The CUInsight Experience Podcast: George Ombado – Rising up Posted by AVCU on 9:42 AM

This new episode of the CUInsight Experience Podcast with host Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com, features George Ombado, CEO of ACCOSCA, a Pan-African confederation of national associations of savings and credit cooperatives societies. The podcast was recorded at the 20th Annual SACCA Congress in Mombasa, Kenya.

ACCOSCA has developed programs aimed at improving socio-economic needs of Africa through saving and credit unions, partnering with various government bodies, development agencies and research institutions to contribute towards mitigating challenges facing Africa in the twenty-first century.

Listen to this conversation about credit union growth in Africa, and the differences to the more mature U.S. credit union system. George talks about how he’s fashioned the Africa Development Education program after attending DE in North Carolina and shares a great story about Bill and Crissy Cheney helping him get home after his flight was canceled due to snow.

George is inspired to see that young people and women are being accepted by the leadership today because these things wouldn’t have been possible ten years ago. He is working to build the regulatory framework in Africa because it builds confidence to have it, whereas, in the U.S, we are trying to get rid of some of it.
 
George has excellent insight into today's global credit union movement.

<< CLICK HERE to listen to the podcast>>

11/6: NCUA CU Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Event Posted by AVCU on 4:18 PM

The National Credit Union Administration is promoting a “Credit Union Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit” scheduled on November 6, 2019 in Alexandria, Virginia.  The event is aimed at discussing how to promote those qualities at the agency and the credit unions it regulates. The event will run from 8 AM to 5 PM, Eastern time.

NCUA Board Chair Rodney Hood describes financial inclusion as “the civil rights issue of our time.” And by "inclusion" he means not only broader access to affordable financial services, but also to employment and business opportunities.

Our country is going through a period of profound demographic change, and our financial system should be leading efforts to respond to that change. - NCUA Chair Rodney Hood

All 3 NCUA board members . . . Hood, Mark McWatters and Todd Harper . . . will speak at the Summit, which will also include a panel discussions on best practices for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion; on recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce; and on collecting diversity data.

More details on the free event and registration are available online.

Mystery Shopper Scam Hits Maine Posted by AVCU on 10:26 AM

According to CU Today, consumers in Maine are being warned not to fall for a “mystery shopper” scam that is again making the rounds.

Mainers have been receiving letters in the mail with checks for $2,000 and a request they deposit the check, buy $2,000 worth of gift cards and then text a number with gift card information.

"Criminals have gotten much more sophisticated in how they try to fraud, how they attempt to do fraud and they've kinda steered away from mail but this is making the rounds,” said Jen Burke of the Maine Credit Union League.  “But we've had nine instances where people have come into our credit unions asking to deposit these checks because of this mystery shopper scam.”

The scammers are using real companies in this scam, the league added.

Ara Penny: Vermont's Newest Development Educator Posted by AVCU on 4:22 PM

A Vermont credit union employee was among the 47 most recent credit union leaders being designated as Credit Union Development Educators (CUDEs) after completing the National Credit Union Foundation’s (the Foundation) Credit Union Development Education (DE) Training.

Ara Penny, of Heritage Family CU in Rutland, attended the May DE Training on May 15-20 in Madison, Wisconsin.  The 46 other participants comprised employees and volunteers from credit unions and system partners across the United States and the globe.

DE Training is a unique experiential training program that provides lessons in credit union structure, purpose and the “why” that differentiates credit unions from other financial institutions. During the Foundation’s signature program, participants are involved in group exercises, field visits and interactive speaker sessions that provide insights into how credit unions can leverage their unique business model to help their members and communities overcome the financial and developmental issues they face.

Ara is a trainer in her credit union's HR Department, was named Heritage Family’s Employee of the Year in 2017.  She has worked at HFCU for 5 years and hails from Connecticut. To hear from Ara directly check out her short YouTube video below, created for the 2016 GAC Crash Program.

Free: Awareness Campaign Webinars Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 11:57 AM

A series of free webinars CUNA is hosting about the Awareness initiative.  They will be held on October 22, November 14, and December 10, all at 3:00 eastern time for an hour.

The topic for the first webinar is understanding the voice of consumers.  It will be hosted by Douglas Kiker of CUNA and the guest is Graeme Trayner of Glover Park Group, who has handled all the research and focus groups on Awareness.

Register for the first free webinar online.

Visit https://awareness.creditunion/ (password: openyoureyes) to learn more about the national credit union awareness program.

CUNA Mutual Contributes $1 Million to Nat'l Consumer Awareness Effort Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 12:51 PM

As CUNA embarks on a groundbreaking, research-based effort to grow consumer awareness of CUs as the best financial partner, CUNA Mutual Group has dedicated $1 million to help start the effort.  Its contribution will support the management, ongoing consumer research, and creative content development for CUNA’s program to effectively and sustainably create an environment for credit unions to thrive and grow in an increasingly competitive financial services marketplace.

A growing number of the nation's largest credit unions are also making financial commitments to the nationwide social media awareness campaign that is planned to launch in January, 2019.

The three-year, $100 million national campaign is entitled “Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union” will be executed through a series of regional and statewide social media campaigns.

For more information check out the campaign website.

Apply for Excellence in Lending Awards! Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 11:13 AM

Does your credit union have a stellar lending program? Then be sure to submit an application to CUNA Mutual's annual Excellence in Lending Awards, which recognize outstanding credit union lending results and best practices.  The purpose of the awards is to identify, recognize and share examples of lending excellence by credit unions. The award recognizes credit unions for their ability to serve their members while sustaining sound financial performance. Credit unions demonstrating an ability to reach their members’ needs by innovative means are excellent candidates for this award.  Awards are presented in these lending categories:

• Business Lending
• Consumer Lending
• Mortgage Lending
• Low/Modest Means

Winners of the awards will be announced at the annual CUNA Lending Council Conference in October, and recognized in national credit union publications. The award will pay airfare, hotel and tuition to the conference for one representative from each winning credit union.

Credit unions demonstrating innovation in lending to meet member needs are encouraged to apply by the 9/17 deadline.

Data of Most Americans Potentially Exposed Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 3:10 PM

As reported by MSN today, a little-known Florida company may have exposed the personal data of nearly every American adult.  On Wednesday the publication Wired reported that Exactis, a Florida marketing and data-aggregation company, had exposed 2 terabytes of data, containing nearly 340 million individual records, on a public server. That included records of 230 million consumers and 110 million businesses.

The data does not appear to include credit-card or social security numbers, but does include:

• phone numbers
• email and postal addresses
• over 400 personal characteristics, such as whether a person is a smoker, if they own a dog or cat, their religion and a multitude of personal interests. 

Even though no financial information was included, the breadth of personal data could make it possible to profile individuals or help scammers steal identities.

On its website, Exactis said it maintained 3.5 billion consumer, business and digital records, including “demographic, geographic, firmographic, lifestyle, interests, CPG, automotive, and behavioral data.” The company said it has data on 218 million individuals and 110 million U.S. households.

There are about 325 million residents in the U.S., with about 244 million adults and 126 million households, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Exactis did not immediately respond when asked to confirm the breach.  If confirmed, the data leak would be one of the largest in history, and far bigger than the Equifax data breach last year that exposed the personal information of about 148 million consumers.

Wegner Award Nominations Open Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 12:08 PM

The Herb Wegner Memorial Award is among the highest presented in the U.S. credit union industry.  Its sponsor, the National Credit Union Foundation (the Foundation), has now announced that nominations are open for 2019 winners.

Winners will be honored at the Foundation’s annual awards and fundraising gala on 3/11/19 in conjunction with the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington, D.C.

Nominations need to be made by Friday, 8/10/18 for the following awards:

• The Outstanding Individual Achievement Award honors an individual who is dedicated to promoting the credit union philosophy, has created innovative concepts, and provided leadership that has had a significant and lasting impact on the local, regional, national and/or international credit union movement with measured results.
• The Outstanding Organization/Program Award honors an organization, program or business for their innovative concepts, products, and services that have had a significant impact on the local and/or national and/or international credit union movement with measured results. 

Nominations can come from individuals and/or organizations. The following are the three steps needed to make a nomination:

1. Complete the Wegner Awards nomination form.
2. Gather at least five personal recommendations citing examples of the nominee’s achievements relevant to the award criteria.
3. Send the nomination form and recommendation letters electronically to the Foundation by August 10, 2018. 

More Equifax Data Breach Details Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 1:18 PM

As reported by NBC News, Equifax revepassports and driver's licenses were compromised along with the Social Security numbers of nearly all 146 million affected consumers.

The disclosure, made in a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission and provided to congressional committees investigating the breach, represents the first precise accounting of what hackers stole from Equifax, one of the nation's biggest credit reporting agencies. It said none of the data represented newly discovered compromised information.

More than 200,000 credit card numbers and expiration dates were also collected, it said, as well as government-issued identification documents — like driver's licenses, taxpayer ID cards, passports and military IDs — that about 182,000 consumers uploaded when they disputed credit reports with Equifax.

Read the NBC story online.

CUNA’s Dempsey talks ADA lawsuits on podcast Posted by Bryan Kent on 9:28 AM

CUNA Senior Director of Advocacy and Counsel Leah Dempsey appeared on the Brownstein Client Conversations podcast Monday to discuss the state of frivolous lawsuits hitting credit unions due to uncertainty with how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites. During the podcast, Dempsey discussed the ways plaintiffs’ attorneys are exploiting uncertainty in the ADA to file these lawsuits and CUNA’s compliance resources for credit unions, among other items.

Warren Slams Equifax in 15 Page Report Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 9:51 AM

Massachusetts Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren claims that Equifax's cybersecurity regime was grossly inadequate and that it misled the public about the removal of data from its systems during a hack last summer.  Those statements were in a 5-page report Warren released on Wednesday as part of an effort to gain backing for legislation to rein in credit bureaus. The report claims that hackers removed, rather than simply accessing, the Social Security numbers, addresses and birth dates of 145 million consumers.

The report also alleges that passport numbers were stolen in the data breach, but Equifax denies that. The company was also harshly criticized for waiting 40 days before notifying consumers and regulators about the data breach, which occurred on May 13, 2017, but wasn't reported until September 7th.

Warren also claims that Equifax protested the IRS awarding a contract to rival credit bureau  Experian, after the data breach was disclosed. By doing so, Equifax set in motion a 100-day delay forcing the IRS to agree to a $7.2 million "bridge" contract with Equifax.

Read the entire article on CU Today.

NY CU Sues Trump Over CFPB Appointee Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 10:48 AM

According to a recent article in the Credit Union Times, Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York following the resignation of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray, contending that President Trump illegally appointed Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney to serve as interim director of the agency.

The suit states that the Mulvaney appointment is a “hostile takeover” that has thrown the credit union into “regulatory chaos.”

According to CU Times, the credit union is calling on the federal court to remove Mulvaney, Trump’s budget director, and affirm Leandra English, the CFPB’s deputy director, as the proper acting head of the bureau.

“We support the CFPB as a protector of our low income members’ financial rights, and fear that the appointment of an Acting Director beholden to the White House could result in upheaval and ultimate dissolution of this critical agency.  Having experienced the devastation that the 2008 mortgage crisis wreaked on our low income members, we need the CFPB to protect communities targeted by financial predators.”  Linda Levy, CEO

This suit is the second suit filed in connection with that appointment. English has filed one of her own contending that she is the proper interim director.

The $55m credit union serves approximately 8,500 members.

Free Webinar: Build Loyalty & Engagement w/Members Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 10:02 AM

The Filene Research Institute is providing a free webinar on improving communications with your newest members.  Research shows the importance of new members perceiving how how “easy” it is to do business with your credit union.

This webinar will show you a pilot program opportunity with Onboardability, a member communication and targeted messaging platform that can kick start member engagement and loyalty. It will cover areas such as:

• understanding the four key stages of onboarding a new relationship to make it effective and profitable
• enhancing new member communication strategies that make your credit union easier to do business with and increase loyalty and engagement with newest members
• a new pilot program opportunity with Onboardability that can help your credit union engage with new members and slow down attrition

See more information or register today! 

Four Consumer Myths About CUs Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 11:39 AM

CUNA-sponsored consumer research reveals that credit unions are associated with better loan rates than banks, lower fees, friendliness, and being highly trusted.  But the same research also unearthed 4 common myths among consumers about credit unions:

1. People don’t think they can join. There’s the perception that credit unions are limited to certain occupations or groups.
   
2. Credit unions are for those in need, and membership is for those lacking in financial success or status.
   
3. Credit unions don’t provide convenient access to money. Many people fear that credit unions are behind on technology and that they don’t have nationwide ATMs.
   
4. Credit unions are too small. While credit unions are seen as warm and friendly, they’re also viewed as lacking sufficient scale and presence.

Read more about the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council's Credit Union Awareness Initiative, and what measures they recommend to make credit unions top-of-mind as consumers’ best choice in financial services.

NCUF to Host FinEd Twitter Chat Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 12:41 PM

To help kick off National Financial Literacy Month in April, the National Credit Union Foundation will host a Twitter chat for credit unions on Wednesday, April 5, at 4 p.m. The National Foundation is inviting credit union representatives to discuss and share their financial education activities during the chat.

During the Twitter chat on April 5th, credit unions and their staff are encouraged to share best practices and examples of their financial education efforts, including efforts to members of all ages, identifying needs, tracking and measuring, partnerships and more. The Twitter chat is a live streaming conversation, free and open to anyone with a Twitter account. For this Twitter chat, the hashtag will be #foundationchat. Twitter users can either type #foundationchat into the Twitter search box or utilize other tools such as Tweet Chat, etc. to follow the conversation.

Read more details online.

NCUF Accepts President's Volunteer Service Award for CUs Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 12:39 PM

NCUF Executive Director Gigi Hyland receives the U.S. Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award on behalf of America’s credit unions from Junior Achievement President/CEO Jack Kosakowski.

On behalf of America’s credit unions, the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) accepted the U.S. Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award for the 2015-2016 school year, presented by Junior Achievement at its 2017 Volunteer Summit on March 7, 2017. The award recognized over 15,000 volunteer hours dedicated to Junior Achievement programs by America’s credit unions.

The President’s Volunteer Service Award is a U.S. presidential recognition program for individuals and organizations who contribute a significant amount of time to volunteer service. Junior Achievement USA bestows the honor on organizations with a U.S. presence that provide volunteers to teach JA programs anywhere in the world. Gigi Hyland, Executive Director of the NCUF had this to say about the aware . . . .

“The Foundation is humbled to accept this prestigious award on behalf of credit unions around the country who have dedicated significant volunteer time and support to foster youth financial capability through Junior Achievement. Credit unions’ sole mission is to improve the financial well-being of their members. This award is testament to that dedication and commitment to improve the financial futures of the next generation and strengthen the financial well-being of all Americans.”

Junior Achievement is a volunteer-delivered, kindergarten-12th grade program that fosters work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills, and uses experiential learning to inspire students to dream big and reach their potential. Credit unions across the country support their local JA program to work collaboratively towards impacting the future leaders of business and their communities.

Free Webinar: Social Media Strategies for CUs Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 12:20 PM

The Filene Research Institute will host a free webinar on 2/1/17 at 3 p.m. addressing social media strategies for credit unions. This session will cover how credit unions can connect with audiences on social media through story telling and real examples of member success. And then tapping into the power of employees and their personal social networks as ambassadors for the credit union.

Participants will learn effective strategic approaches for this style of communication and then discuss how social media sharing tools can turn this strategy into action for busy credit union employees. You'll walk away with several ideas that can be implemented right away to amp up your social presence.

Register online for this free webinar.

Co-op Economy Proposed in Paper to Trump Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 7:31 PM

In a presidential transition paper sent to President-Elect Donald Trump today, the National Cooperative Business Administration outlined the many ways that cooperatives, including credit unions, can help answer some of the nation’s most critical challenges.

Called “Cooperating for a Better Tomorrow: Creating Economic Opportunity for Americans and People Around the World,” the transition paper unpacks the scope of influence of the cooperatives in the U.S. and asks the incoming Administration to consider the cooperative business model as a bi-partisan approach to federal policy making.

Encouraging close collaboration with the Congressional Cooperative Business Caucus and the Inter-Agency Working Group on Cooperative Development, the paper outlines key areas where the Administration could support cooperatives:

• tax reform
• worker ownership
• the USDA Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) program
• small business lending
• inclusion of co-ops in the 2017 Economic Census
• healthy and sustainable food access and the Global Food Security Act. 

“Cooperating for a Better Tomorrow reflects the value and power the cooperative business model has across many sectors of the American economy,” NCBA CLUSA president and CEO Judy Ziewacz said in a letter accompanying the transition paper.

Click here to read the full transition paper.

2017 Wegner Award Winners Announced Posted by AVCU on 10:16 AM

The National Credit Union Foundation (the Foundation) has announced the winners of the 2017 Herb Wegner Memorial Awards. The Cooperative Trust will be recognized for Outstanding Program.  Outstanding Individual Achievement awards go to Stan Hollen and Maria Martinez. The award celebrates the highest national honors in the credit union movement.

The awards will be presented at a special dinner hosted by the Foundation at the Marriott Marquis on February 27, 2017, in conjunction with the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington, D.C. Registration for dinner sponsorships and tickets will be available at http://www.ncuf.coop within the next month.

• Outstanding Individual Achievement: Stan Hollen, retired President/CEO of CO-OP Financial Services
  
• Outstanding Individual Achievement: Maria Martinez, President/CEO of Border Federal Credit Union
  
• Outstanding Program: The Cooperative Trust from the Filene Research Institute