Technology To Support Growth

UKRAINIAN FEDERAL CREDIT UNION SELECTS COCC FOR DATA PROCESSING PARTNERSHIP

AVON, Conn. January 24, 2007 — COCC, a leading provider of next generation technology services for financial institutions, today announced that Ukrainian Federal Credit Union of Rochester, New York has selected COCC to supply state-of-the-art technology and support. The technology partnership will increase efficiency and expand services for the $125 million credit union’s 16,000 members while supporting the credit union’s ambitious growth plans. “We were looking for an enthusiastic partner to support our growth over the long term,” said Tamara Denysenko, CEO at Ukrainian Federal Credit Union. “We wanted the latest technology from a company that is committed to keeping that technology current with the many changes we are all experiencing. We also needed a people-oriented organization that understands who we are and offers the best strategies to support our services. That partner is COCC.”

"Tamara Denysenko, Ukrainian Federal Credit Union’s President and CEO, seals the deal with Todd Zerbe from COCC.”

Service has been the watchword for Ukrainian Federal since 1953 when it opened with a mission to support the financial needs of the Ukrainian-American community. Since then, the credit union has grown, at first modestly to 5,600 members in 1998, and then aggressively to six branch locations, including Albany and Syracuse, New York; Sacramento, California; Boston, Mass. and most recently Portland, Oregon. During the past eight years, membership has nearly tripled to 16,000 while assets expanded to $125 million.

Services have grown as well, and today include Internet banking, a broad range of mortgage products and sophisticated loans to member businesses, all delivered in Ukrainian and English. The credit union continues to seek branch locations around the country where Ukrainian-Americans live and work, and has been instrumental in starting two credit unions in Ukraine.

“We have strong demand for our services and we plan to open more branches to meet that demand,” said Ms. Denysenko. “In the next five years, we expect to have 25,000 members and $165 million in assets. Our vision is to grow a coast-to-coast Ukrainian community federal credit union that helps provide prosperity for generations.”

To support that growth, Ukrainian Federal’s General Manager, Oleg Lebedko, led a broadly-based team of credit union staff to find its technology partner. Mr. Lebedko’s team had many objectives, including the conversion of paper documents to images, accelerating communication between branches, more robust disaster recovery and branch accounting, and increased security technology to keep member information safe.

“We also wanted no surprises,” said Mr. Lebedko. “Every vendor says ‘I’m the best’ so our team had to ask a lot of questions to discover who really had the most advanced technology, the best training, and the most thorough conversion process. It was clear that the client relationship was most important at COCC.”

Training was a big part of the proposal, since the credit union recognized the importance of having staff completely familiar with the features and benefits of the computer system. COCC’s office in Rochester was a big plus since staff is on hand to guide the credit union through the conversion process and to consult on emerging technology solutions.

Search Project Coordinator/IT Specialist, Roman Martyniv and Iryna Kaznovska, Network Administrator for the Ukrainian Federal Credit Union’s agreed that COCC’s flexible approach to solving problems won them over. “They listen to their customers and utilize automation to reduce the time spent on processing and training,” said Ms. Kaznovska. “This will give us more time to deliver services, which is our mission as a credit union.”

Ukrainian Federal’s decision also continues COCC’s string of successes with credit unions in the Northeastern US.

“We are pleased that Ukrainian Federal Credit Union recognizes our solid record of client support,” said COCC’s President and CEO, Richard A. Leone. “Offering top technology choices and supporting client strategies is COCC’s single focus. We know that credit unions that select COCC gain a true partner in their quest for efficiency and excellence in member services.”