Published by the New Jersey Credit Union League, www.njcul.org

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In this issue:

1. Scams and Frauds On the Rise
2. Do you want to lead the pack?
3. Show Us Your Stuff
4. Are You Connected?
5. The New Congress
6. New Jersey’s Delegation to the 110th Congress
7. Our New Face on Capitol Hill: Congressman Albio Sires (D-13th Dist.)
8. A New Face in Trenton: Assemblyman Silverio “Sal” Vega
9. Do Your Members Count?
10. Save the Date: CUNA’s Government Affairs Conference & NJCUL’s Hike-the-Hill
11. Save the Date: NJCUL’s 19th Annual Golf Outing
12. Youth Involvement Board Helps CU’s Reach Young People
13. Start the Year off Bright and Educated!
14. February Educational Offerings
15. Have you tried a Quick Bite yet?
16. Compliance Professionals – Save the Date
17. Educational Achievement
18. Join the Advertising Cooperative: We Need YOU!
19. Need Funds To Support Financial Literacy or Training?
20. Martin Luther King, Jr.
21. Shared Branching Can Make the Difference!
22. Jobs, Jobs and More Jobs

Scams and Frauds On the Rise
Identity theft, check fraud and email scams are on the rise. It seems like everyday, there’s a new alert. When a particularly crafty scam is reported, the New Jersey Credit Union League sends email alerts to member-credit unions. However, sometimes we just can’t keep up with the number of frauds – and all those notifications tend to be intrusive and find us desensitized. Make it a habit to bookmark the fraud and scam page on our Web site and visit it often. If you have a fraud to report, let us know and we’ll post it on the site. Check frequently: http://www.njcul.org/news/scams.asp. You can also visit http://www.cuna.org/initiatives/internet_fraud.html for more information on internet fraud.

Do you want to lead the pack?
Save the dates! The 2007 Annual Leadership Conference is April 16, 17 & 18 at the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City! This year’s conference features creative inspirations, leadership guidance, and important information you won’t want to miss. Mark your calendars and watch your mailboxes for registration materials!

Show Us Your Stuff
Each quarter, NJCUL highlights the good works and important programs New Jersey Credit Unions have to offer in the publication, The Exchange. Do you have a success story you’d like to share? Has your credit union done something in the community you want others to know about? Maybe someone in your credit union got a well-deserved promotion or won an award. We want to know about it. Send pictures, press releases and articles to sswedo@njcul.org.

Are You Connected?
The League’s new bi-monthly government affairs newsletter Capitol Connections keeps readers plugged-in to the public policy arena. It includes briefings on important goings-on in Washington (On-the-Hill) and Trenton (Under-the-Dome) and has sections on credit union movement grassroots activities (In-the-Trenches) and key issues (On-the-Soapbox) as well as backgrounders on who’s who (Meet-the-Players), interesting facts (Trivia-not-Trivial) and important calendar items (Save-the-Date).

If you’re not already plugged-in, contact Chris Abeel, the League’s director of government affairs to be added to the Capitol Connections electronic distribution list.

The New Congress
“Madame Speaker” was heard on Capitol Hill for the first time in US history on January 4th when the 110th US Congress convened and Nancy Pelosi of California became the first female speaker of the US House of Representatives. CUNA and the California Credit Union League enjoy a strong relationship with her.

Representative Rangel (D-NY-15th) who had been the ranking member on the Ways & Means Committee now chairs the committee. This is an important gain for the credit union movement. Rangel, a tax exemption supporter, replaced Representative William Thomas (R-CA-22nd), a credit union movement critic. Thomas did not seek re-election and has retired from Congress.

The new chair of the House Financial Services Committee is Representative Barney Frank (D-MA-4th). Frank is a credit union movement supporter. He is expected to focus on affordable housing, data security/ID theft legislation, shareholder democracy, and predatory mortgage lending.

Dean Sagar, CUNA’s vice president for federal legislative affairs is a former aide to Representative Frank and CUNA enjoys a strong relationship with many of the Democrats on the committee. We have every reason to be optimistic that credit union legislation will be addressed fairly. An area of concern, however, is the traditional support many of these Democrats have demonstrated for the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada is the new Senate majority leader. Senator Reid (D-NV) has voted with the credit union movement on important legislation such as bankruptcy reform and the FACT Act.

While it is expected the 110th US Congress will move to the left, with the Democrat’s majorities in both houses as narrow as the GOP’s control of the previous Congress, only consensus legislation is likely to pass in the near term. A longer term liberal shift could follow if Democrats hold the gains they made around the country on the state and local level. State legislatures will redraw election districts after the 2010 census. The party that controls the majority of state houses then will have considerable influence in determining the political landscape for the decade ahead.

New Jersey’s Delegation to the 110th Congress
From a partisan standpoint, New Jersey’s delegation to the 110th Congress is the same as it was for 109th with seven Democrats and six Republicans in House and two on the Democrat side of the Senate aisle. There is, however, a new face, Albio Sires (D) who was elected to the 13th district seat vacated when Robert Menendez moved to the upper house.

Senator Robert Menendez (D) will continue serving on the important Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee, and now as a majority member. In the House, freshman Democrat Albio Sires (13th Dist.) has been named to the Financial Service Committee and Democrat Bill Pascrell (8th Dist.) has been named to the Ways & Means Committee.

The balance of our delegation’s current and anticipated committee assignments are of far less import to the CU movement.

Our New Face on Capitol Hill: Congressman Albio Sires (D-13th Dist.)
Albio Sires, a former four-term member of the state Assembly, mayor of West New York and the first Hispanic to serve as speaker of the NJ Legislature, succeeds Robert Menendez as the US representative from NJ’s 13th District. The district includes much of Hudson County, part of Newark (Essex), Carteret, Perth Amboy, part of Woodbridge (Middlesex) and parts of Elizabeth and Linden (Union).

As Assembly speaker, Mr. Sires led the legislative effort to place a successful public referendum on the 2005 general election ballot so voters could decide whether NJ should create an Office of Lieutenant Governor. NJ is one of only eight states in the country that do not have a lieutenant governor to fill gubernatorial vacancies and absences. In his capacity as mayor, he combined forces with four other mayors to form the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Department, the state's largest regionalized fire department and earned the "Community That Works" award from the state of NJ for his efforts at "providing innovative and cost-effective services through regionalization."

He was born in Cuba before Fidel Castro came to power. His family fled in 1962 eventually settling in West New York where Mr. Sires became a star basketball player at Memorial High School. He earned his undergraduate degree at St. Peter's College and a master's degree at Middlebury College.

He returned to Memorial High to teach Spanish and English and became involved in politics. In 1987, then Governor Tom Kean appointed him to a position in the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, where he led the administration's outreach to the Hispanic community. He first ran for Congress in 1986, as a Republican.

Representative Sires has been named to the Financial Services Committee.

A New Face in Trenton: Assemblyman Silverio “Sal” Vega
Silverio Vega was born in Cuba in 1957. He was ten-years old when his family immigrated to the United States and settled in West New York, NJ. Mr. Vega is a graduate of Memorial High School and earned a bachelors degree in physical education from the University of Tennessee. He was selected to fill the Assembly seat vacated when Albio Sires was elected to the US Congress. Vega was also tapped to replace Sires as mayor of West New York and resigned his seat on the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

“Sal,” as his friends call him, is a school administrator for the West New York Board of Education. He has been athletic director for his alma mater, Memorial High School since 1997.

Assemblyman Vega is an experienced public servant in both appointed and elected positions. He served as a legislative aide to state Senator Bernard Kenny. His previous public service included tenures on the West New York Board of Adjustment, the Rent Control Board and as a Hudson County Schools of Technology trustee. He has been a West New York commissioner since 1991.

Mr. Vega was also serving his eighth consecutive term as chairman of the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the longest serving chairman in county history. As chairman, he did much to open county government to the people by providing night meetings on a regular basis, some of which have been held in different municipalities throughout the county, and completion this year of a Board website where meeting agenda and other important information will be posted.

Freeholder Vega represented the Board’s interests to the Hudson County Schools of Technology as a member of the Hudson County Board of School Estimate, and for the community college as a member of the Hudson County Community College Board of School Estimate. He also served as chairman of the Finance, Budget & Administration, Insurance Commission, and Public Safety & Department of Corrections committees.

Do Your Members Count?
Are your members among the more than 58 million credit union members nationwide to stand up and be counted? Project Zip Code needs you and your credit union. Help us ensure our state and federal lawmakers understand just how of many of their constituents are credit union members. It takes just a few minutes and no personal data is ever collected.

For more information contact Chris Abeel, the League’s director of government affairs.

Save the Date: CUNA’s Government Affairs Conference & NJCUL’s Hike-the-Hill
CUNA’s 2007 Government Affairs Conference (GAC) is scheduled for February 25-28 at the Washington Hilton. On Wednesday, February 28th we will Hike-the-Hill to visit members of New Jersey’s delegation to the 110th US Congress. GAC attendees and those able to make the trip to Washington for the day are encouraged to join us for this important grassroots program.

For additional information on both the GAC and our Hike-the-Hill contact
Chris Abeel, the League’s director of government affairs.

Save the Date: NJCUL’s 19th Annual Golf Outing
Mark your calendar and get ready to tee off! The 19th Annual NJCUL Golf Outing is scheduled for Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at the Cranbury Golf Club in Cranbury, NJ. More information is coming soon, but if you’d like to be a sponsor at this popular outing, contact Yvette Segarra at ysegarra@njcul.org or call 609.448.2426 x103.

Youth Involvement Board Helps CU’s Reach Young People
The Second YIB Youth Marketing fair is scheduled for February 7 at 10 AM at NJCUL. You won’t want to miss your opportunity to hear from the state’s brightest marketing minds on how to target and reach this important group of members and potential members. Click here for more info!

Start the Year off Bright and Educated!
It’ not too late to enroll in Increasing Revenues & Net Margins: January 24th, 2007 at the NJ Credit Union League in Hightstown, NJ.

The Small CU Roundtable and the Finance, Accounting & Investment Roundtable are holding a place for you at their tables:

• Small CU Roundtable: January 27, 2007 at Proponent Federal Credit Union in Nutley, NJ from 9:00am until 12:00pm with light refreshments.
• Finance, Accounting & Investment Roundtables: January 23, 2007 at Fort Billings in Paulsboro, NJ and January 25, 2007 at Novartis Federal Credit Union in East Hanover, NJ.

Each roundtable session is from 10:00am until 12:30pm with lunch provided. For more details, visit our web site: www.njcul.org.

February Educational Offerings:

• Consumer Lending Fundamentals: Feb. 13, 2007
  at NJ Credit Union League, Hightstown, NJ.
• Compliance Roundtables: Feb. 27, 2007
  at Proponent FCU in Nutley, NJ.
• Compliance Roundtables: Feb. 28, 2007
  at Bay Atlantic FCU in Vineland, NJ.

Have you tried a Quick Bite yet?
Visit our web site at www.njcul.org for a complete listing of Quick Bite topics.

Compliance Professionals – Save the Date
The NJ Credit Union League and the New York Credit Union League are jointly sponsoring the CUNA Compliance School on March 12-16, 2007. Take advantage of CUNA’s National School brought to you locally in Albany, NY. Detailed brochure information will be coming to you soon!

Educational Achievement
Congratulations to Jason Reed, Novartis FCU for successfully fulfilling all the requirements for Level 1 of RegTraC, CUNA’s Regulatory Training and Certificate Program.

Congratulations to Devon Callan, Jersey Shore FCU and James Miller, CUCE, Liberty Savings FCU for successfully passing all the required exams for the Regulatory Training and Certification program for 2006.

Join the Advertising Cooperative: We Need YOU!
The NJCUL Advertising Cooperative is hard at work planning our next round of advertising and advocacy efforts. If you haven’t paid your voluntary dues yet, please hurry. The sooner we have the funds set aside, the sooner we can move on our next round of exciting activities. Need more info? Visit: http://www.njcul.org/members/index.asp or call Sharon Dilling at 609.448.2426 x110.

Need Funds To Support Financial Literacy or Training?
The New Jersey Credit Union Foundation is giving money away. That’s right! Just fill out our simple grant application and you could be awarded funds to pay for training, education or another endeavor that relates to the Foundation mission. Visit http://www.njcul.org/creditunions/foundation.asp to find out more and download the easy application.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Please note, the New Jersey Credit Union League will be closed on Monday, January 15, 2007 in observance of the federal holiday celebrating the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. Our offices will reopen on Tuesday for regular business hours.

Shared Branching Can Make the Difference!
Shared Branching is a great way to secure your credit union’s well-being in the event of a crisis or disaster. Plus, it’s a great benefit to your members and in this highly competitive financial services arena, Shared Branching can give you the edge you need. Want to know more? Contact Chris Zahne at czahne@njcul.org or call 609.448.2426 x104.

Jobs, Jobs and More Jobs
Find a job at a credit union or post a vacancy. It’s easy if you are a league member. Click here to see current vacancies.