Credit Union Odds and Ends

You might have missed the following news from around the country about credit unions.

The City of Sarasota announced a partnership with Manatee Community Federal Credit Union, a Bradenton, Florida-based Community Development Financial Institution, on December 30 to provide financial services and programs to unbanked, underbanked and underserved residents. Through the “Reliable Ride” program, residents will have an opportunity to open an account with the credit union and take advantage of low-interest vehicle loans in order to secure reliable transportation. Credit union members will also be able to apply for business startup loans through participation in Community Entrepreneur Opportunity courses.

Union Township Board of Trustees at its December 19 meeting approved a new tax increment financing district for Cincinnati, Ohio-based General Electric CU property. The amount of the tax increment financing was not disclosed.

On December 31, the Chillicothe City School District (OH) and Homeland Credit Union (Chillicothe, OH) entered into a naming rights agreement for a fitness center, according to the Highland County Press. In early 2019, the Chillicothe City School District obtained ownership of the Chillicothe Fitness and Racquet Club, which was in dire need of repairs and modernization. The credit union paid $250,000 for the naming rights to help cover the cost of repairs at the fitness center.

In other news, two credit unions spent millions of dollars on new office buildings. Financial Partners Credit Union (Downey, CA) paid $13 million for a 51,176-square-foot, two-story building in a Costa Mesa, California office park. Arkansas Federal Credit Union (Jacksonville, AR) purchased a 97,000-square-foot headquarters building in Little Rock (AR) for slightly more than $12 million.

Old Hickory Credit Union (Nashville, TN) last year agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a class action overdraft fees lawsuit. The credit union was alleged to improperly charge overdraft fees on available balances between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2018, when the account's ledger balances were positive. Despite settling the lawsuit, the credit union claims it did nothing wrong.