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Volume 26, Number 3 |
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Volume 26, Number 3 |
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HEADLINE
NEWS
Your Link to Compliance Information
The Delaware League’s newly designed website – www.dcul.org – now features a new online
compliance information system. InfoSight is a completely web-based service that
will give Delaware-affiliated credit unions a place to go to learn more about
complying with the numerous federal and state laws and regulations that affect
a credit union’s business affairs.
InfoSight was developed in 2003 through the collaborative efforts of the
InfoSight provides compliance information
on an array of topics from employment and field of membership to tax issues,
bankruptcy and collection, member accounts and record retention.
The site’s
library of compliance content includes executive summaries, frequently asked
questions, checklists, resources, and explanations of laws and regulations.
According to League compliance director
Susan Fallon, “The League is always looking for ways to better serve our
members, and we feel this service is a key addition. The League will be helping
to set up links to Delaware-specific rules and regulations.”
To access InfoSight, the League will
provide each affiliated
NCUA Pilot Program to Collect Data on CU Service,
Salaries
The National Credit Union Administration
(NCUA) this month will begin collecting some data in response to specific
congressional requests and the General Accountability Office (GAO) to measure
service to credit union members and senior credit union management compensation
and benefits. “With this data collection, NCUA is responding to specific
congressional requests and looks forward to the opportunity for enhancing the
clarity of credit union service to Americans from all walks of life,” said NCUA
Chairman JoAnn Johnson in a statement released recently. “This is an important
endeavor and the agency takes its responsibilities seriously.”
The agency said 481 federal credit unions were
randomly selected, using a “statistically sound method,” for participation in
the initial data gathering process. Selected credit unions will be contacted by
a NCUA examiner prior to any on-site visit. NCUA said it plans to begin
collecting preliminary data from federal credit unions in late February 2006.
Johnson said the process “will be an opportunity for the not-for-profit
financial cooperatives to demonstrate with quantifiable data the good work they
are doing for Americans from all walks of life.”
In a recent Letter to Credit Unions
06-FCU-02, the agency detailed its plan for data collection that will include
reviewing samples of loan files and AIRES downloads. The letter, including a
set of questions and answers, can be found at: http://www.ncua.gov/letters/2006/FCU/06-FCU-02.pdf
According to NCUA, the data collected will be aggregated and
utilized by the agency to do an initial evaluation of:
n
The
extent and type of services provided to members;
n
The
income distribution of members;
n
The
reliability and value of this preliminary data; and
n
Executive
compensation and benefits.
COMPLIANCE
RECAP
President Signs Deposit Insurance Reforms
President Bush signed into law February 8
deposit insurance reforms which by year-end could raise coverage for retirement
accounts to $250,000 and give the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)
and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) authority to adjust
coverage levels of all accounts to keep pace with inflation, starting in 2010.
The law also gives the insurance funds more flexibility in charging premiums
and would merge the bank and thrift insurance funds into a new Deposit
Insurance Fund (DIF). Credit Union National Association (CUNA) worked during
the legislative process to ensure credit union share insurance received equal
treatment with the bank and thrift insurance funds. The law sets no specific
effective date at present.
NCUA Letter on Operating Fees
NCUA Letter to Federal Credit Unions
06-FCU-01 announces the operating fee schedule for 2006. In March, CUs will
receive an invoice for their 2006 operating fees and any capitalization deposit
adjustment. These will be based upon credit union assets and insured shares as
of
Verify Money Orders
The United States Postal Service has launched a money order verification
system. This is a two-phase process. The first is an interactive voice response
system (866-459-7822) that allows users to verify USPS money orders. The second
phase will be a batch type of system allowing users to verify more than 20 USPS
money orders at a time. Using the system, users can verify money orders issued
more than 48 hours ago and not older than 90 days. You will need to provide the
following information in order to use the IVR system:
• Money order serial number (11
digits)
• Money order dollar amount (1-6
digits)
• Money order post office ID (6
digits)
The IVR system will either verify
that the money order was issued by the USPS in the dollar amount entered or
respond that the money order does not match the USPS database.
Know Your Overdraft Disclosure Rules
Credit unions wanting to offer members an
overdraft bounce protection plan or courtesy pay program – even where the
credit union is under no obligation to pay any particular overdraft but may
charge a fee for doing so – better know new regulatory disclosure rules if they
intend to advertise the service, even on members’ periodic statements. That’s
the advice of the compliance experts at the Credit Union National Association
(CUNA) and the subject of one of January’s Compliance Challenge questions,
which asks: Are any special disclosures required on a member's periodic
statements as a direct result of advertising the courtesy pay program? You bet,
says Mike McLain, CUNA’s assistant general counsel and senior compliance counsel.
“CUs that promote the payment of overdrafts in advertisements will be required
to disclose on their periodic statements the total amount of fees and charges
imposed for paying overdrafts, as well as the total amount of fees charged for
returning items unpaid. These totals must be provided for both the statement
period and for the calendar year-to-date for any account in which the
advertisement applies,” McLain writes in the January Challenge. “Also, fees for
paying overdrafts and fees for returning items unpaid may not be grouped
together as fees for insufficient funds. In addition to the per item fee, the
term ‘fees’ also includes interest charges, any other periodic fee, and fees
charged for maintaining an account in an overdraft status. Credit unions may
indicate in a current statement that fees for a prior period were waived, but
that must not affect the total for the current statement period. The credit
union may reflect the adjustment in the year-to-date total,” he continues. The
mandatory compliance date is
ID Theft DVD Available
The
U.S. Department of the Treasury now has a free DVD regarding identity theft.
Copies of the DVD, Identity Theft: Outsmarting
the Crooks, are available through the
CU
SYSTEM NEWS
Credit unions that have converted to a
community charter now have an all-in-one place to find resources to help them. Community Charter Resources from CUNA
wraps up all the products, services, and training that apply to this area of
the credit union movement.
Among the topics are branch planning,
member business lending, business development, sales and service, community
outreach, research, Hispanic resources, staff education and training,
networking, peer and general resources. The site also offers free access to
articles cultivating select employee groups (SEGs), collaboration, the Hispanic
market, focus groups, and financial institutions reaching out to low- and
moderate-income markets. To view the collection of resources for community-chartered
CUs, use the following resource link: http://buy.cuna.org/static/community_charter.html
A.M. Best, Fitch Rate CUNA Mutual
CUNA Mutual Group’s financial strength has
been reaffirmed by ratings agencies A.M. Best and Fitch. A.M. Best rates CUNA
Mutual’s primary insurance companies “A” (Excellent), while Fitch rates them “AA-”
(Very Strong).
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
One of the most difficult parts of the
collection process is making sure that the procedures you follow are all legal.
The first Collection Council meeting of 2006, to be held on Tuesday, March 14,
at the League office, will address this issue. Since most
The deadline for registering for this
session is March 6. There is no charge for Collection Council members.
There is a fee of $75 per person for non-members. Contact Bernadette Hines for
more information.
Regional Training Opportunities
§
CUNA’s Consumer Lending School, April 24-27, in Columbia, Maryland. This school runs for four days and
will cover 1) the basics of consumer lending, 2) the underwriting challenge and
risk-based lending, 3) consumer regulations and compliance, and 4) collections
and bankruptcy. The registration fee is $1295 for the four days or $375 per
day. The conference is co-sponsored by the
§
Online Tool on Identity Theft
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
has released an online multimedia education tool that consumers can use to
learn how to better protect their computers and themselves from ID thieves.
The
presentation is on the FDIC’s website at http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/guard/index.html
DELAWARE FCU held a groundbreaking ceremony on
February 15 for its new corporate center at
BauerFinancial,
Inc., an independent bank rating and research firm, has issued updated star
ratings based on the most recently released financial data, current as of
February 2006 and based on September 30, 2005, financial data. Fifteen
Credit unions with four-star ratings
include
BauerFinancial recommends all four and
five-star financial institutions. CUs with less than $1.5 million in assets are
not rated.
EMPLOYMENT SOUGHT
§
Individual,
who has computer certifications in A+ and Net+ and is working on Security+,
seeks position that deals with network administration, program management and
software development. Resume #
§
Individual
with experience with credit cards and consumer finance products seeks position.
Also has skills in call center management, sales training, budget management,
and employee development. Resume #02/06/06.
§
Individual
with credit union experience seeks outsourcing and data entry work to fulfill
from home. Home computer has Microsoft Office 2003, as well as Adobe PageMaker
7.0. Resume #
For a copy of any of the resumes
listed above, please contact Ruth Lawley at the League office.
EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITIES
February/March QuickBites Teleconferences
One-hour sessions –
2/23 Creating
Effective Teams
3/02 Lending
to the Self-Employed
3/08 Service: It’s All About Attitude
3/21 FACT
Act
3/30 Payday
Lending
Two-hour session
3/15 Introduction
to Credit Unions: CU 101
The fee for
the one-hour sessions is $99, and the two-hour session is $169. Deadline to
register: one week prior to the session. Call
One-Hour BSA Compliance Webinars
These
courses are now being offered in an “on demand” format – hook into them at the time
and place you choose. The next live webinars are:
R BSA Training
3/9
Bank Secrecy Act
3/14
3/16 CTR/SAR
Forms Completion
3/21 OFAC,
FinCEN, CTR Forms
Each
session begins at
Marketing Council – Wednesday, February 22, from
Collection Council – Tuesday, March 14, from
* All council meetings are free to registered
council members. Non-members are encouraged to attend for a $75 fee. Please
register no later than one week before the event by calling Ruth Lawley.
North Law Firm Webinar:“Denial of
Services and Expulsion of Members” – Thursday, February 23, from
Robbery Training – Tuesday, March 21, from
COMPLIANCE/COMMUNICATIONS/EVENTS
League Redesigns Website. The League worked with Visions,
Ink., to redesign our website, www.dcul.org.
The main purpose of the revamping is to create a website that is more
attractive and easier to navigate, thereby making information more accessible
to credit unions and consumers. In addition, the website now hosts InfoSight,
an online compliance information system with a library of compliance topics at
your fingertips.
Opportunities
to Meet the New League President. Patrick Mahaney has visited with
sixteen
Compliance
Issues and Risk Alerts. The League recently distributed copies of
CUNA’s monthly Compliance Challenge to
update CUs on issues such as information breaches, USERRA, and disclosing
consumers’ medical information. The League continues to keep credit unions
abreast of risk management concerns involving “phishing scams,” counterfeit
cashier’s checks, and e-mail viruses.
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
Credit Freeze Legislation. George Fitzgerald continues to
keep the League informed of his actions toward the enactment of Delaware Senate
Bill 109. His efforts include forming a coalition of groups to support this
bill, in addition to credit unions. The 24 groups in the coalition thus far
include
Governmental
Affairs Committee. Thanks to the support of all the credit unions
affiliated with the Delaware League, we have 100% participation in the GAC
Fund. The most recent use of the fund will be to provide a scholarship to
CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference to Savannah Jarrell of Delaware Alliance
Federal Credit Union and to provide a van to take “day trippers” to our annual
Hike the Hill on February 28.
Reception
for
Yearend
CULAC Update. Marie Davis has been reappointed as a CULAC trustee for
the next two years. According to CUNA’s records for 2005,
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
2006 Professional Councils. There are 14 credit unions registered for professional councils. The
financial council held its first meeting in February with Carolyn Warden
discussing asset-liability management for decision makers. The cards council
and marketing councils will meet in February, and the collection council and
tri-state compliance council will meet April.
Education Awards. Patrick Mahaney attended DPL Federal Credit Union’s annual meeting held
on January 27 to present STAR certificates that were earned in 2005 by the
credit union’s staff – four individuals earned nine certificates.
January Educational Offerings. Here is a listing of the educational sessions offered by the League in
January 2006. In the case of the Verisure webinars, the League receives
notification of participation quarterly.
|
Date |
Title |
|
# Individuals |
# CUs |
|
|
ID
Verification Loss Prevention |
Verisure
Webinar |
Totals unavail. |
Totals unavail. |
|
|
Identity
Theft |
Verisure
Webinar |
Totals unavail. |
Totals unavail. |
|
1/14-1/17/06 |
2006
Regional CEO Summit |
|
3 |
2 |
|
|
Who
Is CU Collections, LLC? |
Mid |
5 |
2 |
|
|
Front Line
Frauds |
Verisure
Webinar |
Totals unavail. |
Totals unavail. |
|
|
Back
Office Frauds |
Verisure
Webinar |
Totals unavail. |
Totals unavail. |
|
|
Cross
Collateral Clauses |
NLF/
Webinar |
Totals unavail. |
Totals unavail. |
|
|
Data
Breach Management |
Verisure
Webinar |
Totals unavail. |
Totals unavail. |
|
|
Financial
Mgmt Council/ALM for Decision Makers |
Carolyn
Warden |
17 |
10 |
|
|
5 or More
Things Every Director Should Know |
Carolyn
Warden |
26 |
11 |
|
|
Bank Secrecy
Act |
Verisure
Webinar |
Totals unavail. |
Totals unavail. |
|
|
|
Verisure
Webinar |
Totals unavail. |
Totals unavail. |
|
|
Quickbites |
|
|
|
|
|
Leadership,
Not Management |
Teleconference |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Reg CC |
Teleconference |
5 |
3 |
|
|
Overdraft,
Reg D, |
Teleconference |
2 |
1 |
|
|
Loan
Officer Protocol |
Teleconference |
9 |
4 |
