(Archive) GOLD 7.3 December 2007

Starting with this release, CU*BASE will begin capturing and storing a monthly snapshot of your loan application totals to begin building a database that will allow you to instantly track how many applications you did last month and think about your big picture goals for your lending team.  This picture will allow teams to zero in on their goals by helping them identify their best month(s), quarter(s), or year(s), so that they know when to celebrate new department records. 

Compare your monthly loan application activity over time ranges you select to see trends on total applications and dollar amounts, as well as associated percentages—or even view the data broken down by Approved/Pending and Denied applications.

This file and inquiry is your window to tracking long-term loan throughput, confirming what might now only be a feeling that you are busy with the statistics that declare just how productive your team can be. Check this new inquiry out by using the new menu option on menu MNLOAN “Loan App Status Inquiry” feature on MNLOAN #13 “Loan App Statistics Inquiry.” (NOTE: Since this is a new option on this menu, you'll need to have your Employee Security officer grant you access to this command.)

· A new Compliance Condition Code field has been added to the Credit Bureau Reporting Information screen (MNUPDT #2, then F17-CR on the loan account maintenance screen) to allow you to report consumer disputes and other conditions in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

· Two new fields have been added to Additional Signer maintenance. You can now enter an ECOA code and a Consumer Information Indicator code for a specific additional signer, separate from the codes on the primary borrower's record, to be reported to the credit bureaus. All existing additional signer records will be coded with an ECOA code of 2 for Joint Contractual Liability. Use Misc. Loan Maintenance (MNUPDT #9) if this needs to be changed for a specific additional signer. The Consumer Information Indicator code would be used primarily to report bankruptcy for a co-borrower.

· When adding credit bureau status and comment codes, new error messages will aid you in reporting data correctly to the Bureau by alerting you when a combination of status and comment codes cannot be used together, or if your comment code and ECOA code are invalid, or if your status code cannot be used with a specific bureau type.

A change was made to the ALM download to allow you to remove the "Summarize branches" setting so that a separate record is created for each branch, rather than summarizing everything into one record per G/L.  However, the file that results from this new feature has only been tested with ProfitStar for one of our clients.  You will need to work with your ALM vendor before using this option to make sure they are able to read the resulting file.  If you leave this setting at "NO" the ALM files will work the same as before.

· When printing the List Inactive Credit Card Report (MNRPTE #24), credit cards will now be considered active if any transaction history exists within the number of months chosen by the credit union. When a payment is posted or an adjustment is made to an account, a transaction record is created, even though it's not purchase activity. This activity will be used to determine which accounts appear on the report.

· For online credit cards, if finance charges are the cause of an account going over limit, we will no longer fee the account for the over limit fee (regulations prohibit an over limit fee in this case).  You may see a decrease in your fee income as a result of this change. 

· The IRA Activity section of your year-end statements is being changed to add the notation that Fair Market Value as of December 31 will be reported to the IRS.

· As with an IRAs, if you accidentally delete an HSA Balance File or need to create one on an account for any reason, CU*BASE now allows you to create a new one using the “Update HSA Balance Information” feature on menu MNUPDT (use F6-Add on the initial screen). If you are creating a new HSA balance file on an account that was previously closed, be sure to put in a new sequence number.

· The Loan Delinquency Analysis Report (MNRPTD #8) will now allow you to break out delinquent credit card information by selecting to only print this information or to print the entire report with a break out of credit card data.

NEW! Check out a video simulation of this new feature! (Only viewable in Internet Explorer)

Attention accountants! Now there is an easy way to download your financial statements from CU*BASE into a spreadsheet or graphical presentation program like Microsoft® Excel.

A new option on the third financial report printing screen (MNGELE #16) will let you view, print, and/or export your financial statement in a format that is more compatible with Excel... negative numbers will automatically come in properly formatted for use in calculations! You just specify a filename to store in your QUERYxx library, then use the normal File Download process to pull the file over to your PC and open it as a comma-delimited file in Excel.

NOTE: You'll need download authority to download the data from the iSeries to your PC - have your Security Officer contact a CSR if you need to authorize your accounting staff!

SEE ALSO: “Downloading Your Financial Statements to Excel ” for details.