be recognized for their time and commitment in pursuing additional education in their chosen field. The celebration will begin at 6 p.m. with a social time; the dinner featuring stuffed chicken will be served at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are $29 per person and are available by contacting Ruth at the League by February 17.

League Organizing Another Spring Car Sale
     The Spring Car Sale will be held on April 28-30. Information packets have been mailed to CUs that participated in the Fall Sale. If your CU would like a packet or more information, contact Susan Fallon by phone or email susan@dcul.org. The two car sales held in 2004 generated $1.5 million in loans. Over the past 12 years, these sales have brought over $73 million in loans to Delaware CUs.

Bank Secrecy Act Compliance: Is Your CU Prepared?
     As mentioned in the 12/30/04 edition of Together, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance is listed as one of NCUA’s regulatory examination hot buttons in 2005. These regulatory examinations will focus on adequate policies, procedures, and staff training; accurate completion and timely filing of Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs); monetary instrument sales in amounts between $3,000 and $10,000; aggregation tracking mechanisms; and member (customer) identification procedures.
     The most common BSA violations often include:
§         Inadequate training of employees (BSA compliance training is specifically mandated in Section 748 of NCUA regulations);
§         BSA Compliance Officer not specified in the CU’s policy;
§         Failure to file CTRs accurately and appropriately;
§         Inadequate identification on CTRs;
§         Incomplete recordkeeping on loans;
§         Inadequate recordkeeping on $3,000 to $10,000 monetary instruments;
§         Not reporting a suspicious activity report submission to the Board or an appropriate committee; and
§         Lack of independent BSA review.
     Training Available for CU Staff. The League will provide several opportunities in the coming year for BSA training for your staff as listed in bullet one above. The first opportunity is a webinar format to be held on February 8 and 9. The League has partnered with Verisure to present two hour-long webinars in February. On Tuesday, February 8, at 10:30 a.m., there will be a session on the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering. On Wednesday, February 9, at 10:30 a.m., there will be an additional session on the USA Patriot Act and OFAC. The cost of each session is $100, and your staff can receive the training at your own site. Contact Bernadette Hines for information.

NCUA BOARD MEETING

NCUA Board Adopts Three Rules
     1) NCUA Tightens Rules for Converting to a Bank. The NCUA Board met on January 13 and adopted three final rules. The first requires broader disclosures for conversions of CUs to a mutual thrift charter. This rule was fueled by the growing number of CU conversions to banks.
     2) Insurance Conversions Will Require New Disclosures. The second rule imposes new disclosure and other requirements for conversions of federally insured CUs to private insurance.
     3) Maximum CU Interest Rate Remains at 18%. The rule continues the 18% interest rate ceiling for federal CUs for loans and lines of credit advances made during the period of March 9, 2005, through September 8, 2006. The 18% ceiling has been in place since 1987.
     Under the Federal Credit Union Act, federal credit unions are limited to charging 15% on loans, unless the NCUA Board approves a higher loan rate ceiling, which can be set as high as 21%. The current 18% ceiling was due to revert to 15% on March 9, 2005. As required by Congress, NCUA will review this rule again in 18 months. The Board is prepared to reconsider the 18% ceiling at any time prior to that if warranted by changes in economic conditions.
     Both Chairman JoAnn Johnson and board member Debbie Matz remarked that keeping the ceiling at the same level encourages risk-based lending. Decreasing the ceiling would discourage such lending and may result in members seeking other means for obtaining loans and line of credit advances, thereby falling prey to predatory lenders.

General Franks to Speak at Governmental Affairs Conference
     Support CUs on the national level by attending CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) from February 27-March 2 in Washington, D.C. General Tommy Franks, renowned military leader, will be a featured speaker on February 28. In his remarks to CUNA’s GAC, General Franks is expected to provide observations on the global war on terrorism, as well as broader themes of leadership, citizenship, and values. For more information, visit http://www.cuna.org/ and click on the GAC logo in the right-hand column. 

CU POLITICAL ACTION

Credit Union Petition Drive to Congress
     Kudos to all those Delaware credit unions that had a total of 6230 members sign our “Protect My Credit Union!” petition. The petition simply asks legislators to preserve CUs’ current tax status, because, as we know, any new tax on CUs will negatively impact CU member-owners.
     Our thanks to the following CUs for passing along the following number of petitions:
American Spirit FCU - 1476
Chestnut Run FCU - 1354
Delaware FCU - 1279
Delaware Alliance FCU - 247
Delpart FCU - 52
Dover FCU - 182
Edge Moor DuPont Employees FCU - 84
First State FCU - 285
Newark, Delaware City Employees FCU - 79
Seaford FCU - 20
Southern Delaware Postal Employees FCU - 74
Sussex County FCU - 989
Wilmington Police and Fire FCU - 68
Wilmington Postal FCU - 41
     Delaware CUs put forth a great effort in collecting these signatures. Newark, Delaware City Employees FCU collected signatures from 29.1% of its members. Delpart FCU has only a mail operation, but manager Dan Komara took the petition to the Chrysler plant and got 52 signatures from the CU’s members.
     According to Alice Smith, spokesperson for the Delaware CU League, “We plan on presenting the petitions to Senator Carper, Senator Biden, and Congressman Castle at the time of Delaware credit unions’ annual lobbying trip on March 1 during CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference.”
     The League will be sending all petitions to CUNA on February 9 for the national count. If, by any chance, your CU forgot to send in your signed petitions, please send or bring them to the League immediately.

SYSTEM NEWS

CUNA Mutual Names New CEO
     The board of directors of CUNA Mutual Group has named Jeff Post as the company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 17. Post is the former president and CEO of Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, a position he held in the last three years of a 10-year career there.
     Post succeeds Jeff Holley, who had served since August as acting president and CEO. Holley is returning to his former role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of CUNA Mutual. Lon Sprecher, who has served as interim CFO, is returning to his role as Credit Union Employee and Credit Union Protection Solutions Group Leader.

CUNA Mutual IRA Online Training
     CUNA Mutual Group is introducing a new online training program for credit union staff to learn the basics about individual retirement accounts (IRAs). IRA e-Learning allows credit union staff to get IRA training when they want it, giving them control over their own learning from any Internet connection. “ABCs of IRAs” is the first e-Learning module in a growing library of online, IRA-focused e-Learning courses CUNA Mutual is offering.
     This first module, available on www.cunamutual.com, is a highly interactive course designed for CU employees who have limited involvement with IRA transactions, yet need basic product knowledge. “ABCs of IRAs” covers the definition of an IRA, differences between traditional and Roth IRAs, and benefits of an IRA to the CU and its members. The course sets the foundation for further learning about IRAs.  
     For more information on e-Learning and the “ABCs of IRAs,” including registration information, visit: www.cunamutual.com and search for “IRA Training,” or call 800-356-9140, ext. 5670.

     Dates Set for League IRA Training. League education director Bernadette Hines wants to assure Delaware CUs that the League will continue to hold the basic and advanced IRA sessions in December. The dates for these full-day classroom training programs this year will be November 29-30. 

      The 6^th annual CEO Summit was held the third week in January. The program included a round-table discussion facilitated by George Towle, focusing on CUSOs and field of membership issues. Paula Campbell, CEO of DIAMOND STATE FCU, participated on the panel, which discussed opportunities and challenges facing the organization and operation of a CUSO.
     The closing day included a question and answer session with Ed Dupcak, director of NCUA Region II, along with a presentation on executive benefits by Yvonne Evers, president/CEO of HR Value Group, and Joe Tripalin, VP of Executive Benefits for CUNA Mutual Group.
     The conference was also attended by Dawn Sutcliffe, CEO of DELAWARE ALLIANCE FCU, and League president Bob Walls.
     Highlights of the conference were two victory parties, following wins by the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams advanced to the NFL playoffs. [Program information provided by the Pennsylvania CU Association’s “Life Is a Highway.”]

EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES

February Quick Bites Calls:
2/1        Selling in a Service Environment – 11 a.m.- noon, $99.
2/3        CUs 101: Introduction to CUs – 11a.m. - 1 p.m., $169.
2/10      How to Drive Other Income – 11 a.m. - noon, $99.
2/16      Same Team/Different Game – 11 a.m. - noon, $99.
2/24      Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) - 11a .m.-noon, $99.
These audio-conferences are designed to allow your staff to receive training at your own site. The fee includes unlimited staff participation. The deadline for registration is one week prior to the session. To enroll, call or e-mail Bernadette Hines at the League.

 One-Hour Compliance Webinars
§         Tuesday, February 8, at 10:30 a.m. – Bank Secrecy Act & Anti-Money Laundering. Covers the significant elements of both laws. Fee: $100.
§         Wednesday, February 9, at 10:30 a.m. – USA Patriot Act & Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This session will discuss major points of the Patriot Act and CIP requirements. Fee: $100.
Contact Bernadette at the League on how to enroll.

CU Financial Management Council – Thursday, February 17, at 10 a.m. Jim Higbee of Rowles & Company will present information on changes in CU accounting procedures. This session is free to registered 2005 council members; $65 per person for non-council members. Lunch is provided. Regis. deadline: 2/11.

CU Human Resource Council – Tuesday, February 22, at 10 a.m. Speaker: Robert C. Nagle, Esquire, of Saul Ewing, LLP. Topics include employee performance documentation, exit interviews, negative references, and adverse employment action. This session is free to registered 2005 council members; $65 per person for non-council members. Lunch is provided. Regis. deadline: 2/16.

CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference. February 27-March 2, 2005, in Washington, D.C. Fee for CUs under $10M in assets is $365; rate for larger CUs is $779. Call Alice Smith at the League for more information about this conference.

League Education Awards Dinner – Tuesday, March 8, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, Route 273, near Newark. This event honors Delaware CU professionals and volunteers who have earned certification in various CUNA and League education programs during 2004. Tickets are $29 per person and are available by contacting Ruth Lawley at the League by February 17.