Credit Union Times - October 1, 2008 - (Page 1) CREDIT UNION TIMES Vol. 19, No. 39 Weekly Independent Report On Credit Unions October 1, 2008 CEOs Advocate CUNA-NAFCU Merger; Threaten to Drop Membership in One By CLAUDE R. MARX CU Times Washington Reporter WASHINGTON — Six CEOs of large credit unions are advocating that their credit unions would be better served if CUNA and NAFCU merged. Saying that the credit union movement would be better represented with one voice, these CEOs, three of whom run credit unions with assets of more than $1 billion, are urging the boards of those associations to begin merger talks. “We now believe that the old system of two lobbying organizations no longer works in the best interest of our credit unions. It seems to us that the oppositional stands of each organization to the other is counterproductive and has likely led to instances where decisions are made in order to give one organization a leg up in the battle for credit union support, rather than a logical decision that is in the best interest of credit unions,” the CEOs wrote to the boards of CUNA and NAFCU in May. Representatives of the group met with the boards of both organizations at their annual meetings this summer. All of the CEOs run credit unions that are members of both trade associations. In the CEOs’ letter to CUNA and NAFCU, which was accompanied by a white paper spelling out their arguments, they said, “if a merger conversation cannot be successfully completed, our credit unions may be forced to withdraw from one of the trade organizations.” CUNA Chairman Tom Dorety, CEO of Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union, indicated that CUNA was open to such talks, but NAFCU Chairman Brad Beal, CEO of Nevada Federal Credit Union, said NAFCU was not. (Please see CUNA-NAFCU MERGER, page 34) The Paulson-Bernanke $700 Billion Bailout Plea Lays an Egg in Congress NJCUL Annual Meeting T By DONALD SHOULTZ CU Times Managing Editor reasury Secretary Henry Paulson must have thought Wall Street was a tough crowd. But then he and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took their act to Capitol Hill, where, apparently, there are no restrictions on hecklers. Through a series long weekends and sleepless nights, Paulson and his team have labored mightily to prop up the nation’s financial system. First came the shot-gun wedding of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase, and few tears were shed for the loss of News what the street considered a cowboy firm. Then came the Analysis conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A shrug (Please see PAULSON, page 35) New Jersey League Stars Cut a Rug By MICHELLE A. SAMAAD CU Times Senior Staff Reporter DALLAS — The $2 billion Texans Credit Union has lost another wrongful termination case for firing some CUSO executives. Nearly two years after three former Texans Commercial Capital senior staffers filed a lawsuit against the Texans Credit Union CUSO for defamation, a Dallas County jury ruled on Sept. 22 that the plaintiffs were wrongfully terminated. An arbitrator also recently ruled against Texans and ordered that Kevin M. Curley, the former president of Texans Insurance Group, be reinstated (see story, page 36). Former Texans Commercial President/CEO John C. O’Shea, Paul J. Valdez, former senior vice president/chief financial officer, and Joel B. Fox, former executive vice (Please see TEXANS COMMERCIAL, page 36) Jury Rules in Favor of Three Fired Texans Credit Union CUSO Executives Professional dancer Vladimir Popov leaps over Jersey Shore FCU CEO Virginia Williams to victory. The pair scored a perfect 40 in the Dancing With the Credit Union Superstars competition during the New Jersey Credit Union League annual meeting last week. See full coverage on pages 30 and 31. MAIL TO: TIME SENSITIVE MATERIAL. PERIODICAL MAIL on the inside: WesCorp’s CU Outlook Conference CEO Bob Siravo tried to pump up conference goers with news about opportunities in today’s market, but members were skeptical. Read about that and other conference events in our On-Site Coverage, pages 16 and 17. Special Report: Credit/Debit/ ATM In the wake of Hurricane Ike, TNB Card Services executives have reiterated that card operations must be included in disaster plans. That article and more on pages 20-23.
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