eNewsletter October - December 2014 In This Issue • Annual Meeting Notice • Balcones Centre branch now open • Coming Soon: Redesigned Website and New Online Banking • Life Insurance.. is it time? • Privacy Notice • Skip-A- Pay • Behind the Numbers: What Does (and Doesn’t) affect your credit score. Mark Your Calendars All ATFCU branches will be closed in observance of: Columbus Day Monday, October 13th Veterans Day Tuesday, November 11th Thanksgiving Day Thursday, November 27th Day after Thanksgiving Friday, November 28th Drive thru hours: 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Lobby Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Wednesday, December 24th Drive thru hours: 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Lobby Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Christmas Day Thursday, December 25th New Year’s Day Thursday, January 1st Annual Meeting Notice Board of Directors Nomination Process In accordance with our Bylaws and Election Rules, two members will be elected to serve a three-year term on the Board of Directors at our Annual Meeting on Thursday, March 5, 2015. A Nominating Committee, appointed by the Chairman of the Board, will select and present nominees to the membership. Members seeking consideration for nomination by the Nominating Committee must submit an “Application for Nomination to the Board of Directors” form along with a resume and current photo by Thursday, November 6th, 2014. If the number of nominees equals the number of positions to be filled, other members may seeknomination by petition. Nominations from the floor will not be accepted at the Annual Meeting. Any member seeking nomination by petition must submit a completed “Nomination by Petition Packet” along with a resume and current photo by Thursday, January 22nd, 2015. Applications and Petition Packets will be available for pickup or submission during lobby hours Monday thru Friday in the Administrative offices at 8929 Shoal Creek Blvd., Austin, TX, 78757. To vote in an election of the Credit Union, an individual: 1) must be a member having qualified within the Credit Union’s defined field of membership as set forth in the Credit Union’s Bylaws; 2) must own a regular share account as a primary member with a balance equal to or in excess of the minimum balance requirements of the account classification; and 3) must be 18 years of age or older. Joint owners of accounts are not eligible to vote unless they qualify as a member and have an account in their own right. The names of members placed into nomination will be posted in all branch lobbies by Thursday, January 29th, 2015. Please note – ATFCU’s Annual Meeting will be held at a new location to be determined at a later date. Balcones Centre Branch Now Open Visit our new Balcones Centre Branch at 11149 Research Blvd. Located at the corner of Research Blvd and Balcones Woods Dr, the staff at our 23rd full service location is ready to assist you with all your financial needs. The Balcones Centre Branch lobby hours are from 9:00AM - 6:00PM Monday and Friday; 9:00AM - 4:00PM Tuesday through Thursday and 9:00AM - 1:00PM Saturday. The Drive Thru is open 7:30AM - 6:00PM Monday through Friday and 9:00AM - 1:00PM Saturday. New OnlineSoon... Banking Coming Coming soon New Website & Online Banking Austin Telco will soon debut a newly redesigned website followed by an all new home banking platform in January. The new website will feature a clean, more contemporary look, additional security features, intuitive navigation and a better organization of content. Our new site will also have a responsive design to work across a wide range of devices; including smartphones, tablets and desktops. The new site has undergone an extensive development process and has been designed with our members’ user experience in mind. In addition to the new website, we will roll out an entirely new home banking platform in January 2015. Incorporating all of the best features of our current MemberConnect home banking, the new platform will add a wide range of improved and expanded services including: • Login History – review the login history to help identify any unauthorized activity and receive optional notifications each time your account is accessed • Expanded Transfer Capabilities – transfer funds to other Austin Telco members as well as to and from your accounts at other institutions • Online Password Resets – it will no longer be necessary to contact our IT support staff or come into a branch to reset your home banking password • Online account opening and funding – new accounts can be opened and funded from your accounts at Austin Telco or other financial institutions • Expanded Account Alerts – additional alert types will be available to allow you to better monitor your account activity including balance changes, check clearing, card purchase alerts, and many others • Enhanced Account Details – view additional account details including dividend rates, Year‐To‐Date dividends paid, and overdraft sources • Stop Payments – initiate stop payment requests at your convenience • eStatements – your Austin Telco eStatement will open in a new browser window without interrupting your home banking session • Quicken / QuickBooks Download – tighter integration and import capabilities into these popular accounting software programs In addition to the new user features, our new home banking will have upgraded security features such as: • Challenge questions – based on your account history and the transaction type, you may be asked a challenge question. Security settings and challenge questions/ responses can be updated from within the online banking platform • Authentication codes – members who don’t wish to use the challenge questions can elect to receive an authentication code via the email address or text number currently on file Life Insurance … is it time? A March 2011 survey from Genworth Financial and the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business found that almost 70% of single parents and 45% of married parents were living without any coverage. Why don’t more young adults buy life insurance? Shopping for life insurance may seem confusing, boring, or unnecessary. Yet when you have kids, get married, buy a house or live a lifestyle funded by significant salaries, the need arises. Finding the right policy may be simpler than you think. There are two basic types of life insurance: term and cash value. Cash value (or “permanent”) life insurance policies offer death benefits and some of the characteristics of an investment – a percentage of the money you spend to fund the policy goes into a savings program. Cash value policies have correspondingly higher premiums than term policies, which give you death benefits only and have terms of 10 years or longer. Term may be a good choice for young adults because it is relatively inexpensive. But there is an economic downside to term life coverage: if you outlive the term of the policy, you and/or your loved ones get nothing back. Term life policies can be renewed (though many are not) and some can be converted to permanent coverage. The key question is: how long do you plan to keep the policy? If you don’t want to pay premiums on an insurance policy for more than 10 years, then term life stands out as the most attractive option. If you are just looking for a short-term hedge against calamity, that’s the whole reason behind term life insurance. If you’re getting into estate planning, then permanent life insurance may prove a better choice. Confer, compare and contrast. Talk with a financial or insurance professional you trust before plunking down money for a policy. That professional can perform a term-versus-permanent analysis for you and help you weigh per-policy variables. Eric Lindner Financial Advisor 512-407-3114 [email protected] Doug Mitchell Financial Advisor 512-407-3115 [email protected] Privacy Notice At Austin Telco Federal Credit Union, we respect the privacy of our members. We recognize the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of your personal financial information. The privacy notice describes the privacy policy and practices followed by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union and explains what types of member information we collect and under what circumstances we may share it. The privacy notice is included with your September statement. You can also view our privacy notice online at www.atfcu.org. Statistically Speaking As of August 31st, 2014 Number of Members Number of Checking Accounts Loans Deposits 73,901 $483,555,212 42,612 $1,157,916,409 Capital $138,768,068 Assets $1,296,264,616 Skip-A-Pay Need Some Extra Cash for the Holidays? Austin Telco’s Skip-A-Pay can add some room to your holiday budget by allowing you to skip your loan payment(s) in the month of November or December. There are several ways to set up Skip-A-Pay for your loan: 1. Online- Log on to MemberConnect, select Loans, then select Skip-A-Pay 2. Mail or Fax- Print and complete the coupon, mail/fax to: Austin Telco Federal Credit Union 8928 Shoal Creek Blvd., Austin, TX 78757 Fax: 512.302.3333 3. Local- Submit the coupon in person at any of our branch locations You will be able to sign up for Skip-A-Pay starting October 17th. The Skip-A-Pay coupon must be received before your payment is due. The following loans are excluded from this offer: Real Estate, Home Improvement, Home Equity, Term Loans and Business Loans. Please note that interest is still accrued when payments are skipped and the term is extended. Normal qualifying is required. Skip-A-Payment is only available for current loans made before July 1, 2014, with no extensions within the past 12 months. One payment that is due between November 15, 2014 and December 31, 2014 may be skipped. Maximum extension is 30 days. Behind the Numbers: What Does (and Doesn’t) Affect Your Credit Score You’ve heard of credit scores. You’ve probably even been told not to apply for too many loans or to run your credit report too often because it can ‘bring down the score.’ But the truth about what does—and doesn’t—affect your credit score often remains a mystery. When you apply for a loan, your credit score can have a major impact on whether or not you’ll qualify for a loan. Because automated underwriting is so prevalent today, your credit score really effects whether or not you’ll qualify for a loan. There are 5 major factors that affect your credit score: 1. Whether or not you pay your bills on time. This includes mortgage loans, car loans, credit cards, and loans that show up on your credit report. 2. Loan balances. The total amount you owe in relation to your available credit limit is a factor in the overall score. 3. Amount of time you have had credit. Someone who just got their first credit card and has no other credit history will have lower points for this factor than someone who’s been paying on time for several years. 4. New credit. Too much recent credit, even if you have a long credit history, is a warning sign to lenders. 5. Account mix. Is it completely credit card debt, or do you also have a mortgage loan, a car loan and a department store account? The more variety, the better. To a lesser degree, your score also takes into account the following: The amount of time you’ve lived at one address; The amount of time you’ve worked at one place; and Homeownership. Homeowners get more points because they are considered a better credit risk (another reason to consider homeownership if you rent!). As you can see, the best way to get a high credit score is to earn it! By paying all bills on time and using credit responsibly, you demonstrate the fact that you’re a good credit risk . . . and in return you’ll get the lowest rate possible on your loans. Contact Information Mailing Address Austin Telco Federal Credit Union 8929 Shoal Creek Blvd Austin, TX 78757 Phone Numbers Austin Metro Area: (512) 302-5555 Toll Free: (800) 252-1310 Regular Hours Email Contacts General Mailbox: [email protected] Questions, Comments, concerns: [email protected] MemberConnect Help: [email protected] Bill Pay Help: [email protected] Department Extensions Bookkeeping: 7190 Loan Department/Member Services: 7194 Administrative Office: 7000 Monday & Friday All Lobbies 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM All Drive-Thru's 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday All Lobbies 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM All Drive-Thru's 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM Saturday Select Lobbies* 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM All Drive-Thru’s 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM *La Frontera, Taos, Leander, Bastrop, Pecan Park, Brodie Lane, Georgetown, Lakeway, Cedar Park, Buda, San Marcos, Stone Hill, Tech Ridge, Taylor, Lockhart,University Oaks and Balcones Centre Management James D. Poplin, President/CEO Robert Hernandez, SVP, Finance/CFO Tony Rawls, SVP, Lending/CLO Karen Smith, SVP, HR & Branch Operations Christopher Mraz, VP, Information Technology/CIO Raye Anne Cawthon, VP, Accounting Jim Howey, VP, Lending Pamela W. Cotton, VP, Member Services Kathleen Miller, AVP, Administrative Services Sandie Peña, AVP, Branch Operations Georgia Hayes, AVP, Information Technology eNewsletter Editor Katrina Levenick, Director of Marketing Board of Directors Paul Paulsen, Chairman Charlene Spillmann, Vice Chairman R.B. Smith, Treasurer Larry Lantrip, Secretary Joyce Howell, Security/Safety Officer Steve Read, Membership Officer Liz Heiling, Member Supervisory Committee Fran Berns, Chairman David Westlund, Secretary Joe Bain, Member Paul Tidrick, Member Larry Lantrip, Board Liaison Federally Insured by NCUA