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Australian CUs have experienced strong growth in retail deposits at the expense of their regional banking rivals. http://ow.ly/goIE 1 day ago

Yakima Valley CUs have benefited from larger banks troubles as membership, deposit growth, and overall presence expand. http://ow.ly/goHD 1 day ago

Florida Central CU names CUNA board member Laida Garcia as president, CEO. Garcia succeeds the late Ed Gallagly. See http://ow.ly/gnw7 1 day ago

WesCorp detailed cost-saving initiatives-- including roughly 90 layoffs--that aim to roll back expenses to 2003 levels. See July 6 NN. 2 days ago

Wash. State CUs have seen a 313% mortgage loan increase over the last 10 years, with lower car loan, savings deposit increases. See Mon. NN. 2 days ago

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Products & Services

MADISON, Wis. (7/2/09)--CUNA Mutual Group Wednesday signed a letter of intent to sell its IRA Services division to Ascensus, a retirement services firm based in Dresher, Pa.

The sale, expected to close July 31, is part of CUNA Mutual's overall corporate strategy to simplify its business and focus on its core insurance business and products, the company said in a release.

The 47 employees of the IRA Services division will become Ascensus associates when the sale closes. They will continue to work from the same location in Middleton, Wis. CUNA Mutual acquired the IRA Services business from CUNA & Affiliates in 1999.

CUNA Mutual Group provides financial services to credit unions and their members nationwide. Ascensus provides solutions for the retirement marketplace and is a division of Crump Group, Inc., a U.S. wholesale insurance distributor.

CHICAGO (7/2/09)--TransUnion has announced the availability of Auto Summary and APR Estimator, which aim to help finance managers, captive lenders and credit union managers streamline the auto financing process.

The solutions serve as add-ons to online credit reports, according to TransUnion. They can provide information on recent auto trades; summarize auto payment data, delinquencies and balances; and estimate the consumers' annual percentage rate on existing auto loans through an online credit report. The information can then help identify the type of vehicle and finance options that fit the consumers' capacity to pay.

The tools also aim to help lenders improve underwriting, enhance portfolio reviews and analyze lost sales to refine future program offers and pricing.

TransUnion is a credit and information management solutions provider based in Fullerton, Calif.

FOXBORO, Mass. (7/1/09)--Diebold Inc., North Canton, Ohio, has won the 2009 Axeda Remote Service Leadership Award for its OpteView Remote Services solution that connects remote ATMs in real-time to the people and systems providing service and support.

The award recognizes one organization that delivers maximum value through the effective deployment of remote service technology. The winner is selected by Aberdeen Group, an independent analyst that covers the remote service/smart service market.

ATLANTA (7/1/09)--CO-OP Shared Branching added 264 new locations during the first half of this year to its network of more than 3,720 shared branches and 2,000 self-service kiosks.

Shared Branching offers a low-cost alternative for credit unions that want to provide a branching distribution channel that can compete with the nation's largest banks, according to CO-OP Shared Branching.

CO-OP Shared Branching added 264 new service centers nationwide in the first half of 2009. (Photo provided by CO-OP Shared Branching)

"We are not seeing growth of shared branching clustered in any particular region of the country," said Carroll Beach, president and chief operating officer. "Instead, the new locations are scattered all over the U.S."

Capital Educators FCU, Meridian, Idaho, is scheduled to go live with Shared Branching this fall. The credit union has not been forced to close any branches or freeze expansion plans due to the economy but said it sees shared branching as an important complement to its other branches.

"We've done extensive analysis to determine where we should build brick and mortar, and in the process have uncovered certain geographic areas that need a branch presence but don't have enough membership to justify the cost of construction, said Mike Hill, Capital Educators CU executive vice president. "In those places, we are using shared branching as a supplement to retain accounts."

The credit union loses accounts mostly due to members moving and expects shared branching to offset the issue, Hill added.

NORTH CANTON, Ohio (6/30/09)--ATM manufacturer Diebold says real-life gangster John Dillinger, the subject of a new film, "Public Enemies," changed the way the company protected financial institutions' vaults.

"Public Enemies," starring Johnny Depp as Dillinger, is set to be released Wednesday.

Dillinger led the Dillinger Gang in the early 1930s and was the first man labeled by federal law enforcement as "Public Enemy No. 1." During his 13-month career as a gangster, his group killed 10 men, wounded seven others, robbed numerous banks, raided police arsenals and staged three jailbreaks.

Because many of Diebold's clients were worried about their financial security with Dillinger on the loose, Diebold partnered with Lake Erie Chemical Company in the early 1930s to create a teargas system that could be triggered during a robbery. Teargas canisters were placed in the buildings so that the gas would envelop the institution's lobbies.

Diebold reported brisk sales of the system throughout five states in the Midwest, where Dillinger and his gang had been involved in heists.

Diebold, a CUNA Strategic Service provider, is headquartered in Canton, Ohio. The company celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (6/29/09)--Intuit Inc. will host a virtual town hall meeting Tuesday on Twitter with credit union representatives and small business industry experts to discuss capital for small businesses.

Intuit provides business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, financial institutions including credit unions, consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products include QuickBooks, Quicken and TurboTax software.

The meeting will take place from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT. Phil Bryan, senior vice president of retail and lending at Metro CU, Springfield, Mass., is slated to participate.

The discussion will provide tips on how small businesses can obtain credit, build relationships with financial institutions and the steps small businesses need to take to get credit.

Credit unions and community banks are "excellence and accessible" sources of credit, according to the Intuit Future of Small Business Report on Small Business Credit Outlook.

Participants must have a Twitter account to participate. For more information, use the link.

NORTH CANTON, Ohio (6/26/09)--ATM manufacturer Diebold has launched the Enhanced Note Acceptor (ENA), a cash-accepting device, at its ATMs.

ENA allows deposits of up to 50 mixed-denomination notes in an envelope-free transaction. The ENA module is offered as a standard feature on Diebold's Opteva ATM or as an onsite field upgrade.

Envelope-free transactions help eliminate empty-envelope and closed-account fraud, Diebold said.

The number of deposit-automated ATMS across 26 countries has more than quadrupled since 2003 to more than 96,000 at the end of 2007, according to a Retail Banking Research study. Demand is expected to grow by 670,000 deposit-automated units deployed by 2018.

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