Volume 29, Number 2                                                            January 30, 2009

HEADLINE NEWS

CUNA Mutual Joins “Invest in America” Program
     CUNA Mutual has joined credit unions nationwide with supporting initiatives for purchases made from automakers General Motors and Chrysler Corporation LLC through the “Invest in America” program.
     The credit union loan program includes nearly 8,000 credit unions throughout the United State and makes available $80 billion in credit union auto loans for new-vehicle purchases. The national program with Chrysler runs through June 30, 2009, and layers on top of recently announced Employee Pricing. GM’s national program runs through March 31, 2009.
     As part of the program, CUNA Mutual is offering added incentives to promote the program, which include:

• Free online auto loan applications (for credit unions) through CUNA Mutual’s loanliner.com
• Discounts on quick, automated decisions on loan applications
• Up to a 25% discount for participation in CUNA Mutual’s target marketing program that identifies creditworthy members who may be in the market for a new vehicle based on the life of their existing auto loan.

     “Participating in the ‘Invest in America’ program is a natural extension of our continued commitment to credit unions,” said Kevin Lentz, senior vice president of Service Product Lines at CUNA Mutual. “It’s also a great way for CUNA Mutual to do its part to stimulate the economy.”
     The “Invest in America” program offers supplier pricing on new General Motors vehicles and rebates of $500 or $1,000 on eligible Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles. These discounts are offered in addition to most existing cash incentives both manufacturers are offering. Although the program originally began as a pilot involving just 12 states, it was expanded this month to all 50 states.
     Following the national roll-out on January 7, there are good preliminary reports from the “Invest in America” program. Initial numbers indicate that credit unions are selling more than 1,000 vehicles per week for both GM and Chrysler. As the marketing and program awareness continues, this should increase. Credit unions should visit the Credit Union Support Center on the lovemycreditunion.org website for marketing support and materials.
     Delaware Credit Unions Support Program. Congratulations to Chestnut Run, Delaware Alliance, Delaware First, Louviers, and Seaford FCUs for being the first ones to report advertising the “Invest in America” program to members on their websites. Delaware First has placed a newspaper ad in the Middletown Transcript. Del-One (Delaware FCU) is planning to promote the program on receipts, statements, and its in-house television. Several credit unions have placed posters in their lobbies, and League EVP Jane Bailey has provided talking points about the program for front-line staff. In addition, the League has ordered 21,000 statement inserts for participating credit unions. The League also notes that Provident, Dover, New Castle County School Employees, New Castle County Delaware Employees, DEXSTA, U-Del, Wilmington Postal, Sussex County, and Newport Site Employees are participating in the program.

Delaware Credit Union Merger
     Delaware V.A. FCU merged with DEXSTA FCU on December 1, 2008. As DEXSTA members, former Delaware V.A. members can now take full advantage of all of DEXSTA’s products and services, as well as all DEXSTA branch locations. DEXSTA’s Delaware V.A. branch location is on the second floor of the Veterans Administration Hospital, 1601 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington. Other DEXSTA credit union locations include Foulk Road, Prices Corner, the DuPont Experimental Station, North Market Street in Wilmington, and an upcoming branch in Middletown.  

NCUA NOTES

• Guarantee uninsured shares at all corporate credit unions through February 2009 and establish a voluntary guarantee program for uninsured shares of all corporate credit unions through December 31, 2010;
• Issue a $1 billion capital note to U.S. Central Corporate FCU (U.S. Central);
• Issue an Advance Notice of Public Rulemaking (ANPR) on restructuring the corporate credit union system; and
• Declare a premium assessment to restore the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) equity ratio to 1.30%, which will be collected in 2009.

More details can be found in NCUA Letter to Credit Unions #09-CU-02 found at http://www.ncua.gov/CoporateStabilizationProgram/LCU_09-CU-02CorporateCreditUnionStrategy.pdf.
     Financial Impact on Credit Unions. According to Letter #09-CU-02, the expense of the actions will be passed on proportionately to all federally insured credit unions through a partial write-off of your existing 1% NCUSIF deposit, as well as the assessment of a premium, sufficient to return the NCUSIF’s equity ratio to 1.30%. The projected average cost for credit unions for the share guarantee is an approximate 48 basis point decline in annual return on assets and a 43 basis point decline in the net worth ratio. The impact on credit unions for the capital infusion to U.S. Central will be an average additional decline in the return on assets of 14 basis points and 13 basis points of net worth. The combination of both actions results in the average credit union absorbing a total 62 basis point decline in the return on assets and a total 56 basis point reduction in the net worth ratio. Correct regulatory reporting of this action will be included in the supplemental March 31, 2009, Call Report instructions.

NCUA Letter on Remote Capture
     In a recent Letter to CUs #09-CU-01 on risk management of remote capture, the NCUA wrote that this service can add risk in legal, compliance, and operational areas. Remote capture is a service that lets credit union members make deposits from their homes or businesses – removing the need for a trip to the financial institution. The service, used mostly by businesses, obviously saves time and travel expenses, but also can accelerate funds availability while reducing processing costs.
     Performing effective risk management, the letter said, is the key to mitigate and control associated risks. The letter describes actions that credit unions should take in implementing this service.
     The letter also noted that to ensure sound implementation and ongoing operations, a credit union’s board of directors should approve and oversee remote capture plans and policies and review performance and risk management reports. To read this letter online, go to http://www.ncua.gov/news/express/xfiles/09-CU-01.pdf.

DELAWARE NOTES

Several credit unions have recently promoted or added new management staff:
DEL-ONE (Delaware FCU)
       •  VP of Member Solutions – Kim Luton
       •  Lending manager – Amy Vest
       •  Facilities manager – Leon Messina
DOVER FCU
       •  VP of Human Resources – Heather Shupe
       •  Manager of the new Milford branch – Brenda Moffett-Porter
       •  Smyrna branch manager – Melissa Sudler
DELAWARE FIRST FCU
       •  Branch supervisor – Linda Walker
       •  Controller – Susan White

SUSSEX COUNTY FCU member George Bush and his two granddaughters helped to pack 3,000 boxes of food for the needy over the holidays. Bush has participated in this outreach for the past 10 years. He has also served on the CU’s supervisory committee for the past three years. To expand on his volunteer achievements, he also served as the president of the board of American Spirit FCU for many years.

Bauer Financial Ratings
     Kudos to the following CUs that received 5-star ratings from BauerFinancial, Inc., an independent financial institution rating and research firm: American Spirit, Chestnut Run, Delaware Alliance, Dover, DPL, First State Refinery, Louviers, New Castle County Delaware Employees, New Castle County School Employees, Provident, and U-Del. The ratings are based upon 2008 third quarter financial data as reported to financial regulators. Five stars (superior) is the highest rating given by the firm. Ten additional CUs received four-star (excellent) ratings: Del-One (Delaware), Delaware First, Delaware River and Bay Authority Employees, Delaware State Police, DEXSTA, Edge Moor DuPont Employees, ICI America, Milford Memorial, Preferred Financial, and Wilmington Postal. The three Delaware CUs with less than $1.5 million in assets are not rated.

Treasury’s Go Direct Campaign
     The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Go Direct campaign has a new recognition program for credit unions that go the extra mile in promoting direct deposit to senior citizens, people with disabilities, veterans, and other members who receive federal benefits. The six-month Go Direct Community Ambassadors Program, which began this month, is aimed at small- and medium-sized financial institutions.
     Three CUs – DEXSTA, DELAWARE ALLIANCE, and EAGLE ONE – have notified the League that they are signed up for the Go Direct Ambassador Program and will begin promoting it in February with statement stuffers, web banners, and branch materials

CUNA Mutual Offers Advice Regarding Heartland Data Breach
     CUNA Mutual Group is providing guidance and recommendations to its plastic card insurance policyholder credit unions in response to another large-scale data security breach, which could be one of the largest ever reported.
     Heartland Payment Systems, Princeton, N.J., has reported that it was the victim of a security breach within its processing system some time in 2008. Heartland is a third-party card processor used by 250,000 merchants nationwide.
     CUNA Mutual issued a risk alert recommending that credit unions review Visa CAMS alerts or MasterCard alerts carefully to determine “high risk” exposure for future fraud. Doing so will help CUs to determine what course of action to consider. Some additional recommendations in the risk alert include:

• Review Accounts Involved in the Breach – Determine which cards on the card association alerts are still active (open).
• Review Other Accounts – Find out which cards on the alerts are non-active and have been closed due to fraud. Identify if the fraud pattern on the closed accounts matches the fraud pattern described in the card associations’ alerts.
• Monitor or Block and Reissue – Assess compromised cards to determine whether to: 1) Monitor the affected cards. If opting to monitor, contact the card association (Visa or MasterCard) to determine how the credit union’s action will impact future recovery efforts. Or 2) Block and reissue the affected cards. Reissued cards will be encoded with new track information, which includes the new CVV/CVC values and card expiration dates.

     More information can be found in CUNA Mutual’s Credit Union Protection Resource Center, available to policyholders at www.cunamutual.com.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

February QuickBites Teleconferences
One-hour sessions run from 11 a.m.-noon:
2/03 – Signature Cards and Account Agreements
2/12 – Netiquette (writing emails)
2/18 – Loan Officer Protocol
2/24 – Disaster Recovery
The two-hour session runs from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
2/05 – Documenting and Disciplining Employees
The fee for the one-hour sessions is $99; the two-hour session is $169. The deadline to register with Bernadette Hines is one week prior to the session.

CUNA Mutual Webinar: Spam, Shams, and Other Scams – Wednesday, February 11, from 11 a.m.-noon. Fraud takes on many forms and surrounds us daily. Some marvel at the ingenuity of these activities, but until you’ve been at the losing end, it’s difficult to realize the impact. Damage to members’ accounts is a tough reality that happens too often. Learn how to stay alert, spot, and prevent the latest scams aimed at you and your members. To enroll, go to www.cunamutual.com and search under “Credit Union Protection Webinars.”

Third Annual Credit Union Bowl – Friday, February 13, at Bowlerama, New Castle, from 7-10 p.m. $42.50 per person includes dinner and two hours of bowling. Call Jane Bailey at the League to see if space is available.

Delaware Credit Unions’ “Hike the Hill” to Visit Our Members in Congress. A van, sponsored by the League’s Governmental Affairs Committee, will pick up riders at the League and on Route 299 near Odessa for our trip to Washington. Call Alice Smith by February 15 to sign up.

Collections Manager. Immediate opening – full time. Collections manager to ensure that the credit union’s collection policies and procedures best serve the credit union and its members. Qualified individual will oversee and provide leadership and guidance to collections staff, while ensuring strict compliance with state/federal credit and collection rules/regulations in all collection practices. Position requires high school diploma with some post-secondary technical course work in a related field; minimum 2 years of specialization in consumer and real estate collections and minimum 2 years supervisory experience required. Must have strong work ethic; excellent time management/ organizational skills; and professional, well-developed interpersonal skills. All applicants subject to background/credit check. Send cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to: Attn: HR, Dover Federal CU, 1075 Silver Lake Blvd., Dover, DE 19904. Fax: 302-678-8037. Email: hshupe@doverfcu.com. Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V  

Technical Support Specialist. Dover Federal Credit Union is seeking a team player to assist in installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting computer and software applications. Qualifications: High school diploma and one year experience with a technical background in electronics and personal computers. Entry level position. Only qualified applicants need apply. Send resume to the address in the previous listing.

Teller/Member Service Position. Chestnut Run FCU is seeking a full-time teller/member service representative for its Newark branch. Prior teller/member service experience preferred. Salary commensurate with experience. Benefits include health care, 401k plan, vacation, life insurance, and Blood Bank. Fax resume with salary requirements to: 302-999-4889.

The League has resumes available for individuals seeking the following positions. For further details, go to the League website, www.dcul.org, or call Susan Fallon and ask for the resume by the number listed.
       •  Management                     #01-27-09
       •  CFO/CPA                          #01-26-09
       •  Lending/Credit Analyst      #01-23-09

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).