Indiana Story Archive
Indiana’s TCU Awards Employees with a $2,000 ‘Inflation Fighter’ Bonus
Teachers Credit Union (TCU) is reporting it has awarded the majority of its nearly 800 employees a $2,000, one-time “Inflation Fighter” profit sharing bonus. The bonus was provided to full- and part- time employees “most impacted by current economic conditions,” the credit union said. The CU added its decision to provide the bonus reinforces its commitment to its employees, especially during such an “unusual and challenging year.” Read More
FINANCIAL CENTER FIRST CU MEETS WITH CREDIT UNION IN IRELAND TO DISCUSS FINANCIAL LITERACY AROUND THE GLOBE
Staff from Dundalk Credit Union presented Gail and Kevin Ryan (fourth and fifth from left) with a gift as a part of their Global Bridges visit to Dundalk, Ireland.
July 26, 2022 — Financial Center First Credit Union’s President & CEO, Cameron Minges, and its former CEO, J. Kevin Ryan, met with leaders from Dundalk Credit Union last week to share their respective roadmaps for developing financial wellness initiatives that benefit credit union membership. Ryan was chosen as Financial Center’s liaison for this meeting and traveled to Dundalk, Ireland, as a part of Financial Center, Dundalk CU, and the Indiana Credit Union League’s participation in the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Union’s Global Bridges campaign. Minges joined the meeting virtually.
“The global economy is here,” said Cameron Minges, Financial Center’s President & CEO. “Learning how we compete begins with understanding how our cooperative model works in different parts of the world. Financial Center was glad to send Kevin Ryan to Dundalk to learn about what’s working for the largest credit union in Ireland and share what we’re doing right here in Central Indiana to improve the lives of members.”
Financial Center and Dundalk CU are participating in a year-long engagement in the Global Bridges campaign, which is a part of the World Council of Credit Union’s foundation arm. Global Bridges works to connect organizations from different countries to grow the credit union movement worldwide. Following last week’s meeting, the two credit unions have additional sessions in 2022 to discuss environmental sustainability, gaining youth membership, governance and risk management.
Financial Center first made a connection with Dundalk CU in March of 2020 when Ryan was Chairman of the Indiana Credit Union League Board. The League hosted representatives from Dundalk CU then and continues to be involved in the ongoing exchange of information through their partnership with the World Council of Credit Unions. Financial Center is one of several Indiana credit unions that have hosted credit union representatives from other countries and participated in trips to those countries to assist on site.
“It has been great to see the continuing exchange of information between Dundalk CU, Financial Center First CU, and the League throughout 2022 since first hosting representatives of this Ireland credit union in Indiana in 2020,” said League President John McKenzie. “Financial Center First CU as well as many others throughout the state have been tremendous about providing time and expertise to make these partnerships with credit unions from other countries so productive.”
FORUM Credit Union Named One of Indiana’s Best Places to Work for Eleventh Consecutive Year
February 22, 2022 — FORUM Credit Union was recently named one of the Best Places to Work in Indiana among large companies. A total of 125 businesses receive this prestigious designation and FORUM is one of only three credit unions in the state to be named. This marks the eleventh consecutive year FORUM has received recognition on this list. FORUM was also included on the Hall of Fame list. The Hall of Fame designation is for companies that have been included on the Best Places to Work list for at least 60% of the program’s history.
Best Places to Work honorees are compiled by the Workforce Research Group and are determined through employer reports and employee surveys. Winners are selected from four categories: small companies of between 15 and 74 U.S. employees; medium companies of between 75 and 249 employees; large companies of between 250 and 999 employees; and major companies with 1,000 or more employees. Rankings will be revealed at an awards ceremony on May 12.
“We are excited and honored to be named on this list,” said Doug True, CEO of FORUM Credit Union. “Our FORUM teammates build, shape, and continually strive to improve our working culture and environment. They look out for one another, take pride in serving our members, and make a difference in our communities. We do not take being on this list for granted.”
Read more about Indiana’s best places to work here.
Don Cates of 3Rivers Federal Credit Union Receives 2021 Indiana Community Spirit Award From FHLBank Indianapolis
December 14, 2021 —The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBank Indianapolis) awarded Don Cates, President and CEO of 3Rivers Federal Credit Union, with the 2021 Indiana Community Spirit Award. The Community Spirit Award honors individuals that show an outstanding dedication to affordable housing and community economic development.
“We’re excited to present this year’s Community Spirit Award for Indiana to a community development champion in Fort Wayne,” said MaryBeth Wott, Community Investment and Underwriting/Credit Operations Officer at FHLBank Indianapolis. “Don Cates and 3Rivers Federal Credit Union have been active and engaged partners in our Affordable Housing Program and have demonstrated a strong commitment to housing development for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.”
As President and CEO of 3Rivers Federal Credit Union, Cates has been a leader in providing long-term housing options for underserved communities. 3Rivers was recently awarded a $500,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) Grant to CASS Housing, a privately funded nonprofit that seeks to provide long-term housing options for people with developmental disabilities. “Don has been highly involved with CASS since their founding and has supported their strategy and growth that will include completing their sixth home in early 2022,” said Melissa Shaw, Vice President of Marketing at 3Rivers. Additionally, 3Rivers continues to support CASS Housing through the 3Rivers Community Foundation.
Indiana Members Foundation Awards $63,000 in Scholarships and Grants
August 10, 2021 — Indiana Members Foundation, the charitable arm of Indiana Members Credit Union, recently awarded $63,000 in scholarships and grants through its Robert E. Martin Collegiate Scholarship Program, Mike and Marti Ney “People Helping People” Grant, Terry Renick Legacy Golf Grant, and the Joan Wolfe Legacy Grant for the Arts Program.
Indiana Members Foundation awarded the 2021 Scholarship and Grant recipients individually this year at Indiana Members Credit Union’s headquarters.
The Robert E. Martin Collegiate Scholarship Program was established to honor Robert E. Martin for more than four decades of dedication and service as a board member of IMCU as well as his commitment to education throughout his career as Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance at Indiana University Purdue-University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). The scholarships are available to college students that are members of Indiana Members Credit Union. Applications are accepted annually from January 1 through March 31.
Indiana Receives NASCUS Five-Year Re-Accreditation
July 15, 2021 – The National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) is proud to announce Indiana has earned Re-Accreditation following a series of in-depth reviews and assessments by a panel of veteran state supervisors.
More than 88% of the $989 billion in state-chartered credit union assets are supervised by NASCUS’ 28 accredited state agencies.
“Accreditation is direct evidence of an agency’s capabilities and benefits all credit unions in the state as well,” said NASCUS President and CEO Lucy Ito. “It recognizes the professionalism of a state agency’s regulators, supervisors, and staff, while potentially delivering an impetus and support for legislation to modernize state law and policy changes to advance state supervisory processes and best practices.”
Indiana Director Tom Fite explained, “Accreditation establishes an independent measure of quality control for each accredited agency, and equally important Accreditation establishes benchmarks that drive regulatory consistency. Our efforts to achieve these established benchmarks drive us to remain current with the best-known supervisory processes and practices deployed nationwide. Standards are transparent and best practices shared, yielding greater consistency across the State system. Accreditation pushes the Indiana DFI to provide best in class supervisory support to Hoosiers.”
NASCUS accreditation is a robust process that includes disciplined self-evaluation, peer review, and ongoing monitoring. The process, administered by the NASCUS Performance Standards Committee (PSC), measures a state regulatory agency’s ability and resources to carry out its regulatory and supervisory programs effectively.
To earn Accreditation, a credit union state supervisory agency must demonstrate that it meets accreditation standards in agency administration and finance, personnel and training, examination, supervision, and legislative powers.
NASCUS adopted the Accreditation Program in 1989 to administer and assure states’ credit union examination and supervision quality standards. This program, modeled on the university accreditation concept, applies national performance standards to a state’s credit union regulatory program.
How This Small Indiana Credit Union Works To ‘Bridge The Gap’
Afena FCU partners with a local foundation to take on payday lenders with long-term, low-rate loans with a savings component and financial counseling.
Published by CreditUnions.com on July 12, 2021
Author: Marc Rapport
Afena Federal Credit Union ($80.1M, Marion, IN) is using a $1 million commitment from a local foundation to make a positive impact one Bridge the Gap loan at a time.
That’s the name of the program the 7,900-member cooperative launched on Nov. 1, 2020, in partnership with the Community Foundation of Grant County.
The loans are small-dollar, low-interest notes intended to help keep the borrowers away from payday lenders — in the near term and by helping to build credit scores – and also includes savings and financial counseling elements.
The foundation agreed to provide $1 million over five years to collateralize the loans, which already are making a difference, says Karen Madry, Afena President and CEO.
“Families have borrowed money for everything from putting food on their table to keeping their lights on in their homes. Some have borrowed to pay off credit cards and to stop the harassing phone calls,” Madry says. “The program is well received because the monthly payments can be as low as $35 per month, which makes it easy and affordable without causing the member to dig a deeper hole for themselves.”
TCU President Named to Credit Union National Association Board
Teachers Credit Union President Paul Marsh was named to the influential Credit Union National Association board.
MARCH 30, 2021 — Marsh runs the South Bend-based credit union that has branches in Hammond, Gary, Whiting, Chesterton, Crown Point, and New Buffalo and Three Oaks, Michigan. The $3.9 billion financial institution is the largest in Indiana with 300,000 members and 60 branches.
He was elected to serve as an at-large national member of the board for the financial services trade association that represents the credit union industry and the 120 million members of credit unions nationwide.
“We are pleased to welcome these credit union leaders to the CUNA board, and we value the wealth of knowledge and experience that they bring to the association,” CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle said. “They are joining CUNA at a critical time for the credit union movement as we help our communities recover from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Indiana CU first privately insured to join FHLB
June 17, 2016 — Beacon Credit Union of Wabash, Ind., is the first privately insured credit union approved for membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system, according to a letter from American Share Insurance to its members. READ
Indiana Credit Unions and Samaritan’s Feet Distribute 1,000+ Pairs of Shoes Statewide
May 14, 2015 – As a direct result of the contributions received at its 2014 statewide convention, Indiana’s credit unions partnered with Samaritan’s Feet to distribute more than 1,000 pairs of shoes between October 2014 and April 2015. Credit unions across the state contributed shoes and money to Samaritan’s Feet so that children who need them most could have a new pair of shoes.
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