FRYZEL APPOINTED TO NCUA, NEW CHAIRMAN The U.S. Senate confirmed Michael Fryzel to replace JoAnn Johnson on the NCUA board. President George W. Bush named Fryzel chairman of the three-seat board.
CUNA President/CEO Dan Mica congratulated Fryzel after the Senate vote.
"With his background in credit union law and regulation, he has a number of tools to draw upon during his tenure with the agency," said Mica. "We look forward to working with him to keep credit unions safe, strong and essential to their members."
Fryzel was with the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions from 1977 to 1989 and headed the agency from 1982 to 1989. Upon leaving that position, Fryzel founded his private law practice, the Law Offices of Michael Fryzel, which specializes in financial regulatory and real estate law.
At his nomination hearing before the committee early this month, Fryzel said his priority as a federal regulator would be oversight of the safety and soundness of credit unions. He said consumers not only place their money in credit unions, they also place their trust.
CHECK OUT THE NEW INFOSIGHT! The League is pleased to have launched the new League Compliance InfoSight. To access the new system, simply go to http://al.leagueinfosight.com/ .
You will see a log-in screen. To begin using InfoSight, you will need to click on the “Request Account” located just below the password field. You will be asked to fill in some basic information and select your own password then submit your request.
This is a new log on page so you do not already have a password. You get to make up your own. You will receive confirmation of your password via e-mail. This will be your password to access the system in the future. We hope you will take advantage of this free benefit of League membership.
Check out the 2007 Annual Report and find out how credit unions have grown in the past year!
LEAGUE WELCOMES SWANN Please extend a warm welcome back to Sylvia Swann, who has rejoined Financial Marketing Group (FMG) as Senior Account Executive/Producer. Sylvia has many years of marketing and advertising experience with high profile clients and she is anxious to put her experience back to work for Alabama’s credit unions.
CMN/CU4KIDS AND NCUF DONATIONS ANNOUNCED This week,the Alabama Credit Union League finalized the matching contributions for CU4Kids and CMN. With the Annual Meeting golf tournament and Casino Night, we were able to write a check for $5,700 to CU4Kids, which will be matched by CO-OP Network for a total of $11,400. A big thank you to everyone who helped make this donation possible.
In addition, credit unions across Alabama have raised $19,624.81 to date in 2008 for CU4Kids and CMN. Please keep up your fundraising efforts for this worthy cause. We have put together a calendar of events with representatives of CMN for the next year so please continue to watch for communications about the available programs and do what you can to support them.
Additionally, I would like to encourage you all again to help our neighboring states recover from the second 100-year flood in 15 years. Next week, the ACUL Charitable Foundation will be presenting a check for $5,000 to the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) for flooding disaster relief.
After the Prattville tornado in February, credit union staff and members in Alabama received more than $100,000 in disaster relief from NCUF and it is imperative that we continue to support our credit union family across the country. Please take the time to donate money to either the ACUL Charitable Foundation (contact Adena Whitman Zamora) or donate directly to NCUF
CALL TO SUPPORT CURIA TODAY! We still need for all of you to reach out to your Congressmen regarding CURIA (H.R. 1537) and stress the importance of supporting the bill. Three more co-sponsors recently pledged their support, but we need to continue to persuade Alabama’s delegation that their voices need to join the fight. Below in the Governmental Affairs section are phone and fax numbers – use them! We need to make a show of strength in order to make our elected representatives understand the important place credit unions have in Alabama’s communities. Please make a phone call or send a fax – and encourage your employees as well -- to stand behind this important legislation.We need all credit union executives, board members, and staff to contact members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor the bill. Please contact your member of Congress, by phone or fax a letter, and ask them to co-sponsor the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act, HR 1537.
IT IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT to have a viable and tested plan in place to deal with disasters, as planning seems to be the way to keep these kinds of events from occurring as well as for dealing with them once they do actually happen. In addition to the information we have on our website under Credit Union Resources, below is some of the information CUNA recommends.
·The Credit Union National Emergency Information System One element of the plan identified by CUNA’s Disaster Planning committee was the need for credit union members to gain information about their credit union. A decision was made to create a toll-free emergency number to publish or broadcast during a disaster for credit union members that will provide information about the status of their credit union. This system is being offered to all credit unions through a collaborative effort among CUNA, CUNA Strategic Services and the League.
·FAQs about CU LOCATE This document contains a list of frequently asked questions about the Credit Union National Emergency Information System
·
Emergency Message Set Up/Change & Authorization Form This form will allow you to set up and change your credit union's emergency messages on the Credit Union National Emergency Information System. You may also use this form to designate and update any credit union personnel who will have authority to update your credit union's emergency messages.
·CSS Business Continuity Products CSS staff has done an outstanding job of developing key products to assist credit unions in the event of a disaster.
·CU Aid CU Aid is the first national online giving center for credit unions. All cuaid.coop contributions are directed to the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) Disaster Relief Fund. Credit union organizations are encouraged to link to cuaid.coop to offer employees and members a donation option to help fellow credit union employees and members in a disaster area.
