Firefighter Credit Union Newsroom

Posted Mar. 27, 2014 @ 7:35 pm ROSLINDALE The Boston Firefighters Credit Union has created a fund to help support the families of Lieutenant Ed Walsh and Firefighter Michael Kennedy. "In difficult times like these, I am so proud to be mayor of a city that comes together to help our neighbors in need," said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh. "Since yesterday's tragic events, we've experienced an outpouring of support from across the city, state, and country. So many people have expressed a willingness to help, in some way, as we grieve the loss of Lieutenant Walsh and Firefighter Kennedy." "Although no donation can heal the wounds suffered by the Walsh and Kennedy families, we are grateful to the Boston Firefighter's Credit Union for helping us create a focal point for peoples’ generosity, and to the people of Boston, of Massachusetts, and of the United States, who have once again shown the power of a community to help healing process begin."

Boston firefighters battle big brownstone fire BOSTON (AP) — Boston residents mourned the deaths of two firefighters who were killed when a fire driven by strong winds whipped through a brownstone and trapped them in the basement in a neighborhood just blocks from where nine city firefighters died in a 1972 hotel collapse. Tributes poured in Wednesday for Lt. Edward J. Walsh, a 43-year-old father of three who had almost a decade of experience, and firefighter Michael R. Kennedy, a 33-year-old Marine Corps combat veteran who had been a firefighter for more than six years. Thirteen other firefighters were injured in the blaze in the city's Back Bay district, and several police officers also were taken to hospitals. Some residents were rescued from the upper floors of the four-story apartment building, but none was hurt, city officials said. "Today's a sad day for the city of Boston," Mayor Martin J. Walsh said. "We lost two heroes here today." Boston fi

By Leisa Goodman CUES In his work coaching more than 300 boards, Les Wallace, Ph.D., has found common themes among their CEOs. “There are many items CEOS regularly ask me to remind their boards of,” said Wallace, president of Signature Resources , Inc., and facilitator of CUES’ recent Board Chair Director Seminar. Bowling, golfing or skiing might be great networking venues, but the relationship needs to stay professional and not cross over into buddy territory.  Remember to give feedback in a professional manner and setting, not on the golf course or at the bar.  Rules of engagement help everyone to know what to expect. This can include having regular face-to-face meetings scheduled outside of board meetings and using advance agendas. CEOs appreciate timely, specific feedback, with solid examples and data, not speculation or hints.   Wallace has also found a common thread when it comes to CEO stressors. “In addition to running one of the most challenging businesses in the world,

     Investment rates are at a record low, and credit unions across the country are deploying different ways to make the most of excess funds; however, it is difficult to find a solid return these days. Currently, the industry averages a 1.14% return on investments. That’s less than a quarter of what the industry average was in 2007. So what makes some strategies outperform others? A dive into data from the 5300 Call Report offers some guidance.      In the comparisons below, credit unions are divided into quartiles based on their investment return. The average asset size in the quartiles ranges from $88.1 million for the bottom quartile to $245.8 million for the largest quartile. The top quartile posted an average return of 1.63% as of Dec. 31, 2013. That’s 49 basis points above the credit union industry average and is more than four times the return of the bottom quartile. INVESTMENT RETURN BY QUARTILE Data as of December 31, 2013 © Callahan & Associates | www.creditunions.

Liz Whitehead, began at the agency in 1988 as a district examiner, and is running NCUA's district V  with supervisory oversight of 480 federal credit unions with $57.6 billion in assets located in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming and Guam. Region V is headquartered in Tempe, Ariz. Earlier in her career at the NCUA, Whitehead was a senior supervision analyst and principal examiner. Before she joined the agency, Whitehead was CEO of Hurlbut Employees FCU in South Lee, Mass.

This chart shows all Firefighter Credit Unions vs National yield. If you would like to see how your credit union rated  Click HERE As of Dec. 31, 2013, credit unions in the United States held more than $362 billion in investments.  It’s not only total investments that are shrinking, however. For the past year, investment growth has slowed and the -1.77% growth rate posted at year-end 2013 marks the first time since fourth quarter 2006 the rate has dipped into negative territory. Despite this trend, the investment portfolio still comprises a significant portion, 35%, of the industry’s total asset composition. Read More A Review Of Credit Union Investment Trends At Year-End 2013 - General Features - News | Credit Unions

Don’t miss this great opportunity to meet with other firefighter credit unions and Vining Sparks in Memphis TN. Vining Sparks is offering this, registration free, one day seminar to all our firefighter credit unions. REGISTER NOW Moving Forward Vining Sparks' annual Credit Union Forum is geared to assist today's credit union executives and management team as they move forward in our current challenging environment of low interest rates and gradual recovering loan demand. The seminar will be held on April 28 at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis. This full-day event will equip executives of today's credit union management team to deal with the challenges and opportunities facing them. The last few quarters have presented mixed signals in terms of economic growth and future interest rate expectations. However, rates remain generally low and loan demand has begun gaining strength in certain parts of the country. We will explore methods to move forward in this

We are please to have Steve Rick Senior Economist from CUNA back with us this year. Steven Rick is the Senior Economist for CUNA & Affiliate’s Economics & Statistics Department. Steve has been with CUNA since January, 1992. He conducts economic research, teaches and lectures at various credit union schools and conferences across the country and internationally and writes articles for CUNA publications. Steve facilitates strategic planning sessions for credit union board of directors. He has authored a textbook on asset-liability management for credit union executives. Steve also holds a Lecturer position at the University of Wisconsin where he teaches various courses. Mr. Rick has a B.A. in Economics from Moorhead State University; a B.S. in Finance from Moorhead University; and a M.S. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is also a Ph.D. candidate for a doctoral degree in Economics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Mr. Rick has nine years teac