Keeping you connected to key credit union news, events, and trends: October 4, 2017
In This Issue
Headline News

Seven Credit Union Leagues Join Forces
Louisiana League to Bring Even More Value to Member CUs

Credit union trade associations from seven states have joined together to form a new company with the goal of offering best-of-class products and services to their 800 credit unions. The Raiffeisen Group, LLC (TRGroup) was formed by the trade associations serving credit unions in Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Credit unions in these seven states boast a combined 10 million members and $100 billion in assets.

"It makes sense to join forces and enhance our ability to serve credit unions. This strategic alliance creates a marketplace of 800 credit unions - almost one-seventh of the nation's credit unions - allowing us to pursue business partnerships and collaborative ventures that would not otherwise be possible," said Charles Elliott, President of Mississippi Credit Union Association and Chairman of TRGroup.

TRGroup's goals are to create value for member credit unions through joint service offerings; professional development; group purchasing; and introducing new products and services to market. Ultimately, the company's mission is to empower credit unions to better serve their members, build loyalty, realize savings, and grow revenue. The company is currently evaluating several products and services to determine their potential to benefit credit unions.

"TRGroup will also be the perfect complement to the good work of our individual league service corporations, which we plan to continue operating independently," said TRGroup Chairman, Charles Elliott. "TRGroup provides us a new avenue to pursue partnerships on a near-national scale, while our individual service corporations and leagues continue to offer the products and services demanded by credit unions in each of our home states, allowing credit unions to maintain 'local' control of the products and services on which they now depend." 

Each credit union association provided startup capital for the new company.  TRGroup's Board of Directors will be comprised of the presidents from the seven trade associations with the following Board Officers; Charles Elliott (Chairman), Mississippi Credit Union Association; John McKenzie (Vice Chairman), Indiana Credit Union League; Rick Pillow (Treasurer), Virginia Credit Union League; and Fred Robinson (Secretary), Tennessee Credit Union League.  Board members include; Wendell Lyons, Kentucky Credit Union League; Anne Cochran, Louisiana Credit Union League; and Kenneth Watts, West Virginia Credit Union League.

Learn more at trgroup.org. 

The Directors of TRGroup signed the Operating Agreement and approved the Board Officers on August 29, 2017.  From left to right; Wendell Lyons, Kentucky; Steven Liberto (representing Anne Cochran), Louisiana; Kenneth Watts, West Virginia; Charles Elliott (Chairman), Mississippi; Rick Pillow (Treasurer) Virginia; Fred Robinson (Secretary), Tennessee; and John McKenzie (Vice Chairman), Indiana.
LCUL Education Survey: Help Us Meet your Needs in 2018
LCUL distributed an online survey last week to learn more about the wants and needs of the Louisiana credit unions when it comes to professional development. In an effort to make sure we are providing our credit unions with timely information and highly sought after topics/speakers, please complete the education survey before October 6.

We thank you for your time and your input on this very important initiative. For more information or feedback, contact the League's education department.

September 201 7  CU Trends Report Now Available Online
CUNA Mutual Group's Credit Union Trends Report for September 201 7 is now available online and can be accessed in the Compliance & Research section of our website, under the heading Research & Information.

 During July, credit unions picked up 454,000 in new memberships, loan balances grew at a 10.4% seasonally adjusted annualized rate, while savings balances grew 7.9%.
 
Additional highlights of this month's report include:
 
  • Firms hired 189,000 workers, nominal consumer spending increased a moderate 0.3%, and long-term interest rates rose 13 basis points. Second quarter economic growth was revised up to 3.0% from 2.6% - much better than the 1.2% in Q1.
  • At the end of July, CUNA's monthly estimates reported 5,893 CUs in operation, down 18 CUs from one month earlier. Year-over-year, the number of credit unions declined by 231, less than the 235 lost in the 12 months ending in July 2016.
  • Total credit union assets rose 0.4% in July even though credit unions lost 0.6% in deposits but made up for it with a 30% surge in borrowings. Assets rose 7.3% during the past year due to a 7.4% increase in deposits, a 12.1% increase in borrowings, and a 6.0% increase in capital.
  • The nation's credit unions increased their loan portfolios by 1.1% in July, less than the 0.9% pace reported in July 2016, and 10.9% during the last 12 months. July is historically the third fastest loan growth month due to two seasonal factors: car purchases and vacation spending.
  • Credit union memberships rose a robust 0.41% in July, similar to the 0.42% gain reported in July 2016. Memberships are up 4.3% over the past year, the fastest in over a generation, due to rapid job creation and strong demand for new/used auto loans and real estate loans.
  • Credit union loan delinquency rates fell to 0.69% in July, down from 0.77% one year earlier, due to a stronger economy and double digit loan growth. As the labor market approaches full employment and the unemployment rate falls to 4.0% in 2018, we expect the loan delinquency rate to remain in the 0.7% to 0.8% range for next 12 months.
 
For more information, view the complete report here . If you have problems accessing the information or have additional questions about the research and information services provided by League, please contact Danielle Thibodeaux at (800) 452-7221, ext. 3018 or [email protected].  
Stabilization Fund to Close Oct. 1; Credit Unions Could Expect a Distribution in 2018
NCUA The National Credit Union Administration Board held its seventh open meeting of 2017 at the agency's headquarters and unanimously approved three items.

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Shared Branching

Credit Union Expansion Through Shared Branching
As noted in early August,  CO-OP Financial Services ' CO-OP Shared Branching network stands as the second largest network in the U.S., approximately 500 branches behind Wells Fargo.  That puts the CO-OP network ahead of Chase and Bank of America, with respective branch counts of roughly 5,560 and 4,860. 

But for the credit unions themselves, there's the benefit of not having to build out additional physical branches to provide coverage across wider geographies, and the perk of sharing marketing expenses. A participating credit union, if active in the network as an acquirer, reaps revenue as customers make cash and check deposits or conduct other transactions.

 In an interview with PYMNTS, Craig Beach, senior vice president of CO-OP Shared Branching, said the idea of a shared branch might seem simple on its face, but the execution is not so simple.
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Products & Services

Catalyst Corporate: What to Expect from Tax Reform
catalyst With health care reform moving off the congressional center stage, tax reform is on deck. But even though there is widespread support for tax reform in concept, real tax reform may be challenging, said a J.P. Morgan economist and presenter at Catalyst Corporate's annual Economic Forum.

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Have You Heard?

University of Louisiana FCU Celebrates Grand Opening of New Branch
University of Louisiana FCU celebrated the grand opening of its new Main Branch at 805 Bertrand Drive in Lafayette on September 13. Event attendees toured the branch and enjoyed food, fun and prizes throughout the day. A ribbon cutting was held with representatives from UL Lafayette, UL Lafayette Alumni Association, South Louisiana Community College and One Acadiana.
 
"We're extremely excited about this new full-service branch location," said Debbie Kidder, UL FCU President and CEO. "The Main Branch offers members additional access to our services and plenty of parking." Services include tellers, checking and savings accounts, loans, mortgages, financial counselors, drive-thru and a drive-thru ATM. Lobby hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Drive thru hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
 
The Campus Branch remains open to serve members at 619 McKinley Street (Olivier Parking Tower), across from the UL Lafayette Student Union. Both branches are part of the CO-OP Shared Branch network and welcome the members of participating credit unions.

New Orleans Firemen's FCU Donates Chili Cookoff Proceeds to Children's Hospital Guild
On September 14, New Orleans Firemen's FCU (NOFFCU) staff attended the Children's Hospital Annual Fall Luncheon & General Membership meeting at Chateau Golf & Country Club. Several NOFFCU employees are members of the Guild, four of which hold positions on the Board of Directors.
 
At the luncheon, NOFFCU presented Children's Hospital Guild with a donation of $3,500 which were the proceeds from taking 2nd place in Xpress Data Inc's (XDI) Fifth Annual Credit Union Chili Challenge in San Diego, CA.
 
Vickie Wilson, Guild Vice President elect and NOFFCU Executive Coordinator said, "We were thrilled to donate the money from the Chili Challenge to the Guild. This was a great event, and we are happy to take part and support our charity of choice."


Neighbors FCU Launches Real Men Wear Pink for Third Consecutive Year
Neighbors is participating in the American Cancer Society's Real Mean Wear Pink campaign at all branches and will continue to do so through October 21, 2017. Through this campaign, Neighbors hopes to promote awareness and raise funds to be donated to the American Cancer Society.

Real Men Wear Pink looks to community leaders to raise awareness and money to fight breast cancer. That is why Neighbors has proudly nominated President and CEO Steve Webb as its candidate for this cause. To help this cause, Webb will wear pink throughout the month of October. Last year, Webb finished second place in the campaign by raising more than $3,500.

Neighbors is encouraging all staff and members of the community to make donations through our team page at https://goo.gl/d1GxHj.

"It seems that each year the number of friends, family members and acquaintances that are diagnosed with breast cancer continues to increase," Webb said. "Being a part of Real Men Wear Pink is one small way that I can assist in raising awareness and much needed funding for critical research to help bring an end to this disease that impacts so many families."

Quote of the Week:
"Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard."
- Guy Kawaski 
Educational Calendar
Upcoming Conferences & Seminars from your League:    

November 8-9: Underwriting & Collections: Understanding the Roles and the Importance of their Relationship
 
Upcoming Teleconferences & Webinars from your League

October 5: Keys to Effective Employee Recruitment, Onboarding & Retention
October 11: Proper Repossession, Notice & Sale of Non-Real Estate Collateral
October 12: Real Estate Series: ARM & Balloon Payments: Clarifying the Confusion
October 16: Planning & Compliance Considerations for the New Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Uniform Residential Loan Application
October 17: The Only Guide to Understanding Share Insurance You'll Ever Need
October 18: Beyond EMV: Trends in Payments & What It Means for CUs
October 19: Financial Literacy for Directors Part 2: How to Interpret Key Ratios & Financial Statements
October 24: All About 1099 Reporting Part 1: Forms 1099-A & 1099-C: Foreclosures, Repossessions & Debt Settlements
October 25: Risk Management Series: Establishing or Maturing Your Vendor Risk Management Program
October 26: BSA Compliance Series: Job-Specific BSA Training for the Frontline: CTRs, SARs, CIP & More
October 30: Preparing for the Impact of New Prepaid Card Rules Under Reg E
October 31: CECL Loss Estimation Methodologies
     
For a complete listing of educational opportunities available from LCUL, visit the League website and click on "Education".
  
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