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Newslines Express for
Friday September 03, 2010
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AVCU Announces
Formation of Compliance Council
In
an effort to help them digest the overflow of compliance
information available to credit unions from a myriad of
sources, President Joe Bergeron announced this week
that AVCU is creating a “Compliance Council” open to any
employee / volunteer of an Association member credit union.
The Council’s purpose is primarily to provide an exchange
forum among Vermont credit unions on state and federal
compliance subjects of their choosing. Occasionally,
discussion may call for insights from outside sources, but
the primary focus will be a cooperative structure through
which all representatives can learn, exchange, and benefit.
A secondary goal of the Council will be for members to
serve from time to time as a sounding board to represent
Vermont credit unions in response to state and federal
regulatory proposals.
“As you know all too well,
regulatory compliance has become an enormous burden for
credit unions of all types and sizes,” Bergeron told credit
union Manager / CEOs. “There are many resources available to
help credit unions, including AVCU’s Compliance InfoSight
website, webinars, listserves, teleconferences, and much
more. What we hear from the majority of credit unions,
however, is not about a lack of information, but the time to
review and understand it.” In the long run, Bergeron sees
the Compliance Council meeting once each quarter, using
webinars and teleconferences as informational resources,
jointly sharing sample documents, and cooperatively creating
new ones via a Council website.
The first meeting will take
place on Monday, October 4th at 11:00 at the AVCU
offices to learn about and discuss changes to the FACT Act.
A live one hour webinar presentation from a FACT Act expert
from Wolters-Kluwer will be followed by a Q&A period during
which credit unions will be able to get answers to specific
questions. A follow-up discussion among participants will
take place afterward, as will an an open-ended discussion
about future plans for the Council. There is no cost for
one person from an AVCU member credit union to attend the
initial Compliance Council event. Lunch and the webinar
will be provided courtesy of AVCU, however Bergeron
indicated that future Council meetings may require very
modest fees depending on how the Council evolves.
Newslines Express
readers who are interested in becoming part of the
Compliance Council should consult with their Manager / CEO
to determine who will be their credit union’s representative
to the Council.

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Registration Now Open
for Vermont Cooperative Summit Oct. 14
AVCU,
Cabot Cooperative Creamery, and five other state and
national cooperatives have joined forces to bring a meeting
of Green Mountain State cooperatives across all business
sectors to South Burlington on October 14th. The
2010 Vermont Cooperative Summit is our second state-wide
gathering that will bring cooperative business leaders from
across the state and the region together to hear new ideas
under the banner theme Building on the Power of
Cooperatives. All attendees will gain perspectives on
our world and the greater impact cooperatives can have on
our communities. Registration is now open at the Summit’s
website
www.vtsummit.coop and costs just $25 per person or a
maximum of $75 for four or more attendees from the same
organization.
Featured during the event
will be a gubernatorial candidate forum on cooperatives
between Republican Brian Dubie and Democrat Peter
Shumlin. The one hour face-to-face meeting promises to
draw a lot of media attention to the cooperatives gathered
for the event. Also featured are:
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Vermont economist Art
Woolf highlighting the history and impact of
cooperatives on Vermont |
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AVCU lead lobbyist
Adam Necrason previewing the 2010 elections and what
they mean for cooperatives |
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8 afternoon break-out
session covering a variety of topics such as merchant
card processing for coops, legal issues, marketing,
investments and borrowings for coops, and much more. |
We ask and encourage all
Vermont credit unions to inform their members about this
unique event to help us spread the word and generate
interest. Results of a recent Vermont consumer survey
commissioned by Cabot show a significant lack of awareness
that credit unions are cooperatively structured. When asked
to name the first two cooperatives that came to mind, only 8
people out of the 400 surveyed state-wide named a credit
union and more than 30% were unable to even name two
cooperatives. In a time when consumers are choosing to do
more of their business locally, it’s imperative that credit
unions identify themselves as cooperatives and educate
consumers about the benefits of our business model.

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River Valley’s Putney
Branch Moving to New Building this Fall
River
Valley Credit Union President / CEO Jeff Morse told
local news outlet
The Commons this week that the credit union plans to
move its Main St. Putney branch (pictured) into the
former Sawmill Country Store building just down the street
sometime this fall. A few months ago, the credit union
purchased the building for $300,000 and is renovating it
during the next few months, with the move expected to take
place by Thanksgiving. (The Commons, Sept. 1, 2010)
“It was a good deal for us,”
Morse told reporter Randolph Holhut. While the
largest part of River Valley’s operations is at its main
office in Brattleboro, Morse stressed that there was not any
consideration about leaving Putney.
“The building was available
and had a good footprint. We looked at other places and
decided this was in our best interest, and in the town’s
best interest,” said Morse. “Leaving Putney was never an
option, not with this institution’s history and the support
we have here,” he added.

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CSS Spotlight …
American Background Information Services
Based on member input,
we’ve begun spotlighting a CUNA Strategic Services (CSS)
vendor every other week to demonstrate to Vermont credit
unions the variety of compliance, security, growth &
retention, operations, technology, and lending services
available through CSS. Anyone interested in more
information about CSS vendor partnerships is invited to
contact AVCU Vice-President
Bryan Kent.
So
you think you finally found the right person for that key
position that you've been looking to fill, but before you
make an offer, you would really feel more comfortable
conducting a background check on the candidate. Where can
you turn to provide a thorough analysis on your prospective
employee at a discounted rate?
The answer is American
Background, which offers credit unions more than 20 years of
industry experience through a special negotiated arrangement
with CUNA CSS. Under the program, credit unions can receive
the following employment background services at a discounted
rate.
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Criminal background
checks |
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Employment credit
reports |
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Verification of
employment |
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Verification of
education |
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Verification of
professional qualifications |
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Personal and/or
professional references |
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Substance abuse testing |
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Motor vehicle records
checks |
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FCRA compliance
fulfillment services |
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Risk scoring |
Already using an outside
provider? Just call American Background toll free at (877)
524-1153 for a free price comparison to your current
provider.

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InfoSight, Notes, Calendar & Employment
This Week’s
InfoSight eNewsletter Topics
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Highlight:
S.A.F.E. Act Topic Added |
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Accounts, Advertising, Bankruptcy / Collections, BSA,
and Employment Channels Updated in August |
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Where Does Line Fall on APR Increase Ban? |
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NACHA Introduces Payment Cycle Pilot Program |
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Reg E Gift Card Rules |
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Calendar, training
opportunities, and more |
CUDL Golf
Tournament Set for September 22
The 7th annual
CUDL golf tournament benefiting the Boston Children’s
Hospital will be held at the Overlook Golf Club in Hollis,
NH on Wednesday, September 22. A variety of sponsorship
opportunities are available and anyone interested in
registering can
download the brochure from our website.
Upcoming
Event Calendar
NOTE: The AVCU offices
will be closed on Monday, September 6 in observance of Labor
Day.
Next Friday,
September 10 is the final deadline to register for AVCU’s
2010 IRA Training program.
9/8 “Subpoenas, Summonses,
Levies & Other Demands for Member Funds” (FED Web / On
Demand Link)
9/9 “The Growing Role of
Market Segmentation” (ICUL QuickBite)
9/9 “Writing a Policy for
FACT Act Risk-Based Pricing Regulations: Effective 1/1/11”
(FED Web / On Demand Link)
Download our full Distance Learning Calendar for July thru
December
Employment
Opportunities
Accounting Specialist, Vermont Federal Credit Union …
(NEW Today!)
Senior Loan Officer, One Credit Union (formerly
Bryant Federal) … (2nd
post)
Jobs previously posted in Newslines Express are
available here.
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Share With Us
We’re always looking for
pictures, press releases, and news that helps tell the story
of why credit unions in general, and yours in particular,
are so special to Vermont consumers. Please send
submissions to
jcote@vcul.org.
Daily Rates
CUNA’s Financial Rates
page offers information from the Wall Street Journal and
U.S. Central Credit Union.
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Event Calendar |
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A complete listing of
AVCU education sessions, credit union conferences, and
special events is
available here. |
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