December 2014
FOCUS is the monthly e-Newsletter of the Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives (OSCUI). It focuses on helping small credit unions achieve success by providing news and highlighting opportunities. Subscribe here.
topFeatured this Month (Click on a heading to go to the article.) 
Headliner:  In this issue 
In FOCUS with Bill:  Suppose it really mattered
HeadlinerHeadliner
In this issue

   

As 2014 comes to a close, OSCUI marks the third year of publishing its e-newsletter.  Our goal through this publication is to provide you with relevant resources and information for your credit union.

 

Throughout the year, we receive requests to re-run an article or to direct someone to a specific monthly issue or article.  You'll find back issues in  the FOCUS archives on our website and in this issue, you'll find an index of all the Consulting, Grants and Loans, Partnerships & Outreach, and Training articles for the year. Just click on the link to one of these columns in the "Featured this Month" section above.

 

We appreciate your support and look forward to serving you in 2015. Email us at [email protected] and let us know what topics you'd like us to consider.
 
 
 OSCUI
Events Calendar

Our list of 2015 events will be available in next month's issue.

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Share Your Ideas!
  

We value your input. Share your ideas for services you'd like us to offer or topics for our training events. Contact OSCUI's Training Division at

[email protected]

 

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inFocusIn FOCUS with Bill

Suppose it really mattered

         

In this column, OSCUI Director Bill Myers offers insight to small, low-income, new and minority credit unions based on his role as Director and past experience in the credit union field.

 

A few years ago, after a bankruptcy hearing, a couple of credit union colleagues and I were sitting around the Korova Coffee Bar reviewing the performance of our attorney. The question came up, "Suppose that rather than litigating a loan repayment, the result of this hearing was that you personally would go to jail or be released. Would you have used this attorney?" This line of thought was important for me. We soon transitioned our retainer with that very nice attorney and eventually hired an in-house attorney who was also nice, but defended our positions much more diligently.

 

At NCUA, I charge myself with allocating OSCUI's resources as if my liberty depended upon the outcome. I believe small, low-income, minority and new credit unions are important. This year, through competitive bid, we contracted, the Filene Research Institute to analyze the impact of our four program areas: Consulting, Grants and Loans, Partnerships and Outreach, and Training. This included all our credit union contacts over a five year period. The report will be released next year, but already we're seeing ways to improve our impact.

 

The most immediate changes you'll notice are to our training and consulting services. During 2014, attendance at our monthly webinars topped 3,000 each, and viewership of our videos crested to more than 20,000 for the year.  By comparison, attendance at our on-site events, stabilized at less than 1,000 in all of 2014. In 2015, OSCUI will transition entirely to digital training, using webinars and videos. We will, of course, continue to speak at invited events.

 

Our consulting processes will become more targeted to credit unions that our experience shows can maximize the benefit of this assistance. We have developed tracking tools and analytics to better understand our work and to provide assistance more efficiently.

 

Updates on the other service areas and our advocacy within NCUA will be provided in a future column

 

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NewsOSCUI in the news

Recent citings about our office and services

 

Credit Union Call Report Late Filers Down to 47

Credit Union Times - Online

"Effective regulation requires timely information, and we're getting closer to reaching the goal of full compliance," NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz said. "We've been reminding credit unions of their responsibilities, and the Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives has been working with smaller institutions to help them file on time. All these efforts will continue."

 

Number of CUs Filing Late Call Reports Falls to Below 50: NCUA

Credit Union Journal - Online

NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz said in a statement that the regulator has been reminding credit unions about their responsibilities for timely filings, and continues to work with its Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives to help smaller institutions meet the filing deadline.

 

47 CUs ID'd as late filers of 3Q call reports, down from 75 in 2Q

CUNA News Now

"Effective regulation requires timely information, and we're getting closer to reaching the goal of full compliance," NCUA Chair Debbie Matz said. "We've been reminding credit unions of their responsibilities, and the Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives has been working with smaller institutions to help them file on time. All these efforts will continue."

 

Economists: Mind the Wealth Gap

Credit Union Times - Online

"Credit unions have never had the facility for serving the growing number of billionaires," William Myers, director of NCUA's Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives and former president of the $90 million Alternatives Federal Credit Union, a community development cooperative based in Ithaca, N.Y., said. "The wealthy 1% are not credit union members, but it's the other side of the market that's exciting for us."

 

The Trials & Challenges of Starting A CU in Macedonia

CU Today

For more than 15 years Martha Ninichuk, deputy director of NCUA's Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives, has been active in helping to build a credit union in Macedonia, the eastern European country that is flanked by Albania and Bulgaria and which didn't become an independent country until 1991.

 

Macedonia's 1st CU built on trust, courage, commitment

CUNA News Now

The history of FULM Savings House begins with Martha Ninichuk, now the deputy director of the Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives at the National Credit Union Administration.

 

NCUA Budget Approval

CU Today

He also dismissed those critical of NCUA's expenditures on "non-core functions," such as its Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives, for which he expressed strong support, saying it's consistent with why credit unions were created.

 

Credit Union Times - Online

"Second, some commentators have argued that the NCUA should not invest credit union funded resources in seemingly non-core functions such as the Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives ... To me, assisting the underserved in obtaining financial services at an affordable price is an absolutely critical mission of the credit union community."

 

AdvisoryFor Your Attention
$360,000 for Round 1 of 2015 grants OSCUI Icon

    

NCUA plans to award $350,000 in grants under Round 1 funding for 2015.  The two initiatives will be:

  • Training for CU staff and volunteers ($150,000)
  • Student Summer Internships (more than $200,000)

 

More details will be in the Grants and Loans column in next month's issue.  Official information and details will be available on the Grants section of our website when they are released.

 

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HappeningHappening in OSCUI

Information and updates

  

Outreach

OSCUI hosted 34 representatives of credit unions, leagues, federal government programs with similar missions, community development organizations and other non-profits to preview report findings of its Impact Analysis Study. The study was conducted, under contract, by the Filene Research Institute. Official release of the report is scheduled for 2015 and will be featured in this e-newsletter.

 

OSCUI Director Myers met with officials of the Credit Union National Association to discuss NCUA's CUSP Portal and coordination of support services for small credit unions. Director Myers also attended the biannual Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion meeting and participated in the Cities for Financial Empowerment Advisory Board meeting. 

 

Program updates 

OSCUI promoted its Loan Program to several recently chartered credit unions to introduce them to our services that have been shown to have a high impact on new credit unions.

  

An Urgent Need grant was approved for nearly $7,000 to assist a credit union that sustained roof damage last winter. The funds will cover repair costs that insurance did not.

  

 OSCUI's remaining Fraud Video Series modules were posted on its website. As of Nov. 30, 4,221 individuals had viewed the modules.

 

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announcementsAnnouncements  

Non-NCUA sponsored events and opportunities

 

Partner Events 

 

Language Access Plan: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau requests comments on steps it can take to ensure persons of limited English proficiency have access to its programs and activities. Comments must be received by January 6, 2015.

 

Availability of the "Partner Template Toolkit": The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has "ready-made" templates that can be customized to market your credit union's VITA/TCE program locally. Refer to Publication 5176 "Partner Template Toolkit" for details.  Contact Tina Younger at 404-338-7087 or Kathy Davis 615-764-6289 with questions.

 

CFPB to offer training to volunteer tax preparers: CFPB will make its training and materials to encourage consumer savings available at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites around the country. Details and materials will be available for download or order from the CFPB website when released.

 

Training
  

Annual Conference on Financial Education: The Institute for Financial Literacy will host this conference April 1-3, 2015, in San Antonio. The conference offers professional development and networking opportunities for those involved in financial literacy education.

 

REAL Solutions, CUNA & Leagues Partner to Offer Financial Counseling Training to CUs: An enhanced version of the Credit Union Financial Counseling Certification Program (FiCEP) is available to credit union staff through the collaboration. FiCEP, a self-study program where credit union employees learn how to counsel members to better prepare for their futures and to assist them when they are faced with financial difficulties. For more information, contact Lois Kitsch at [email protected]. 
  

Other  

 

The Cooperative Trust and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) seek Crashers for "Crash the GAC" 2015. This is an opportunity for credit union professionals under the age of 35 to participate in the CUNA conference. Sponsorships are available. To apply, go to www.crashthegac.com.  Applications close on Jan. 2, 2015.

 

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Pamela L. Williams
Editor
NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION
The Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives
1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
     

Website: www.ncua.gov/oscui   

Email: [email protected]