First-responder Credit Union Newsroom

Federal Reserve action continues to push mortgage rates lower, helping an already improving housing market. Mortgage finance backer Freddie Mac's weekly survey showed the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.40% from 3.49% the previous week, which had matched the previous record low set in July.    The fixed-rate 15-year mortgage also hit a record low of 2.73%, down from the previous record of 2.77% a week earlier... Mortgage rates hit record low again : ..

With the Federal Reserve’s recent move to make historically low interest rates even lower, debate is raging over the efficacy and advisability of such actions: Will easy money lower unemployment significantly or simply cause higher inflation? Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that while the Fed is doing all it can, monetary policy offers no simple solutions to our employment challenges. I’m not an economist, but I have spent time around thousands of small-business owners and investors, and I remain skeptical — despite the best intentions of the Fed — that even lower interest rates can make a meaningful dent in our unemployment problem. And while the risk of inflation is important, such low interest rates pose a more immediate problem for senior citizens and middle-class families who rely on savings. Read full article >>

Five Tips about Capital Gain for Everyone    Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com With all the debate over types of income and whether capital gain rates should continue it’s easy to lose sight of a fundamental fact: You too can benefit while capital gain rates remain a bargain. You don’t even have to be a hedge fund king. See Carried Interests Taxed [..REad More . Five Tips about Capital Gain for Everyone ]

LAS VEGAS — St. Louis Fed economist tells ACUMA attendees he sees many reasons to be cautious in medium and long term....Read More.. Economist Predicts Long Period of Slow Recovery: Onsite Coverage :

Help is on the way for stay-at-home parents being denied credit cards because they don't have income of their own. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will propose a rule within the next few months that will make it easier for applicants without personal income to qualify for credit cards, the agency's director Richard Cordray said at a congressional hearing last week..... Read More At .. Stay-at-home parents getting new credit card rule - Sep. 24, 2012

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – A firefighter in St. Catharines, Ont., stopped an alleged bank robbery attempt on Thursday by putting a convicted killer in a choke-hold. “Yeah, he just went to sleep and we tied him up,” said firefighter Ray Garrigan a few hours after he helped foil the alleged robbery attempt.--- 24 Hours Vancouver

AURORA — The former president of the Aurora Firefighters Credit Union has been charged with stealing more than $30,000 from the organization over five years...... Ex-president of Aurora Firefighters Credit Union charged with theft - Elgin Courier News

Do you know where your credit union stands on executive compensation and benefits? : Every credit union is unique, and every CEO places a different emphasis on how they want their executive compensation and benefits package tailored, which makes an assessment of ‘market rates’ for executive benefits and compensation challenging. If you’re a board member you want to be both fair to your executives, provide a combination of compensation and benefits with the right mix of incentives to ensure alignment with your strategic goals, and also fulfill your fiduciary obligation to fellow credit union members. As an executive, you want to make sure that your compensation and benefits are competitive and fit your personal needs, and are also flexible enough to adapt as those needs change throughout your career. One great way to find out where your credit union stands relative to the market is with the NAFCU-Burns-Fazzi, Brock (BFB) Executive Compensation and Benefits Survey (free to survey pa...

The FBI has issued a fraud alert that warns financial institutions that some cyber criminals have shifted their point of attack away from financial institution customers and members instead are directly targeting credit union and bank employees and ... FBI Issues Alert on Hackers Targeting <b>Credit Union</b> Employees : See all stories on this topic »

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke launched a new program Thursday aimed at pushing mortgage rates even lower. But industry insiders are skeptical the plan will do much to bolster the housing market. The Fed announced it will buy up additional mortgage-backed securities at a rate of $40 billion a month until the economy recovers.    "The program should increase downward pressure...Read full story for latest details.   Hey Fed, lower mortgage rates will only do so much :

There are many ways to get funding to ensure that your new business is successful. Debt financing is one way to get capital, without giving up ownership control. Leveraging business or personal assets might raise the money. Government sources can provide business loans at competitive interest rates. Read more: Loans for Starting a New Business | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8167630_loans-starting-new-business.html#ixzz26ol2yDG5

2012 Annual Meeting & Election Results Please note: The annual meeting of the members will be held Sunday October 7th 2012 3:00 PM , breakout room Naples lll , at the firefighters credit union conference in Long Beach CA. Member credit unions attending are invited to send representatives of their credit union to the meeting. There were no nominations from the floor for the 3 directors positions so the following 3 incumbents were reelected for a 3 year term; Scotty Shelton Director Baton Rouge Firefighters FCU Frances Reed CEO Firefighters Credit Union OK Linda Williams CEO Akron Firefighters FCU National Coalition of Firefighters Credit Unions

The Federal Reserve didn’t do credit union executives any favors as they budget and drawing up strategic plans for 2013 and beyond. On Thursday, the Federal Open Market Committee announced it anticipates keeping the federal funds rate “exceptionally low” through at least mid-2015.Credit union CEO says low rates continue to tighten interest income spread while industry remains "averse" to boosting fee income.----- Fed: Low Rates Will Continue Through Mid-2015 :

Here are the three tips — basic, intermediate and advanced — from Dan Russell at Google. He studies how people use the search engine and teaches classes on how to do it better , including a free online course this month, for which registration started Tuesday. He promises these tips will make you happy, and he cares a lot about that — his official title at Google is über tech lead for search quality and user happiness.----- Three Tips for Better Google Searching - NYTimes.com

Despite the challenging economy, credit unions in Alabama and Florida have set new records for increasing their assets and adding new members in the second quarter, the League of Southeastern Credit Unions has reported. In addition, credit unions approved more business loans in the second quarter. In Alabama, business lending jumped more than 4%, higher than the national credit union average and nearly double the growth rate over the past two years, according to the LSCU . In Florida, business loans grew 3% in the second quarter, right at the national credit union average, but three times higher than two years ago.--------- Alabama, Florida Credit Unions Set Quarterly Growth Record

The $185 million Firefighters Community Credit Union in Cleveland is one of many across the country participating in Miracle Jeans Day on Wednesday. More than 40 of the 50 or so employees at the 25,000-member credit union have paid $5 for the right to go casual that day at work, and the staff so far as raised $310 for the effort to help local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals-------- Casual for a Cause

By Kerri Ann Panchuk kpanchuk@housingwire.com • September 5, 2012 • 8:01am Mortgage applications fell 2.5% for the week ending Aug. 31 as credit conditions remained tight, stalling robust buyer and refinancing activity. Interest rates also continued to decline with the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance falling to 3.78% from 3.80% a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. Interest rates and application filings also declined the previous week, setting a precedent that has housing analysts worried. "Mortgage applications for home purchases fell sharply in August, providing further evidence that mortgage-dependent buyers are barely contributing to the recovery in the housing market activity," Capital Economics said in a report. "Without a significant easing in credit conditions, it's hard to see how this will change in the foreseeable future." Refinancing activity cooled falling 3% from the previous week, the lo...

MCUL says 46% of state's 332 credit unions now in the member business lending business. According to Michigan Credit Union League & Affiliates’ data released Wednesday, the number of Michigan credit unions offering business loans was up 6.8% in the second quarter, with nine new credit unions now offering this service. ------ Nearly Half of Michigan’s Credit Unions Now Offer Business Loans :

Michael Tobler Chairman CEO Albany Fireman's FCU OUR INVITATION TO YOU Join the Movement Join NCOFCU Now   Our Mission To educate, create and maintain a climate of safety, soundness, innovation and unity among firefighter credit unions in order to promote and enhance the initiatives of the credit union movement. -- Join NOW -- Membership

Now use your Smartphone / IPads as a Walkie Talkie! You might think that we’ve exhausted every variation on electronic communication — text, audio, video — but you’d be wrong. A new one is quietly winning over millions of gadget fans. They’re free apps with names like Voxer, HeyTell and Zello, and they really do mess with the rules of the game. -------- Zello, HeyTell and Voxer Make Your Smartphone a Walkie-Talkie - David Pogue - NYTimes.com

Women of all ages and walks of life are in a unique place financially in today’s day and age, fulfilling more roles than in years past including that of professional, mother, homemaker, business woman, student, etc. More is expected of modern women and yet they still tend to earn less than their male counterparts. According to the US Census Bureau, the median income of a woman with a bachelor’s degree is about 67 percent as much as that of a man with a bachelor’s degree-------- Credit Unions Offering Unique Financial Strategies for Women

Consultants seem to agree that governing a credit union has become more daunting. And the trend toward greater board accountability isn’t likely to go away. “Unlike a for-profit bank, whose focus is only financial, credit unions can define their return as not entirely financial but whether members are better off because the credit union exists. They offer a betterment to the community that goes beyond financial returns. Do they struggle with it? Yes. But that’s kind of what a nonprofit’s role is all about.” ------- Directors Gain New Rules of the Road From Consultants :

Calling the persistently high rate of unemployment a “grave concern,” language that several experts described as unusually strong, Mr. Bernanke made clear that a recent run of tepid rather than terrible economic data had not altered the Fed’s will to act, because the pace of growth remained too slow to reduce the number of people who lack jobs. --------- Bernanke Speech Makes Detailed Case for Fed Action - NYTimes.com