President Trump Designates John Crews as Chairman of the NCUA Board

 Alexandria, VA (August 24, 2026) ― Today, John Crews was sworn-in as the fourteenth Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). President Donald J. Trump designated Mr. Crews as Chairman following the Senate’s confirmation of Mr. Crews as a member of the NCUA Board of Directors.

“I appreciate the trust and support that the President has placed in me, and the U.S. Senate for confirming me. I would also like to thank outgoing Chairman Kyle Hauptman for his nearly six years of service at NCUA and for the thoughtful regulatory reform effort he led as Chairman. I intend to capitalize on the agency’s progress on two of the Administration’s most ambitious goals: enabling innovation and right sizing the regulatory framework that governs the financial services industry.”

Chairman Crews expressed his commitment to the safety, soundness, and resilience of the credit union system, emphasizing his focus on strengthening financial stability, fostering responsible innovation, and ensuring effective oversight. “My priorities include safeguarding the interests of credit union member-owners, promoting regulatory efficiency, maintaining a strong and healthy National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, and supporting initiatives that promote access to affordable financial services nationwide,” he added.

Chairman Crews was nominated to the NCUA Board on May 11, 2026, and confirmed by the Senate on August 7, 2026. His term will expire on August 2, 2031.

Immediately prior to joining the NCUA Board, Mr. Crews served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy, at the U.S. Department of Treasury, where his principal focus was on regulation, financial infrastructure, and safety and soundness matters.

Mr. Crews previously served as Policy Advisor to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and as Policy Director for the Senate Banking Committee. During the first Trump Administration, he served at the National Economic Council in the White House as the Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.

Chairman Crews holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University. 

at No comments:

NCOFCU Podcasts

Don't miss out on our podcasts covering what is important to credit unions .


 Or try our website.


at No comments:

Chinese Made Robot Race Returns

 


Robot Race Returns

As we here in the US are worried about Data Centers, a Chinese-made robot defeated Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt's 100-meter sprint record Saturday, crossing 109 yards in 9.39 seconds, below Bolt’s 9.58 seconds. The showmanship was part of China’s second annual World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. Watch the moment here, after which the robot slams into a padded wall and collapses (via YouTube).

More than 2,000 humanoid robots are participating in this year’s Olympics-style games, with matches including racing, fighting, table tennis, and soccer. There are also more practical competitions, including contests on industrial assembly, packing, and tool manipulation. China leads the world in humanoid robot production, responsible for more than 80% of global shipments. The country has already begun replacing human workers on some domestic assembly lines and food delivery services, though robots have not yet been widely adopted.

The competition comes weeks after the US banned imports of foreign-made humanoid robots, citing national security concerns. See analysis on how China's approach to AI differs from the of the US.
at No comments:

Sunday Reading - Ice Cream's Exact Origins

 


I Scream, You Scream

 

While ice cream's exact origins are hard to pinpoint, frozen dairy desserts have a history dating back to ancient China. Seventh-century documents refer to a frozen milk dish that eventually evolved into a soft blend, which many consider the earliest version of ice cream.

> Watch a visual history of the frozen treat. (More, w/video)
> See where your favorite ice cream ranked among Americans' favorite flavors. (More)

Around 800 CE, Arab conquerors of the Persian Empire began mixing dairy into the syrup-infused cold treat sharbat. In the 16th century, the Italians concocted their take on the dessert, leading to sorbetto. Around the same time, the royal court in India began freezing condensed milk, pistachios, and saffron in conical molds to create kulfi. In the late 1600s, Paris's Café Procope first began serving gelato, a frozen dessert similar to ice cream, to the public; the trend quickly spread, particularly in Italy, where some parlors have been open since the 1700s.

> Kulfi, an ice cream predecessor that's still popular in India, dates back to the 16th century. (More)

> In 1694, a Sicilian in Paris opened the first gelateria, a precursor to the ice cream parlor. (More)

> Ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and Italian ice are all popular cold desserts, though they have many important differences. (More)

During the 19th and 20th centuries, America was the center of ice cream innovation, inventing both the sundae and the cone. When home freezers became globally available post-World War II, people could easily store their favorite treat, cementing its worldwide popularity.

> In the 19th century, ice-cream-related illnesses were somewhat common in America due to vendors' poor hygiene. (More)

> America's ice cream obsession began under Prohibition, with the street treat acting as a legal vice that helped ease the pain of the Great Depression. (More)

Discover more: 

> During World War II, fighter plane turbulence was used to make ice cream. (More)

> Vanilla was originally used as an additive in chocolate rather than as a stand-alone flavor. (More, w/video)

> George Washington loved to serve ice cream while hosting guests and spent thousands of dollars on it in a single summer. (More)
at No comments:

NCUA Says Credit Unions Can Move Immediately To Six Board Meetings A Year

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--NCUA notified federal credit unions Wednesday that it considers changes to board meeting requirements following enactment of the Credit Union Board Modernization Act as self-executing.

NCUA-Logo_medium

That means a qualifying federal credit union may begin using a six-meeting schedule immediately by amending its bylaws, without being required to first submit them to the NCUA for approval, America's Credit Unions reported.

ACU noted the new law amends Section 113 of the Federal Credit Union Act, replacing the requirement that a federal credit union board meet at least once a month to at least six times a year, with three tiers:

  • Credit unions in their first five years of operation must meet at least monthly
  • Federal credit unions with composite CAMELS ratings of 1 or 2 and corresponding management ratings of 1 or 2 have the flexibility to meet just six times per year, with at least one meeting per fiscal quarter, but can meet more often at their discretion
  • Federal credit unions with lower supervisory ratings (those with composite CAMELS 3, 4, or 5; or management rating 3, 4, or 5) must meet at least monthly.

  • =====================================================================

    Remember, you're not alone with NCOFCU.org


at No comments:

Charting Your Career Path in the Age of AI: 6 Questions to Get You Started

By Peter Myers

Increasingly, seasoned talent is stepping out of senior leadership roles and green talent is filling the void. By 2030, 21% of the population will be 65+ (a 25% increase over five years) and Gen Z will represent  ~30% of our workforce. 

As institutional knowledge and wisdom voids are created, credit union leadership and governing bodies must also grapple with the reality that 32% of U.S. adults score below the baseline proficiency level in adaptive problem solving, and that a growing number are “clustered at the bottom levels of proficiency.”  

However, big changes also present big opportunities for those committed to developing their leadership skills. 

Enter Generative & Agentic AI

Not only is the composition of the workforce changing significantly, existing processes and jobs are being upended by Artificial Intelligence. Boards are asking for the AI strategy as employees fear being replaced. It’s a new and evolving landscape that requires a new type of leadership adept at problem solving and critical thinking. 

Urgent Tasks = A Lack of Critical Thinking

Too often, organizations are reacting to the current reality through a responsive and urgency-oriented work environment. Here are some of the typical traits we see:

  • All requests are “important” (service level agreements see to that)
  • Quick responses = Rewarded
  • Being rewarded = Low-grade operational thinking encouraged
  • Consistent low-grade operational thinking = rewires the brain and nervous system to express hypertension
  • Tense and operationally focused managers = Task masters
  • Task masters = not critical thinking
  • Empty inbox = “Now what am I supposed to do?”

As organizations push for ever increasing operational efficiency, the imperative can become noise for managers. Edicts such as “We must become more precise and accelerate the speed of our execution” send mixed signals as it is unlikely to do both well at the same time. And the popular idea that “Innovation is necessary” must also take into account that innovations often come with failures, are costly and can conflict with being more precise.

Taking Control of Your Own Career Path

We all have the option to be accountable leaders, especially in today’s rapidly changing landscape. This is different from      waiting for accountability to find you or having a “that’s not my job” mentality as you patiently await a promotion. Leaders seek accountability. Period. 

No one has ever (really) been rewarded for blame shifting.  Most executives would love to only support, empower, and provide development opportunities to accountable leaders. However, many are not skilled at structuring/providing development opportunities or discussing empowerment. In today’s environment, we must take ownership of our own development. 

What is Your Plan?

  1. Have you explicitly defined your ultimate career goal?
  2. Set milestones for 3 Years? 7? 10?
  3. Written it down? 
  4. Formulated specific action steps?
  5. Accountability partner?
  6. Reported out regular updates?

(For more on this, go here.)

A Strategy for Your Career

A Leadership Development Plan extracts and documents your primary concerns while building a contextually relevant and comprehensive roadmap for your leadership development. Without the roadmap, you will likely still progress but may not be following the most direct or accelerated path. The plan provides a structure to align your development (and work) efforts for you and your boss.

Six Framing Questions

Here are six framing questions to help you get started:

  1. What are your one and three-year professional aspirations? Why those?
  2. How does your development benefit the organization?    
  3. Where will your boss(es) endorse you stretching?          
  4. Who will benefit from your development?      
  5. What technical competency (“hard skill”) do you want/need to develop or sharpen that will support this evolution of your role and career progression? 
  6. What requests/offers do you need to make of your boss(es) to advance your (and potentially your team’s) leadership and effectiveness?

Measuring Leadership Development

We recommend establishing SMART goals that will measure your leadership growth. These should be different than your job’s goals, but you should gain buy in from your boss (on your empowerment). It’s important that they endorse you stretching in these capacities, conversations, and actions.

It’s also critical to solicit their feedback regularly (through monthly, not annual) meetings to discuss progress and next steps. Ask direct questions such as, “What marks am I hitting and missing?”

Remember, you are always interviewing (presenting your candidacy). Get organized ahead of meetings and frame the conversation effectively. Know where the organization has been and where it’s going in addition to what competitors are up to – this includes keeping up with executives and other industry leaders’ profiles on LinkedIn. The questions you offer often leave a bigger impression than the answers you give so be ready to ask well-informed ones.

As you make progress in your leadership development plan, be sure to find or create opportunities to present great content and practice, practice, practice.

Keeping Your Eyes on the Prize

Building/refining your proficiencies in your role (getting better at your job), getting your team’s performance to the next level, and enhancing cross-functional coordination and execution should be the primary goals of an effective leadership development plan. Each one of those goals packs a promotional punch and may open the door to new opportunities at both your current organization and others within the industry. Don’t wait to start charting your career path.

Peter Myers is Senior Vice President, DDJ Myers, an ALM First Co. Note: The content in this message is provided for informational purposes and should not be relied upon as recommendations or financial planning advice. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues.

=====================================================================

Remember, you're not alone with NCOFCU.org

at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

President Trump Designates John Crews as Chairman of the NCUA Board

  Alexandria, VA (August 24, 2026) ― Today, John Crews was sworn-in as the fourteenth Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration ...