First-responder Credit Union Newsroom

Giving the Gift of <b>Credit Union</b> Membership This Holiday Season : What better fits that description than a credit union membership? By opening an account for a friend or family member at your credit union , you are granting them lifelong access to affordable financial products, better rates on loans, higher yields on ... See all stories on this topic »

What Comes First, The Car Or The Buyer? : New fuel efficiency regulations will cost $157 billion to implement, auto regulators say, but that's also how much in gas savings car buyers will see through 2025, as long as the rules are effective. The new standards, under Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations, require automakers' lineups to have an average gas mileage of 35.5 mpg ...

NCUA Sues Wachovia Securities over Corporate Credit Union Losses : Agency goes after firm now known as Wells Fargo Securities for mortgage-backed securities sales to U.S. Central, WesCorp.

More on Advertising; BSA Advisory Group : Written by Steve Van Beek Yesterday's blog post mentioned the difference between the requirements for the "official sign" and the requirements for the "official advertising statement."   Thanks to a helpful commenter, we were informed of our inaccurate discussion of when the "official sign" is required.  It is required at teller windows and: "Each insured credit union must also display the official sign on its Internet page, if any, where it accepts deposits or open accounts , but it may vary the font sizes from that depicted in paragraph (b) of this section to ensure its legibility."   Yesterday's post (which has been updated) indicated the official sign was required on the CU's main Internet page.  However, 12 CFR 740.5(a) indicates that credit unions need to use the official advertising statement on their main Internet page: "§ 740.5   Requirements for the official advertising statem...

Mortgage applications plummet 11.7% : Mortgage applications fell 11.7% this past week as demand for refinanced loans cooled across the country, an industry trade group said. The Mortgage Bankers Associated noted that its market composite index – a measure of loan application volume – dropped 11.7%. The steep drop is tied to a 15.3% decline in the refinancing index. Meanwhile, the seasonally [...]

Home prices ease to 2003 levels : National home prices declined on an annual basis in the third quarter, to levels last seen eight years ago -- but the rate of decline slowed from the prior three months, according to a report issued Tuesday.

Cloud Computing is Misunderstood, But Maybe it Doesn't Matter : I predict that 2012 will be the year that cloud computing loses a lot of its luster for enterprises. Not because it is going away or anything like that. Rather, the opposite is happening ? it is becoming so ubiquitous and commonplace that business and IT end-users alike will almost forget that they?re even using ...

Massachusetts CU Manager Condemns Occupy Movement : Tina Mooney, CEO/manager at RAH Federal Credit Union, did not hold back on her long list of criticisms of the Occupy movement.

Durbin Fails Again : On this past Wednesday we witnessed another failure of government intervention. This time it is heightened by the audacity of the lobbying organization that helped write the law with the help of Congress under the guise of the Dodd Frank Bill, which was designed to help consumers. Oh, what a tangled web we weave when ...

Confusion Surrounding Free Checking : Written by Steve Van Beek There continues to be an increased focus on checking accounts - especially with the implementation of the Durbin Amendment and the responses of the larger banks.   One of the side issues is the increased focus is the use of the term "free" to describe a checking account product.  Banks and credit unions are reviewing their existing products to determine if they can still be properly called "free" even though there are some fees that apply. This review has usually ended up with confusion and internal discussions at the financial institution on whether an account can be called "free" or not.   Here is 12 CFR 707.8(a) of Truth in Savings which contains the general prohibition: " § 707.8   Advertising. (a)  Misleading or inaccurate advertisements.  An advertisement must not: (1) Be misleading or inaccurate or misrepresent a credit union's account agreement; or (2) Refer to or describe an...

How To Lie With Financial Statistics : Can you really trust what the financial services industry puts out? We tell about some tricks that hide the truth.

US Consumer Strength Contrasts With Euro Weakness Bonds rallied on Wednesday as trading continued to be driven by European news. While the failed German Bund auction drew the most talk, the deeper, substantive issues in the Euro region were the underlying market drivers. US economic data reports were positive as jobless claims remained below 400,000 and consumer confidence as reported by the UofM ticked higher. (READ MORE)

NAFCU Expands Compliance Team : NAFCU said it has added two credit union veterans to its compliance team as new regulatory compliance counsels.

Retailers Sue Fed on Interchange Rule : Retail groups say Fed has failed to regulate swipe fees under intent of Dodd-Frank.

Is Your Board Bored or Just Left Behind? : Credit union boards must be shaped for the present and the future because credit union history is unlike anything we have seen.

News & Announcements | Waterbury Firefighters Federal <b>Credit Union</b> : WATERBURY, CT, November 11, 2011 – Michael Kinne, president and CEO of the  Firefighters Federal Credit Union (FCU) in Waterbury, has announced that Gregory Zeliff of Wethersfield, Connecticut, has been named the FCU’s new vice president of lending. “ www.waterburyfirecu.org/wfmfcu/News.asp?id=15456&amp;lid...

Better U.S. Data, but E.U. Still the Focus European Powers Divided, Casting Uncertainty In Europe, a rift between the Germans and the French over the role of the ECB has developed, threatening the alliance which has seemingly kept the region together. As the alliance shows cracks, investors are shying away from anything non-German which has sent sovereign debt costs higher around the euro zone. French debt yields have risen to record levels against   (read more)

Former JPMorgan Banker: Exploiting Consumers Is 'The Purpose Of The Banking <b>...</b> : In October, 650000 Americans joined credit unions , which, as Mooney noted, are “supposed to be run in the interests of all members.” 40000 more joined them on Bank Transfer Day earlier this month. Wall Street, meanwhile, continues to ignore America's ... See all stories on this topic » ThinkProgress

Matz Says NCUA 2012 Budget Will Protect CUs: Print Preview : This opinion piece will be among the news, features, analysis and insight filling the pages of the next print edition of Credit Union Times.

Using Prisoners As Unpaid <b>Firefighter</b> Squads | Disinformation : Cities and towns from coast to coast are straining under the weight of budget shortfalls, so what are they to do? Lay off essential public employees and replace them with slave labor by prisoners -- it's what Camden County, Georgia is doing in ... Disinformation

Christmas comes early for <b>credit unions</b> : Masked revolutionaries didn't show up last weekend at local credit unions , but plenty of money-toting customers did. The wave of new business was in response to Bank Transfer Day, a movement that hatched online on the coattails of the Occupy Wall ... See all stories on this topic » RichmondBizSense

Onsite Coverage: NCUA Lowering NCUSIF Reserve Balance : ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Because of the credit union system’s financial health, the NCUA is lowering the NCUSIF’s reserve balance from $1.2 billion to $871 million.

House approves higher FHA conforming loan limits : The House of Representatives voted 292-121 to restore the elevated conforming limits for jumbo mortgages for the Federal Housing Administration Thursday. The Senate is expected to give a final vote in the coming days. Members of a joint committee compromised earlier this week to include language in a minibus spending bill that would raise the limits on [...]

Onsite Coverage: NCUA Approves 5.1% Budget Boost : ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The NCUA Board today approved a budget increase for next year of 5.1%.

National Coalition of Firefighters Credit Unions Here are the 2011 board of  directors of the National Coalition of Firefighters Credit Unions. This is the first board elected by the membership and is an excellent representation of the firefighters credit unions across the country. Top Row ; Eugene Benick, CEO Newark Fireman FCU, David Lantrip, Director Houston, Sean Costello, Director Boston, Jerry Horwedel, Director LA Fireman's, Scotty Shelton, Director Baton Rouge FCU, Grant Sheehan CEO NCOFCU, Bottom Row ; Michael McCormick, Director San Diego Firefighters, Frances Reed CEO, Firefighters Credit Union Tulsa OK, Linda Williams, CEO Akron, Michael Tobler, CEO Albany Fireman’s FCU. Officers; Michael Tobler President, Jerry Horwedel VP,    Michael McCormick Secretary,   Eugene Benick Treasure.

3Q11 Growth Fuels Potential for 2012 : Positive growth in credit union's share balances and core deposits show significant increase in the industry's reach in 2011....[ Read Article ]

Homebuilder confidence improves, gradual gains expected in 2012 : Homebuilder confidence in the market for new single-family homes rose by three points to 20 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo (WFC: 25.12 -0.67%) housing market index for November, the second consecutive monthly gain. The NAHB said the number builds on a revised three-point increase in October, and brings the confidence gauge to its [...]

A Collection Method That Works : Northwest Federal Credit Union turns a difficult situation into a chance to engage and help members....[ Read Article ]

Credit Unions Snag A Greater Share Of Mortgage Applications : The credit union industry posted higher market share levels by applications and funded loans in 2010 compared with 2009....[ Read Article ]

Five Essential Leadership Lessons For Women : What leadership challenges do women face today?

Survey: Industry Health Up Sharply But Membership, Loans Still Lag : “The continued threat to earnings seems to have spurred a number of credit unions to execute workflow efficiency and expense management strategies, though much room remains for improvement,” Glatt said. In detailing HealthScore history, the reported ... See all stories on this topic »

Corporates Boost Capital By 22% In First Half Of 2011 : Continuing corporate credit unions are posting healthy financials amid a changing landscape....[ Read Article ]

FASB Accounting Updates : Written by Tessema Tefferi, Regulatory Affairs Counsel While the pace of change in accounting rules appears to have slowed down, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is still active, especially with projects geared towards converging U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) with international accounting standards. While there are many FASB- and GAAP-related issues that affect credit unions, I thought it would be helpful to provide an update on three, each of which NAFCU members have inquired about in recent months. Fair Value for Loans Earlier this year, FASB tentatively dropped a proposal to require fair value accounting for all loans, including those credit unions hold to maturity (HTM loans). No action is expected on this front until the 1 st quarter of 2012, at the earliest. Under the tentative decision, the value of loans is measured as follows: Financial assets being held for sale and are actively traded, entities to measure th...

San Francisco Fed says Europe may pull US back into recession : Researchers from the Federal Banks of San Francisco and Kansas City say the odds of a U.S. recession in 2012 are greater than 50% because of the European debt crisis. The figure below shows the recession-probability forecasts. The lines represent complex Leading Economic Index-based predictions the researchers previously made. "To interpret these predictions, think about an experiment in which two coins are flipped, with heads representing recession and tails expansion," the researchers say in an economic report. "One coin represents the recession odds from domestic factors, the other coin from international factors. The figure below shows the probabilities of flipping heads with the domestic and international coins. The overall probability of recession is reflected in the thick blue line." The combination of the two recession coins, shown in the combined risks line, indicates the odds...

Why Millennial Women Are Burning Out At Work By 30 : Young professional women may not relate to the financial struggles their Millennial peers are protesting against during the Occupy New York movement.

NCUA Settles With Citi, Deutsche Bank Over Corporate Failures : Agency says $165.5 million will help lower future costs of corporate rescues.

<b>Firefighting</b> competition heats up in Myrtle Beach : The volunteer firefighter had just finished what's called the “toughest two minutes in sports” competition of the Scott World Firefighter Combat Challenge, being held this week in Myrtle Beach. Armstrong is an emergency room physician at Grand Strand ... See all stories on this topic » Myrtle Beach Sun News