Volume 28, Number 19                                                            October 15, 2008

HEADLINE NEWS

Delaware Credit Unions Celebrate with Advertising Supplement
     Credit unions in Delaware helped to celebrate Credit Union Week by publishing their
seventh Credit Union Supplement in The News Journal, Delaware’s statewide newspaper. The 16-page, full-color supplement was paid for with advertising from Delaware credit unions and was inserted in the October 14th News Journal.
     Using the International Credit Union Day theme for its cover, the issue highlights the safety and soundness of Delaware credit unions. It also explains the difference between banks and credit unions and directs consumers on how to find a credit union to join. 
     According to Alice A. Smith, communications director for the Delaware Credit Union League, “With the media’s constant play on the market’s turmoil, Delaware credit unions wanted to reassure members and potential members that they are safe, solid, and sound.” 
     The publication was underwritten by the advertisements of 12 credit unions and features a directory of all 34 credit unions in Delaware. Over 120,000 copies of the supplement were printed and inserted into the paper. If you did not receive a copy in Tuesday’s paper, please call Jane Bailey.

MORE NCUA NEWS

NCUA Call Center to Answer Insurance Questions
     The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has opened a call center staffed by insurance experts available to answer questions about share insurance coverage provided by the agency's National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
      “With the well-publicized turmoil in the financial markets, consumers need assurance that the federally insured funds in their credit unions are safe up to the insured limits,” said NCUA Chairman Michael Fryzel in an announcement of the hotline.
     The agency concurrently posted an electronic tool kit, which is designed to enhance overall consumer understanding of how credit union deposits are insured (see previous article).
     Fryzel urged credit union volunteers and professionals to make sure they are well-versed in the details of the protections offered to credit union members through the NCUSIF. He encouraged those individuals to use the resources the NCUA is providing through the call center and toolkit.
     The NCUA Insurance Call Center operates from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (EDT) Monday through Friday. The toll-free number is 800-755-1030, extension 1.
     The NCUA electronic tool kit is available online through the NCUA website and provides information on share insurance coverage, including:
■   An “insurance estimator,” which facilitates the calculation of an estimate of share insurance coverage; 
■   “Your Insured Funds,” a brochure that details insurance coverage and illustrates sample cases; 
■   “How Your Accounts Are Federally Insured,” a brochure that provides basic insurance information; 
■   “Special Bulletin,” which explains increased retirement account coverage in addition to basic insurance protection; and
■   “Letter to Credit Unions 08-CU-18, Educating Members on Share Insurance Coverage.”
     CUNA and the leagues also are working on behalf of CUs to reassure their members about the safety of their deposits in the CU system. CUNA President/CEO Dan Mica has posted a video on the CUNA website that dispels misinformation that is circulating that federally insured banks are the only safe places for consumer funds right now.

NCUA Simplifies Rules on Revocable Trusts
     The NCUA Board has approved an interim rule change, which eliminates the concept of a “qualifying beneficiary” of a revocable trust account, so coverage can be based on the naming of any beneficiary. The change, which came a week after the FDIC made a similar policy shift, allows friends, in-laws, cousins, nieces and nephews to be beneficiaries under these insured accounts. This rule was effective on October 3, 2008.

NCUA Issues Final Rule On Advertising
     The NCUA has issued a final rule regarding the official advertising statement that federally insured credit unions (FICUs) are required to display. The rule will amend Part 740, “Advertising,” of NCUA’s regulations. The Federal Credit Union Act requires that all FICUs include the official advertising statement in all of their advertisements. The rule allows credit unions to display NCUA’s official advertising statement, a shortened form of it, or NCUA’s official sign. Previously, FICUs could only use the shortened statement if in conjunction with the official sign. This rule is effective as of October 31, 2008.

Avoid Critical Advertising
     In an effort to deliver a message that credit unions are safe and sound, some ads have been implying that banks are not safe and that depositors should withdraw their funds.
     NCUA Chairman Michael Fryzel has issued a letter advising credit unions to discontinue or refrain from advertising such remarks.
     “In these turbulent times, consumers need to have faith and confidence in the financial system,” said Fryzel. “At NCUA, we have been working with Congress to make certain that I, as the federal insurer, and you, as the financial service provider, have the tools we need to keep credit unions strong and vibrant, and member funds safe and secure. We need everyone to work toward a common goal of a safe and secure financial industry for the entire nation,” said Fryzel.
     The full letter can be found on NCUA’s website: http://www.ncua.gov/letters/2008/FryzelLettertoFCUs.pdf. 

CU SYSTEM NEWS

CUNA and NCUA Ads Available to Explain Share Insurance
     The news is being punctuated by stories about the economy and relief options, and a feeling of uncertainty may be present in your members. The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is providing a complimentary series of informative and effective advertisements specifically tailored to promote the safety and stability a CU brings.

     With an emphasis on the news of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act raising federal share insurance coverage to $250,000 and the goal of objectively reassuring the public that their money is safe, these three ads are a pivotal way of spreading the message of the CU alternative in this economic crunch. The ads all contain a unique message of confidence and soundness with this prevailing theme: “You should feel secure that your money is safe in a not-for-profit credit union; virtually all are also federally insured.”
     Key characteristics about the ads are:
►  All are available in black and white or color formats;
►  All may be used vertically or horizontally;
►  All may be used individually or in a unifying series;
►  High-resolution versions of the ads may be enlarged for lobby or window posters;
►  Space on the ads has been left for logos of sponsoring credit unions or leagues; and ►  All ads are provided at no cost to leagues and CUNA-member credit unions.
     To view the ads, please visit this website: http://www.cuna.org/initiatives/secure_strong/member/index.html.
     In addition, NCUA is distributing to each federally insured credit union three large lobby posters that feature "Uncle Sam" and accompanying text, "This Credit Union Is Federally Insured."

FDIC Premiums Up; NCUSIF's Steady for Now
     The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has announced a “restoration plan” accompanied by a proposal to increase rates banks pay for deposit insurance by seven basis points. At this time, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has no similar intention. Under the FDIC plan, on average banks would pay roughly 13.5 basis points in premiums by the second quarter of next year. They currently pay 6.5 basis points. Credit unions are not facing a similar increase in share insurance premiums – at this time, according to NCUA Chairman Michael Fryzel. “As of today, everything looks fine in terms of the share insurance fund,” Fryzel said. “And as of today I cannot tell you that there will be an increase in the premiums federally insured credit unions pay for coverage by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF),” he added.

Youth Week Theme: The Magic of Saving
     Based on feedback from more than 700 credit union staff and 50 youth, the winning theme for National Credit Union Youth Week 2009 is “The Magic of Saving.” National Credit Union Youth Week will be celebrated April 19-25, 2009.
     Credit unions looking to start or expand a youth program in 2009 might be interested in the just-published “Model Youth Program Guide.” The guide is a toolbox of research, resources, samples, and checklists. It includes a sample job description for a student-run branch coordinator. For more information, go to http://buy.cuna.org/detail.php?sku=28479P

DELAWARE NOTES

The first person to be named Delaware’s Outstanding CU Volunteer in 1992, Evelyn Robinson, recently passed away. At the time of her nomination, Evelyn had served as a volunteer for WILMINGTON NEWSPAPER FCU for 31 years in the capacities of board and supervisory committee member, secretary, and treasurer.

Melba Saxton, CHESTNUT RUN FCU CEO, and Maurice Dawkins, AMERICAN SPIRIT FCU CEO, were featured in an article about “First State Branches in the First State” written by Jay Young for the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association’s September/October edition of  Key Notes. The Pennsylvania Credit Union Service Centers coordinates 65 shared branches in Pennsylvania, three shared branches in Delaware, and one office in Charlotte, North Carolina. Contact Jane Bailey if you would like more information on offering shared branching to your members.

EAGLE ONE FCU has announced that its Claymont branch will be open for business on Saturdays starting October 18, 2008. Responding to member requests for additional hours of service, the credit union has decided to open this branch on Saturdays in order to accommodate those who are unable to conduct their business during regular weekday hours. Saturday hours in Claymont will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

DEL-ONE (Delaware FCU) broke ground on October 1 at 201 Pharmacy Drive, south of Smyrna. This will be the CU’s seventh branch, and the CU anticipates completion of the building in March.

The Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council, Inc., (DCRAC), along with distinguished community leaders, held a charter organizational meeting and officially submitted an application for a low-income credit union charter on October 2, 2008. The proposed federal credit union, called the STEPPING STONES COMMUNITY FCU, will have a field of membership of persons who live, work, worship, attend school or participate in associations headquartered in Wilmington. 

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

October/November QuickBites Teleconferences
One-hour sessions run from 11 a.m.-noon:
•    10/21 - Bank Secrecy Act
•    10/30 - Nuts and Bolts of Bankruptcy
•    11/05 - Disaster Recovery
•    11/13 - Money Laundering
•    11/20 - Preparing for Your IT Security Exam
Two-hour sessions run from 11 a.m.-noon.
•    11/18 - CU Financials for Staff
The fee for the one-hour sessions is $99, and the two-hour session is $169. The deadline to register with Bernadette Hines is one week prior to the session.

Upcoming Council Meetings
10/22  Mortgage Council: Mortgage Loan Health Check-up
11/05  Cards Council: Cards Compliance Update
11/06  Marketing Council: The Challenge Program and Seminars in a Box
11/07  Financial Council: Economic Overview
All council meetings will be held from 10 a.m.-noon at the League office, followed by lunch and networking. There is no fee for council members; non-members: $100. Contact the League to register.

■    IRA Essentials Workshop – Wednesday, November 19, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Topics covered are fundamentals, contributions, distributions, transfers and rollovers, and tax reporting.
■    IRA Advanced Workshop – Thursday, November 20, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Topics covered are contributions, including conversion contributions; distributions, including excess, recharacterizations, and taxation; required minimum distributions; and processing a death claim.
     The fee for each session is $250 per person, which includes lunch, refreshments and workbook. Participants are asked to bring basic hand-held calculators to both sessions. Registration deadline: November 12.

League Activities in September and October

COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLIC RELATIONS

          Actions Taken to Convey the Safety and Soundness of Credit Unions. Credit unions need to position themselves to shore up members’ confidence in the long-term stability of their chosen financial institution. The media is now including credit union deposit insurance in its messages of financial security, but original communications neglected this fact. They emphasized that people should look for FDIC-insured institutions and put their money there so it would be protected by the federal government, without mentioning NCUA-backed credit unions.
          The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) redoubled efforts to clarify that NCUSIF coverage matches that of the FDIC. In July, CUNA and the Delaware League had responded to the closing of IndyMac Bank by sharing with media and member credit unions some positive supporting material detailing credit unions’ strength in contrast to that banking system failure.
          Credit unions have notified the League that the information from CUNA and the League has been timely and useful because members are asking questions. In continuing with the information already provided through press releases, email communications, and safety and soundness information on the League website (www.dcul.org), CUNA has developed for leagues and credit unions a series of ads to help explain federal share insurance at credit unions. These ads are free to download off CUNA’s web site (www.cuna.org).
          CUNA’s ads are designed to answer questions for credit union members and the community, particularly in the wake of the enactment in early October of the “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act,” raising federal share insurance coverage to $250,000. The copy in each ad states (essentially): “As not-for-profit cooperatives owned and run for the benefit of their members, credit unions have never been pressured to make risky investments. And deposits are federally insured to at least $250,000. No one has ever lost a penny of federally insured savings in a credit union.”
          According to CUNA, each ad targets credit union members as a primary audience and opinion leaders as a secondary audience. The creative objectives are to reassure members and the public that their money is safe in a credit union and to remind all of credit unions’ financial mission and track record. The single most important message in all three: “You should feel secure that your money is safe in a not-for-profit credit
union; virtually all are also federally insured.”
          NCUA also created a set of posters that were sent to all CUs. However, “because the posters were shipped just days before the passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, they do not reflect the increase in coverage,” said NCUA. Credit union managers have two options to bring the posters up-to-date:
•    Strike through the $100,000 on the poster and write in $250,000 in a visually noticeable way;
•    Or download a file of the updated poster, with the new $250,000 limit printed, from NCUA's website, www.ncua.gov.

          Credit Union Day Supplement. The 12 credit unions that supported this project with their advertising included American Spirit, Chestnut Run, Del-One, Delaware Alliance, Delaware State Police, DEXSTA, Dover, DPL, Eagle One, Louviers, New Castle County School Employees, and Sussex County. The emphasis in this year’s 16-page supplement was the difference between credit unions and banks and the safety and soundness of credit unions in Delaware. In addition, seven Delaware credit unions provided wonderful testimonial quotes from their members about why they love their credit unions. All Delaware CUs were featured in a directory found in the center of the publication.

          Delaware League News and Risk Alerts. The League emailed 39 news alerts and 5 risk alerts during August and September. The hot topic was the economy and CUNA’s/leagues’ efforts to keep the public informed of the safety and soundness of credit unions.

          Delaware Business Ledger Articles. The Business Ledger always publishes information about credit unions in its October issue, in honor of Credit Union Week. This year the newspaper featured an article entitled “Credit unions point out that accounts are insured” and an article about Del-One (Delaware FCU) earning a spot on The News Journal’s 2008 “Best in the Business” list. Featured on the same page was an ad for Louviers FCU.

          Contribution to Hurricane Victims. The League donated $500 on behalf of Delaware credit unions to the Texas Credit Union Foundation for hurricane relief efforts.

          League Staff Travel. Patrick Mahaney, Charlie Jenkins, and Jane Bailey attended Milford Memorial’s member fair on September 11. Jane and Alice Smith attended Dover FCU’s Milford branch open house on September 24. Pat and Alice participated in Del-One’s groundbreaking in Smyrna on October 1. Jane and Bernadette Hines met with the event coordinators at the Clarion Hotel in Ocean City to go over annual meeting details; the 2009 League annual meeting will be held the first weekend in May. Pat and Charlie met with members of the League Dues Analysis Committee as part of the 2009 budgeting process.

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

          Homes for the Troops Initiative. The League’s Governmental Affairs Committee and two credit unions donated $3,103.96 to the Homes for Our Troops initiative, which built homes for two disabled veterans located in cities of the national conventions: Denver, Colorado, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Many thanks to the League’s Governmental Affairs Committee, Dover FCU, which contributed $1433.96, and Delaware Alliance, $250, to help Delaware quadruple our fair share goal for CUNA’s Homes for Our Troops project. There were also some personal contributions, which went directly to the non-profit group, Homes for Our Troops.
           
          CULAC Candy Sale. Thirteen credit unions are participating in the annual fall candy sale, which will help Delaware reach its 2008 CULAC goal of $5,346.89. So far, we have reached 33% of the goal. The sale of 23 cases of candy bars will hopefully help to send Delaware over our goal.

LEAGUE SERVICES

          Allpoint/7-Eleven ATMs.  As of December 31, 2008, all of Allpoint participating member institutions will have surcharge-free access to over 5,500 7-Eleven ATMs. Allpoint is constantly striving to enhance the network with new, convenient, and high-traffic ATM locations such as 7-Eleven. Individual institutions have been notified of their particular live date and will be implemented on a rolling schedule through December 31st of this year. Allpoint has offered each institution a $500 marketing credit to be used at the institution’s discretion in purchasing marketing materials. In addition, a complimentary web banner has been distributed to promote the addition of 7-Eleven.

EDUCATION

September Education Sessions

TOGETHER is published on the 15th and 30th of each month by the Delaware Credit Union League, 4 Quigley Boulevard, New Castle, DE19720. Information to be published should be sent or phoned into the League no later than the Monday of the week preceding the publication date. Telephone: (302) 322-9341 or (800) 292-7875. This newsletter can also be found on the League website: www.dcul.org. Hard copies of the newsletter will be mailed to each credit union CEO/manager for distribution to those without computer access. Readers can receive a reminder when the newest edition is posted to the Web by emailing susan@dcul.org. Editor: Alice Smith (alice@dcul.org).