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February 2008  Issue 2
To our member credit unions,
 
Success at the State GAC

The year moves quickly and February is nearing an end.  To all of us that means three things: the state GAC is behind us, the CUNA GAC is Austin De Bey & Rep. Kirk Adamsapproaching at light speed, and we are all thinking about what is still to come.  If the State GAC is any indicator of what lies ahead, then we should only see good things for the credit union movement here in Arizona.

The success of this year's State GAC begins with an outstanding turn out of 62 credit unions professionals from around the State.  The ACUL-PAC Dinner Awards kicked off the conference on January 29th where Representative Kirk Adams gave a keynote that was refreshingly Missouri Rep. Paul LaVotahonest in this time of economic uncertainty.  Quickly following his keynote he was presented with the Arizona Credit Union League's Legislator of the Year Award.
 
The following morning our featured speaker, Missouri Representative Paul LaVota, gave a presentation that in essence, hit a home run.  How to Speak So Politicians Will Listen was only the beginning.  He was forthright about the true sources of power, be it the individual, the constituency, or the power of a well formulated  grassroots campaign. 
 
State Representative Chad Campbell joined us briefly to discuss his involvement in the current payday lending initiatives.  He expressed his utmost support for the REAL Solutions program and how credit unions have the most reasonable and community friendly alternatives to payday lending.
 
Our final speaker, John Magill, SVP of Legislative Affairs for CUNA provided insight from Washington DC into the excitement and challenges that the credit Legislative Lunch: L-R Jennifer Godel of Desert Schools FCU, Rep. Michelle Reagan (R-8), Rep. Steve Yarbrough (R-21), Rep. David Schapira (D-17)union movement might see on the national level.
 
We closed the day with lunch at the Capitol, where attendees had the chance to talk credit union issues with our state lawmakers.  The event concluded with a tour and presentation from Dean Martin, State Treasurer.
 
 
Legislative & Governmental Affairs Update
AZ Capitol Building 
 
 
Arizona Credit Union League Endorses Legislation
 
 
 
 The Arizona Credit Union League worked to enact legislation this month to increase the timeframe within which a lien needs to be perfected, from 10-days to 30-days.  This legislation is a result of a loophole in state law that is not consistent with the federal bankruptcy code.  In one case, the loophole resulted in a member purchasing a car, financing it at the credit union and 45-days later filing for bankruptcy.  The lien was filed after 22-days and the bankruptcy trustee voided the lien and took the car.  The lien was treated as if it didn't exist, giving the trustee the vehicle (free and clear) to be used as an asset in the bankruptcy estate.  This loophole affects both federal and state chartered credit unions since state law supersedes federal law on this issue.  

 

The increased timeframe would give the dealers and MVD more time to get a lien perfected and credit unions assurance that a bankruptcy trustee won't void a lien that was not perfected within 10 days.   Since the legislature was already in session when the issue arose, we were behind the eight ball.  The good news however, is that an amendment was added to H.B. 2169 to make the much needed legislative fix.   The bill has already passed the Transportation and Rules Committees and should be voted on later this month.   If it passes the House, the bill will then be sent to the Senate for passage. 

Political Affairs & Grassroots Update

 
Credit Union Campaign Involvement
Super Tuesday, February 5th, from sun rise to sun set, 25 individuals representing credit unions did not let the cold weather stop them from participating  in campaign activities.  Credit Union Volunteers collectedCollecting Signatures from Desert Schools. L-R: Kelly Tylwalk, Meredith Boggs, Matt Osborn signatures outside the polling stations for the candidate nominating process.  There were volunteers at four polling stations in the Chandler-Gilbert area working on Congressman Flake's campaign and volunteers at three polling stations in the Litchfield Park area working on Congressman Grijalva's campaign. Together they collected more than 350 signatures for Congressman Flake and 120  signatures for Congressman Grijalva.  There is no better way to show our Congressmen that credit unions are willing to go above and beyond in terms of political involvement.   Special thanks to the following credit unions that had volunteers participate: Arizona State CU, Bashas' Associates FCU, Canyon State CU, Desert Schools FCU, First CU, and Southwest Healthcare CU. And an extra special thanks to Desert schools who volunteered to host a whole polling station for the day and had 10 volunteers participate!
 
Upcoming Events and Opportunities For Involvement
If you were not able to make it out on Super Tuesday to participate in the campaign activities, you're in luck.  In the coming weeks there are multiple events to attend and opportunities for all credit union employees to participate in the political process.
 
Saturday, March 1st: Fundraiser for Congressman Ed Pastor with special guest, U.S. Representative Barney Franks (MA 4), Chairman of the Financial Services Committee.  This is a very special event.  It is a unique opportunity for all members of the credit union movement to show support and meet two very important people to our movement.  For a high profile Congressional Fundraiser such as this, it has one of the lowest suggested contributions.  If you have the opportunity, please consider attending this event.  For more information please see the flyer.

Saturday February 23rd: House parties and campaign walks for Legislative Districts 14 and 15.

LD 14: Come Support Senator Debbie McCune-Davis, and Representatives Robert Meza & Chad Campbell in a Campaign Walk to collect signatures and talk to voters.  Please RSVP to chad@chadcampbell.org or call 602-576-7414 for more information. 
 
LD 15:  Come support Representatives David Lujan & Kyrsten Simema at a Meet & Greet and Campaign Walk to collect signatures and talk to voters. For more information or to RSVP call 602-234-6817.
 
 
 

 
 

Credit Unions In the Community

Credit Union News

 

Altier Credit Union recently celebrated the Grand Opening of their new Photo caption: Altier Credit Union board members, management and staff celebrate the Grand Opening of the new Gateway branch.Gateway branch in Mesa.  As part of the celebration, the credit union presented a check from a recent fundraiser to Special Olympics Arizona.

 

Arizona Federal Credit Union recently announced an "exclusive" and precedent-setting pact with the city's YMCA organization to open its first financial institution branch.  The branch will open in early March in a low income Hispanic neighborhood and is designed, in part, to counter and provide an alternative to the proliferation of payday shops in the area.

 

"Arizona Federal is proud to partner with the YMCA to help deliver critical financial skills to the community," said Ron Westad, president/CEO.  "This partnership was forged in response to a great social need: the need for financial education."

 

 

On February 1, News/Talk 92.3 KTAR auctioned off a premium Super Bowl ticket package donated by Arizona State Credit Union.  Over 40 bids were received with the winning bid of $15,500 being donated to Phoenix Children's Hospital's One Darn Cool School. 

 

"We are happy that this great Super Bowl packaged has served to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network," said David Doss, president/CEO.  "The excitement surrounding the Super Bowl provided a wonderful opportunity to benefit this truly great program for kids."

 

 

Desert Schools Credit Union presented a check for $340,000 to the One Photo caption: Desert Schools management, hospital staff and hospitalized children participate in the check presentation in the One Darn Cool School.Darn Cool School at Phoenix Children's Hospital in January for their 2007 fundraising campaign..  The credit union raised more money for Credit Unions for Kids than any credit union in the country.  

 

 
 

Tucson Federal Credit Union

recently named Matthew Gaspari, Senior Vice President/COO.  He succeeds Susan Beard who was named CEO with the retirement of former CEO Brad Soland.  Matthew has been with the credit union since 1992. 

 

TFCU also held a Grand Opening to celebrate its new location in the Marana Fry's Marketplace. Shoppers were treated to free food, fun and giveaways on Saturday, February 9 from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. The branch, located on Tangerine and Thornydale, has been open since December 28, 2007.


First Credit Union Recognized as Indirect Lender of the Year

Credit Union Advantage is proud to announce the 2007 Indirect Lender of the Year.  First Credit Union is the recipient finishing the year with anFirst CU receives CU Advantage Award. L-R: Fred Kent, Steve Kutrubis, Tracy McGrew overall growth of 61% compared to their 2006 volume. This was tremendous loan growth in a year when the economy wasn't at its strongest. The credit union was presented with an engraved Crystal Award at a special ceremony on February 14th at their corporate headquarters in Chandler. The entire Indirect Lending staff along with Senior Management were in attendance.
Regulatory & Compliance Update
 
regulation1
 
This Month in Compliance
 
 
 

Changes to Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Enacted

After some delay, President Bush recently signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act.  The Act extends FMLA leave to immediate family members of military reservists and National Guard members called to active duty and also provides leave to employees who are caring for family members seriously ill or injured as a result of active duty service.  For more information, please visit Ogletree

 

Latest Challenge to the Legal Arizona Workers Act Dismissed

District Court Judge Wake dismissed the latest in a series of legal challenges to the Legal Arizona Workers Act last week.  The Act gives Arizona courts the power to suspend or revoke business licenses of employers who knowingly hire individuals who are unauthorized to work in the United States.  As a reminder, all of you should be enrolled in the E-Verify program and should be using the program to evaluate new hires.

 

FinCEN Issues Ninth Issue of SAR Activity Review

The latest issue of FinCEN's Suspicious Activity Report Review is available for review.  The review contains useful information about SAR filings from the first half of 2007.  Although the report does not contain any analysis of specific trends, it does contain information about the types of SAR filings, which can be illustrative as you evaluate your own Bank Secrecy Act protocol.  A copy of the latest SAR Activity Review as well as past issues are available at FinCEN

 

New Compliance Topic Added to CUNA E-Guide

In response to NCUA's emphasis on due diligence for the 2008 examination period, CUNA has added a new section to its Compliance E-Guide on this area of law.  I encourage all of you to visit CUNA' website to review the information in this topic area as it gives a comprehensive, yet simplistic summary of the issues surrounding due diligence.

 

Pandemic Planning Takes The Spotlight in NCUA's Recent Letter To Credit Unions

NCUA along with other federal agencies recently issued guidelines to assist credit unions in preparing for pandemic events, such as an outbreak of an infectious disease.  The guidelines call for credit unions to develop a comprehensive program to reduce the possibility of a credit union's total operations being halted as a result of a pandemic event.  Additional details about these guidelines can be found at: http://www.ncua.gov/letters/2008/CU/08-CU-01.pdf and

http://www.ncua.gov/letters/2008/CU/08-CU-01Encl.pdf
In This Issue
Legislative & Governmental Affairs Update
Political Affairs & Grassroots Update
Credit Unions in the Community
Regulatory & Compliance Update
CU 360 Is Here!
System Advocate Spotlight
Join Our Mailing List!

Upcoming Events & Important Dates to Remember

February 22nd, 2008
Tucson Old Pueblo CU - 8:30-11:30 AM
February 23rd, 2008
Campaign walks: LD 14 & 15
See Political Affairs update for more information
February 26th, 2008
8:00 AM-12noon
March 1st, 2008
March 2-6th, 2008
CUNA GAC
March 18th, 2008
AYIN Luncheon
Phoenix - 11:30AM-1:30PM
More details coming soon
July 15th-25th, 2008

CU360 is Here!

 
cu360
If you ever had a burning credit union question and wondered where you might find the answer, this is the place for you; CU360, an online portal for benchmarking tools, industry data, and analytical information.  There is something for everyone on your team.  Say you are the CEO and looking for comparison reports; for example, there is a CEO Total Compensation Survey that provides nationwide CEO compensation data for credit unions.  If you are in marketing, there is a whole set of reports specially designed for you, like a full-scale report on Key Economic Indicators.  And if you in operations, then you might be looking for answers specific to credit unions in the area of strategy execution, and you're in luck, there is a best practices report on strategy execution.  The list of information and tools goes on for each organizational team area.  To look at the tools for the organizational areas go to
www.cu360.cuna.org/trial.

 

Through the Arizona Credit Union League, each Arizona credit union has been provided a basic subscription to CU360 free of charge. This subscription is valued at  $1,195 per year and includes: CU Executive Newsletter, Key Economic Indicators, and Monthly Credit Union Data.  Additionally a $50 discount on CUNA webinars is also included. These are credit union specific learning opportunities that can be archived and revisited.   The CUNA webinar schedule can be accessed through the League's website calendar. 

 

Each credit union has the option for an upgrade to the expanded or the complete subscription.  To read more about CU360 and learn more about the learning opportunities that are included in your subscription go to http://cu360.cuna.org/sga/php.   Make sure your credit union has signed up for an account and click the My CU360 icon. 
 
real solutions logo tinyREAL Solutions
Programs to help credit unions provide  real services to real people. Now offered through your Arizona Credit Union League.  Click the icon to inquire about the most up to date information regarding this exciting new product.
System Advocate Spotlight
Shining Credit Union Individuals
 
Representative
Kirk Adams R-19
 
Rep. Kirk Adams

Representative Kirk Adams was presented with the Arizona Credit Union League's Legislator of the Year Award at this year's ACUL-PAC Awards Dinner.  "Why?" Some may ask.  Aside from the compelling keynote speech he gave at the ACUL-PAC Awards Dinner, he has proven to be a great legislative advocate for Arizona credit unions.

 

Last year Representative Adams was the sole sponsor for H2478: Credit Unions; Business Loans; Prepayment.  The bill is specific to credit unions and positive in that it gives credit union members more choices and options to lower their interest rates on business loans.  He worked closely with the League's Governmental Affairs department to see the bill successfully signed into law.

 

Representative Adams serves on several committees, including: Appropriations, Commerce, Financial Institutions and Insurance, Government, Judiciary, and Appropriations subcommittee on Education and Natural Resources.  Through his work he has established his commitment to family and small business related issues, which may be the connection to his commitment to the credit union movement. 
Press Releases
 TOPCU Branch Opening
 

Best Practices
ListServ
Looking for a fresh idea? Want to bounce your thoughts off of your peers?  Click the link to Join the ListServ, an e-mail based resouce reserved for Presidents and CEO's of statewide credit unions.  The best way to get the latest news and resources and communicate with other credit unions across Arizona.
 
Message Board
Click the link above to connect to the web based resource open to all credit union professionals designed to communicate with each other statewide.
NCUA Best Practices
Click the link above for more information on Best Practices and NCUA's "The Resource Connection." 
Random Facts & Ideas to Think About Before Next Time

Newton's 3rd Law of motion (For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction) applied to politics: From Underneath Jason's Appletree

 

It's simple: If you have the chutzpah to tell people that a policy is wrong, be ready also, then, to tell them what the better approach would be. Arming yourself with only negatives is not a good way to make progress. If you're going to criticize, you should be obliged to offer an alternative.

 


This newsletter was sent to you by the Arizona Credit Union League and may be forwarded to other credit union individuals by using the link below.  Please direct any questions or comments regarding this newsletter to Joy Audet.