Volume 28, Number 9                                                                        May 15, 2008

HEADLINE NEWS

CURIA Introduced in the Senate
     After credit unions’ five years of hard and steady work building ever-expanding support for the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act (CURIA, H.R. 1537) in the House, a matching CURIA bill was recently introduced in the Senate.   
     Under the sponsorship of Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn), Senate bill 2957 is an integral and necessary action in pursuit of final passage of legislation, according to CUNA’s News Watch (May 5).
     CUNA hailed Lieberman for showing “determination and conviction in his support for consumer-owned credit unions” by introducing his bill. “Our sincere thanks and gratitude go to Senator Lieberman,” CUNA President/CEO Dan Mica said. “We look forward to working with him and other senators, as this important legislation gains support and eventual passage in the Senate.”
     On the House side, CURIA – the credit union movement’s key legislation – features the names of 149 representatives who have signed on in official support of the bill.

Mid-Atlantic Corporate FCU’s Fox Retirement Party, Golf Tournament and Annual Meeting Coming Up
     Join Mid-Atlantic Corporate FCU for its annual meeting and special retirement party for Ed Fox, June 18-19 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Charity Golf Tournament is on June 18 at The Links at Gettysburg. The annual meeting, product fair, and reception for retiring CEO Ed Fox will be on June 19 at the Wyndham Gettysburg Hotel. The deadline for hotel reservations is May 27. For more information, visit www.midatlanticcorp.org and click on the 2008 annual meeting banner.
     Don’t forget to return your ballot to elect Joel Romaine of DPL FCU to the board of Mid-Atlantic Corporate. Ballots are due back by June 12.

National CU Youth Week Results Announced
     The National Credit Union Youth Week Saving Challenge, hosted by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), broke a record with more than $12 million in savings.
     Youth Week took place April 20-26. Four hundred credit unions reported their results to CUNA. Total deposits equaled $12,035,272.42; 76,524 youth made deposits; and credit unions opened 6,748 youth accounts.
     “Credit unions proved that youth matter,” said Joanne Sepich, National Youth Week coordinator. This year’s theme was “Got Green? Grow It at Your Credit Union,” and a number of credit unions combined savings lessons with being environmentally conscious.
     “From digging in the dirt to face painting, credit unions opened their doors to youth and introduced them to the very simple concept of setting goals and saving for them,” Sepich said.

Delaware Results
     Six Delaware credit unions reported success in attracting youth savings accounts during the week-long celebration: American Spirit FCU, Del-One (Delaware FCU), Louviers FCU, New Castle County School Employees FCU, Preferred Financial FCU, and Wilmington Postal FCU. The total CU deposits made by youth during the week amounted to over $41,000.
     Del-One’s “Millionaire for a Day” promotion took top honors. To promote the benefits of credit union membership and saving, any student between the ages of 6-18 opening a new account at Del-One between April 20-26 was entered to win one day’s interest on one million dollars and a limousine ride to and from school, allowing them to carry the title “Millionaire for a Day.” According to Debbie Jewell, credit union business development manager, the credit union brought in over $27,000 in new youth accounts during the week.

NCUA NOTES

Letters to Credit Unions
     NCUA has issued the following letters to credit unions, which can be found on NCUA’s website at http://www.ncua.gov/letters/letters.html.

•  08-CU-06 Changes to the NCUA 5300 Call Report. Effective March 2008, the changes are listed in this letter. The most significant change to the 5300 is the addition of all account numbers in both the software and the hard copy form. This improvement should help resolve reconciling problems between a credit union’s financial statement and the 5300. A complete list of all changes is included on NCUA’s website at: http://www.ncua.gov/data/5300/08March/March2008CallReportFormAndInstructions.pdf

•  08-CU-08 NCUA’s Electronic Payment Systems Questionnaire. NCUA recently revised its EPS questionnaires. The revision resulted from significant technology changes and increased utilization of electronic payment systems by credit unions to provide services to members. The revised questionnaires replace the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) and Wire Transfer Control questionnaires. Examiners will use the revised EPS questionnaires to complete their review. Examiners will tailor their review based on the credit union risk and electronic payment services utilized by the credit union and use the applicable questionnaires to complete their review.

•  08-CU-09 Evaluating Third Party Relationships Questionnaire. The purpose of this letter is to provide federally insured CUs with the new questionnaire NCUA field staff will use to complete the evaluation of credit union third party relationships. Enclosed with this letter is a copy of the questionnaire.
     NCUA issued Letter to Credit Unions 07-CU-13, Evaluating Third Party Relationships, in December 2007 and enclosed Supervisory Letter 07-01. Letter 07-CU-13 informed federally insured CUs of the guidance provided to NCUA field staff regarding the evaluation of credit union third party relationships. This new questionnaire contains the three elements of an effective program as discussed in the enclosure to Letter 07-CU-13. The three elements are: 1) risk assessment and planning; 2) effective due diligence; and 3) risk measurement, monitoring, and control.

•  08-CU-10 Mortgage Loan Fraud Report. NCUA’s most recent letter provides a summary of information released by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) concerning mortgage fraud. FinCEN has provided this assessment based upon analysis of suspicious activity reports (SARs) provided by the financial industry. This updated study includes the analysis for SARs filed from March 2006 through March 2007. This report addresses several areas of interest to credit unions related to mortgage loan fraud, including vulnerabilities, fraudulent activities and red flags, and protective measures.

NCUA Fraud Alerts
     NCUA has issued the following fraud alerts, which can be found on the agency’s website: http://www.ncua.gov/FraudAlert/FraudAlert.html.

•  08-Fraud-03 Phishing Attempt – Email Solicitation Using NCUA Region 1 Address. This phishing attempt tries to obtain credit card account numbers and expiration dates. The email supposedly originates from NCUA’s regional headquarters in Albany, New York.

•  08-CU-04 Phishing Attempts – Targeting CU Employees’ Keystrokes. The scammers send out e-mails addressed to the employees by name at their credit union e-mail addresses. The e-mails fraudulently appear to be official correspondence from either a governmental agency or a vendor of the credit union, according the NCUA.
     The emails include an attachment appearing as an invoice or complaint letter. When the attachment is opened, malicious software is installed that records the users’ keystrokes, the agency’s director of examination and insurance, David Marquis, said in an alert.
     “Once downloaded, the software is designed to monitor username and password logins and record the activity entered on the compromised machine. Credit unions should examine their computers for the presence of malicious password stealing software and take necessary steps to eradicate such software,” Marquis wrote.

•  08-Fraud-05 Credit Repair Scam Through Claim of Identity Theft. This alert informs credit unions of a scam that involves falsely filing an identity theft claim for the purposes of improving one’s credit report and credit score.
     The perpetrators claim identity theft and file police reports, causing disputed accounts to be removed from their credit reports either permanently due to lack of investigation or conclusion or temporarily while under dispute, the NCUA said.“While the accounts are removed, credit history improves and credit scores increase dramatically. The perpetrator then obtains credit from one or more credit grantors during the time when the credit score is inflated. The loans obtained through the use of the improved credit history and credit score subsequently go unpaid,” said the advisory.

•  08-Fraud-06 Text Message Scam. This scam involves unsolicited text messages sent to cell phones. The message urges the recipient to call a number provided for information about account discrepancies and then solicits individual account information and pin numbers. 
     Cell phone users should be wary of unsolicited text messages. Such messages should be deleted and all deleted text messages should be removed, if possible, as the perpetrators have been known to use spyware in conjunction with their text message solicitation.   
     Credit union members and personnel need to be informed of these types of scams. Such a scam could be used to obtain personally identifiable information and credit union account access information for those who access their accounts using their cell phones. 
    
Toolkit Helps Educate Members on Mortgage Fraud
     A new fraud prevention toolkit has been created by BITS, a division of the Financial Services Roundtable, to help financial institutions educate consumers about mortgage fraud and how to protect themselves against the most common schemes. The materials include details about a variety of mortgage fraud schemes, including foreclosure bailouts, “dos and don’ts” that consumers should consider when applying for a mortgage, and resources that consumers can refer to for more information. Go to
http://www.bitsinfo.org/downloads/Publications%20Page/BITSMortgageConsToolkit013108FINAL.pdf

National Press Lauds CUs

► Wall Street Journal: Big Year for “Little Guy.”
     The May 3-4 weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal noted CUNA's grassroots clout and included an image of the Little Guy – CUNA’s iconic character that represents the working men and women of America from all walks of life who are credit union members – the owners and focus of credit union service.
     The story called CUNA “a mammoth of the grass-roots,” and noted CUNA President/CEO Dan Mica’s heated reaction to the U.S. Treasury’s plan to overhaul the financial regulatory structure. That plan would eliminate the credit union charter as well as the National Credit Union Administration. Mica said any implementation of such a plan would result in the “nuclear option” – a request to all 85 million credit union members to “rally on Capitol Hill, jam lawmakers’ phone lines and inboxes.”
     Articles have also recently appeared in MarketWatch and Dow Jones News Service recommending consumers check credit unions for better deals.

► Washington Post Writer: CUs Great for Promoting Thrift
     A personal finance columnist for The Washington Post backed a new idea Sunday to launch a national thrift campaign and noted credit unions should be featured as an important tool to fight consumers’ excessive reliance on credit. Michelle Singletary, who writes “The Color of Money” column for the publication, noted a movement afoot by a coalition of consumer advocates, public policy groups and academics. They want to attack the country’s dependence on debt by “creating a national campaign much like the one used to curb smoking.” The coalition promotes the use of credit unions, which offer lower-cost financial products. (The report also supports credit union “expansion and innovation.”)

DELAWARE NOTES

Congratulations to the members, volunteers and staff of DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FCU, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary on May 29.

On April 16, Faith Simpers, marketing director of LOUVIERS FCU, participated in a taping for Children’s Miracle Network’s annual Celebration Telethon which is due to air the weekend of May 30 on CN8, the Comcast Network. The telethon recognizes top fundraising sponsors and gives them a way to explain why they choose to support The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Credit unions in our tri-state region (Philadelphia-area, southern NJ, and Delaware) raised $68,472 in 2007 for Children’s Miracle Network at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Credit Unions for Kids has been a proud Children’s Miracle Network sponsor since 1996. Louviers Federal Credit Union participated in the Light a Miracle Tree during the holidays.

Faith Simpers and Bob Walls of LOUVIERS FCU attended the CUNA Business Development School: Part I in Atlanta, Georgia, April 27-May 2. There were 51 attendees, including one from Canada. In addition, Bob Walls attended the Business Lending and Services Conference in Tempe, Arizona, on March 12-14.

Faith Simpers (on right) with her study group at CUNA’s Business Development School in Atlanta

DOVER FCU employees raised $1,225 during Daffodil Days to support the American Cancer Society. In addition, a workplace campaign netted $1,684 for United Way.

DEL-ONE (Delaware FCU) treated its members with the opportunity to save and earn money at its grand re-opening ceremony on April 24, 2008. The ceremony was held in honor of its newly renovated downtown Dover branch located at 150 East Water Street. Members who took advantage of the exclusive, one-day only loan and certificate specials were given a chance to grab for $1000 worth of cash in the Money Vault provided by PartyDelaware.com.  

Vice President of Lending
Del-One is seeking a Vice President of Lending. This position reports directly to the CEO and is responsible for ensuring that loan policies, procedures, services, and products meet federal and state regulations, as well as investor requirements. 
Candidates must have extensive knowledge of consumer loan policy, real estate policy, interest rates and how they are computed, as well as credit granting criteria. These characteristics are normally acquired through completion of a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting, finance, or related field; plus at least three years experience in a lending department, branch office of a credit union or financial institution. Del-One offers a competitive salary with immediate benefits and incentive bonuses. Send your resume and cover letter with salary requirements to the attention of: Vice President of Human Resources, 270 Beiser Blvd., Dover, DE 19904, or email humanresources@del-one.org.  EOE/D/V/ 

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

May/June QuickBites Teleconferences
One-hour sessions run from 11 a.m.-noon:
■  5/29  Membership Retention in a Gen Y World
■  6/04  Marketing in a Click World
■  6/10  Identity Theft
■  6/23  Sustained Loan Growth Through Innovation

Two-hour sessions run from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
■  5/21  Asset-Liability Management – ALM
■  6/17  Risk Based Lending
The fee for the one-hour session is $99; the two-hour session is $169. The deadline to register with Bernadette Hines: one week prior to the session.

Teller Training: A-Z Workshop – Tuesday, May 20, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the League office. Topics: quality member service, cross-selling, cash handling, negotiable instruments, and security issues. Fee: $195 including reference manual and lunch. Room still available.

Enhancing Your Member Relations Workshop – Wednesday, May 21, from 9 a.m.-noon at the League office. How to develop more sensitivity, courtesy, and patience with your members. Fee: $95, including lunch. Room still available.

Reservations for the following events are due in May!

■  5/28  Lending Council: Business Lending 
             $100 non-council members. Deadline 5/20
■  6/03  Credit Scoring & Analysis
             Full day. $195. Deadline 5/20
■  6/04  Supervisory Skills for New Managers
             9 a.m.-noon. $95. Deadline 5/20
■  6/04  DCUL Spring Golf Outing – The Rookery
             11:30 a.m. sign in. $110. Deadline 5/28
■  6/12  Deposit Account Workshop (single, joint, trust, minor accounts)
             1-3 p.m. $70. Deadline 5/28

Contact League education director Bernadette Hines for more information.

League Activities in March/April

          Staff Travel. League staff attended the following credit union annual meetings: Del-One, Delaware Alliance, DEXSTA, DPL, Louviers, and New Castle County School Employees. Recently League president Pat Mahaney visited with Dover FCU, First State FCU and ICI FCU, and he and Jane Bailey went to Louviers FCU. Pat and Alice Smith attended Del-One’s branch re-opening in Dover, and Pat attended DEXSTA FCU’s appreciation dinner and shred event and Delaware Alliance FCU’s member fair.
          On May 5, Pat and Alice attended the interment service for Sam Simpson in Arlington National Cemetery. Sam had served as managing director of the League and as manager of Delaware Alliance FCU and DuPont Stine-Haskell EFCU.
          The Delaware League hosted the NCUA Region II meeting in Rehoboth on May 8-9, which was attended by Region II director Jane Walters and two staff members and League presidents and staff from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

          First State Saves Meeting. The League and two Delaware credit unions – Delaware Alliance and Eagle One – are partnering with the First State Saves initiative, a program designed to help Delaware residents set financial goals, track their spending, pay off debt, and take control of their financial future. Alice Smith, along with Terri Kelly of Eagle One FCU, attended a community partners’ meeting on May 7 in Claymont.

          Delaware League News and Risk Alerts. The League emailed 14 news alerts and eight risk alerts during the past two months. Topics included CUNA’s response to Treasury Secretary Paulson’s plan to merge all financial institution regulators, economic news, and new phishing scams.

          League Annual Meeting Publicity. The League generated press releases regarding the League annual meeting. Thanks to Jim Chilcutt, we were able to capture some great shots of the League annual meeting, some of which were featured in the April 15 issue of Together. More pictures will be featured in the next issue of Delcu News. Press releases were sent to CUNA’s News Now, The Credit Union Journal, Credit Union Times, The News Journal, Delaware Business Ledger, The Community News, The Dover Post, and Delaware State News. To date, publicity has appeared in CUNA’s News Now and “Business People” in The News Journal.

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

          Call to Action Regarding CURRA. The League coordinated several calls to action for Delaware credit union staff, board members, governmental affairs committee and other key contacts to generate letters and emails on key credit union issues. The first was to Treasury Secretary Paulson regarding his proposal to merge all financial institutions under one regulator. The League also contacted our three members in Congress on this issue and received a response from Senator Carper.
          The second call to action went to Congressman Castle regarding the Credit Union Regulatory Relief Act (CURRA, H.R. 5519), which was scheduled for a House vote on Tuesday, April 29. Delaware credit union staff and volunteers reported sending at least 65 communications to Castle before the bill was withdrawn from the suspension calendar in the U.S. House. Several CEOs and board members also wrote letters thanking Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn) for introducing the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act (CURIA) in the Senate. The bill becomes Senate bill 2957 to complement H.R. 1537, which currently has 149 co-sponsors.
          League president Pat Mahaney and Alice Smith have spent a large amount of time recently monitoring all the political advocacy activity being initiated by the Credit Union National Association on the behalf of our member credit unions.

          Project Zip Code. Alice Smith has distributed the April release of Project Zip Code, with the new CDs being handed out or mailed to every Delaware credit union. The latest version 8.0 features the addition of county data, which will allow credit unions to quantify the number of members they have in each county across the country.

LEAGUE SERVICES

          Shared Branching. Chestnut Run FCU’s board has approved PaCUSC as the provider of shared branching. The credit union will begin as an issuer and then become an acquirer. Chestnut Run FCU joins American Spirit FCU and Eagle One FCU in offering this service.

          New League Business Partner. Overton & Associates has been approved as a League business member. This design-build firm was the company the League chose to handle our building repairs. They are currently working with Louviers FCU on an upcoming construction project.

EDUCATION

          Annual Meeting Education Day. Frank Diekmann, publisher of The Credit Union Journal, addressed 120 credit union staff and volunteers from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturday, April 4, during the first education session entitled “What the Heck Is With These Headlines?” He emphasized that credit unions need to do a better job in differentiating ourselves from banks. Saturday afternoon included three breakout sessions. Frank Diekmann spoke on “What Do People Think of Credit Unions, If They Think of Them at All?”; Dean Gray, CUNA Mutual risk manager, gave a security solutions overview; and Mark Lynch from Australia spoke on how boards need to cope with change, just as staff members do.

           Training Set up for Stepping Stones FCU. Pat Mahaney and education director Bernadette Hines met recently with Rashmi Rangan as she continues her efforts to charter a new credit union in Wilmington. Pat will be offering four training sessions in June and July for potential volunteers.

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).