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for Friday, January 30, 2015
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Vermont DFR Names New Deputy Commissioner of Banking
Commissioner Susan L. Donegan of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation announced in a media release this week that Cynthia Stuart (pictured) has been named the department’s new deputy commissioner, succeeding Tom Candon who retired at the close of 2014.  Donegan said Stuart has more than 18 years of experience in both the retail and community aspects of banking and brings to the job a wealth of knowledge of current operations and senior management.
 
“Cynthia has an excellent understanding of community-based banking and exceptional knowledge of both banks and credit unions in Vermont and New Hampshire,” said Donegan. “She will bring extensive experience to the department.”
Stuart said in the release that she is enthusiastic about her new career on the regulatory side of banking.  “I am anxious to begin my new role as a regulator and I believe my wide range of banking experience and management skills will be an asset to the department.  Being a native Vermonter, I have a great appreciation and understanding of the financial needs of the residents of our state.”
 
Stuart has worked at several federal community banks in New Hampshire and Vermont, including Connecticut River Bank NA in Littleton, NH, where she was senior vice president of Retail Banking and Deposit Operations and most recently Ledyard National Bank in Hanover, NH, where she was senior vice president and senior retail banking officer.  She earned her bachelor’s degree from Trinity College in Burlington and a master’s degree in business administration from Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH. She also attended the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University and American Bankers Association Bank Marketing School at the University of Colorado.
Windsor County South CU Victimized by Robber
According to media and police reports, shortly before noon on Wednesday a man claiming he carried a weapon robbed Windsor County South Credit Union.  The robber came into the credit union and demanded cash at 11:21 AM.  An AVCU staff member was actually on the phone assisting one of the credit union’s two employees at the time the robber entered the credit union.  He was described by police as wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants and black footwear. (Photo by Len Emery)
Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston said the man was described as 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 120 to 130 pounds and having a “clean” appearance.  Although he told the employees he had a weapon, nothing was shown. The police department put out a press release later in the day stating that the robber left with an undisclosed amount of money and left the scene in a white or light-colored vehicle.  Nobody was injured and the credit union was closed for the remainder of the day as police conducted their investigation and the credit union followed post-robbery procedures.  Anyone with information regarding this matter is asked to contact the Springfield Police Department at 802-885-2113.
CUNA's RBC2 Analysis & Webinar Archive Available
More than 600 credit unions participated in Monday’s free CUNA webinar on NCUA's revised risk-based capital proposal (RBC2) as president/CEO Jim Nussle highlighted the advocacy strength of the organization's three-tiered system.  That system, comprised of CUNA, state associations / leagues, and credit unions, helped spark positive changes in the NCUA's initial risk-based capital proposal, and are present in RBC2, the CUNA leader said.  The proposal was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, marking the start of the 90-day comment period which will end on April 27. (Photo courtesy CUNA)
NCUA Examination and Insurance Director Larry Fazio presented thoughts on the proposed changes, CUNA Chief Policy Officer Bill Hampel presented a preliminary economic analysis of the impact of the rule, and Deputy General Counsel Mary Dunn summarized the approximately 25 key changes CUNA has identified in the new proposal. If you missed the webinar, the archived version is now available (CUNA login required).
 
Following the presentation, CUNA added a special calculator to their RBC Resource page which allows credit unions to determine their own capital levels under the RBC2 proposal.  In addition, CUNA will post a detailed summary and chart of the proposal online, and continue to update the CUNA Risk-Based Capital Blog and other online resources so credit unions can stay up-to-date on the latest information. Among those resources is the legal opinion CUNA posted to its website for members only. NCUA also posted a legal opinion letter justifying its ability to issue its tiered RBC2 rule.
 
Credit unions are strongly encouraged  to submit comments before the April 27 deadline and can also submit questions about the proposal to CUNA at rbc@cuna.coop. A FAQ page on CUNA’s RBC Action Center will feature answers to the questions as they become available.  A high-level breakout session dedicated to RBC2 questions, concerns and comments is also being planned for the upcoming Governmental Affairs Conference March 8-12.
NEFCU's LaPlume Selected to "Crash" the GAC
Kelly LaPlume, Branch Manager / Loan Officer at New England Federal Credit Union, has been selected by The Cooperative Trust and CUNA to be Vermont’s representative to “Crash” the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference.  In March, LaPlume and her fellow 2015 Crashers will join more than 4,000 other credit union professionals who will travel to Washington, DC to take part in the credit union system’s premier conference.
“Without the dedication and hard work from the League system, I don’t think we would have achieved this incredible feat,” said James Marshall, The Cooperative Trust Manager at Filene Research Institute. “We knew this would be a big year after falling just short last year and we are very excited to take our biggest group of Crashers ever to learn about and take part in credit union advocacy at this incredible event put on by CUNA."

“We have a terrific opportunity to engage young professionals within credit unions,” said CUNA president/CEO Jim Nussle. “These new leaders will be key in helping to position credit unions as Americans’ best financial partner, and therefore to the future success of the movement.”
 
As Crash the GAC enters its sixth year, Crashers now attend conferences and meet-ups all over the credit union and cooperative systems. Crash events provide young, motivated credit union employees with opportunities to take part in top industry events that they might not otherwise be able to attend. In addition to the core schedule of GAC events, Crashers will attend exclusive speaker sessions and explore opportunities for young adults to help promote credit unions locally and nationally.
Opportunities CU's Struble Featured on VPR's "Vermont Edition"
Stephanie Struble, Senior Manager of Asset Quality / Operations at Opportunities Credit Union, was interviewed this week on Vermont Public Radio’s “Vermont Edition” as part of a program devoted to helping consumers deal with growing credit card and other debt.  Struble and John Pelletier, Director of the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College, were interviewed by VPR's Nina Keck. Click for a recording of the broadcast
Struble said the majority of the people her credit union is seeing right now are in crisis, in debt, and really asking how to get out of it.  They're looking for education about how to make smarter choices and better understand things so that it doesn’t happen again.  Many are young adults, some are parents who want to know how educate their children so that they don’t go through the same financial troubles later in life.

Stuble believes it’s not uncommon for the average consumer to have difficulty even understanding a credit card statement due to both a lack of their own financial education and the confusing way information can be presented.  "I think that education in the school system is important," she told Keck, adding that she thinks financial education should be mandatory in college as well as earlier.  "Even in a younger age grade school and going forward, teaching your kids to save creates really good habits,” Struble said.
Annual Meeting Platinum Sponsor - CUNA Mutual Group
CUNA Mutual Group is our next perennial platinum sponsor.  For many years now, they've generously underwritten our Annual Yearbook & Directory, which includes statistical and directory information for all of our member credit unions, a past year retrospective of events in the Vermont and national credit union industries, and all reports and financial documents needed for the meeting.  Each primary convention attendee receives a yearbook in their registration packet and AVCU also mails a copy to all credit union chief executives unable to attend.
AVCU is currently accepting credit union ads for the 2015 yearbook.  Full page (8” high by 6.5” wide) and half page (4” high by 6.5” wide) ads are available for $250 and $125 respectively.  Reserve your ad space now by emailing AVCU and send us your credit union's ad copy by March 27.  Due to production requirements and deadlines, we cannot accept ads after that date.

We thank CUNA Mutual Group for their continuing partnership and support of our event.  For more information about our 68th Annual Meeting, download the brochure from our Special Events page or visit the attendee registration page on Eventbrite.
                       Newslines Express Puzzling Picture # 2                      
Each week leading up to convention weekend, we're converting the company logo of one of our convention exhibitors into a jigsaw puzzle.  All Vermont credit union employees or volunteers who are (or will be) registered for Friday's opening banquet at our upcoming Annual Meeting are eligible to play the Newslines Express Puzzling Picture contest which offers one lucky attendee an excellent chance at joining the Picture Perfect Phrase Winner's Circle and claiming a cash prize.
To play, download and print the contest submission form (if you haven't already) and write down that name of the company this logo belongs to in the appropriately numbered spot.  If you have trouble putting the picture together in your mind, visit our Special Events page as each company's logo gets added there once they register with AVCU as an exhibitor or sponsor.  Bring your completed form with you to the convention and drop it in the box in the Exhibitor Hall before 9 PM to be entered into the random draw to win the contest.  Don’t panic if you miss a week as all Puzzling Pictures will be on display at the convention.  Official contest rules and eligibility are outlined in detail on the form.
Management Minute, News & Notes, Calendar & Employment
Recent Headlines from Management Minute
  • Fed unveils strategies for U.S. payments system improvements
  • More than 90% of 2014 data breaches were preventable, report says
  • The Member Education Piece of Apple Pay
Finnigan Elected to CULAC Executive Committee
The Credit Union Legislative Action Council (CULAC) this week announced newly elected members of the CULAC Trustee Executive Committee. Filling one of the seven executive committee seats is Vermont FCU's Joe Finnigan who for many years has been a supporter of CULAC and Vermont’s CULAC trustee.  The CULAC Trustees meet at least once annually during the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference.

CULAC is CUNA's federal political action committee which contributes to and supports federal candidates and committees that support the Credit Union Movement, thereby helping to insure credit union advocates are elected to Congress. In the 2013-14 federal election cycle CULAC raised $4.43 million for potential support of candidates for federal office.  Besides campaign contributions, CULAC deploys direct mail and television, radio and online advertisements for candidates on a bipartisan basis. In last year’s mid-term elections CULAC and CUNA put nearly $6 million to use in support of credit union friendly candidates across the country, including over $3 million in direct contributions in 396 races. 96% of candidates supported by CULAC won their elections.

Upcoming Education Calendar
2/3 Individual Retirement Accounts Christy Crawford
2/3 Proper Repossession, Notice & Sale of Non-Real Estate Collateral Elizabeth Fast
2/4 Revisiting Your RESPA & TILA Policies to Include the New Integrated Disclosure Requirements Ann Brode-Harner
2/5 Supervisory Committee Rules & Regulations Bob Glynn
2/5 Understanding Appraisals & Appraisal Review Concepts for Lenders Heidi C. Lee

Employment Opportunities
Operations / Member Service (South Burlington), Green Mountain CU (3rd and final post)
These positions and others previously posted in Newslines Express are available here.

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.  Send submissions to jcote@vcul.org.

National News & Updates
Daily national news and weekly updates on regulatory and legislative issues provided by CUNA
News Now - view today's issue or archives
Regulatory Advocacy Report - member login / registration required
Legislative Update - member login / registration required

Daily Rates
CUNA's Financial Rates page offers information from the Wall Street Journal and other sources
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