Firefighter Credit Union Newsroom

Chair Janet L. Yellen March 29, 2016 The Outlook, Uncertainty, and Monetary Policy For more than a century, the Economic Club of New York has served as one of the nation's leading nonpartisan forums for discussion of economic policy issues. It is an honor to appear before you today to speak about the Federal Reserve's pursuit of maximum employment and price stability. In December, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the target range for the federal funds rate, the Federal Reserve's main policy rate, by 1/4 percentage point. This small step marked the end of an extraordinary seven-year period during which the federal funds rate was held near zero to support the recovery from the worst financial crisis and recession since the Great Depression. The Committee's action recognized the considerable progress that the U.S. economy had made in restoring the jobs and incomes of millions of Americans hurt by this downturn. It also reflected an expectation t...

"WASHINGTON (3/28/16)--With the National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) member business lending (MBL) rule finalized, all that’s left is for credit unions to gain an understanding of how the rule will affect them. The Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) compliance staff has put together a CompNote on the rule, which is now available. The rule, which becomes effective Jan. 1, 2017, completely overhauls the NCUA’s MBL regulations, removing almost all MBL requirements not present in the Federal Credit Union Act. The NCUA called the approach a “broad, principles-based regulatory approach,” and it is predicated on the expectation that credit unions will maintain prudent risk management processes and sufficient capital commensurate with risk". Read More : CUNA informs CUs of need-to-knows ahead for MBL changes | 2016-03-28 | CUNA News :

City awaits help from Springfield, borrows $220 million for pension payments - Chicago Tribune : "Potential year-end budget shortfall has forced Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration to borrow $220 million in yet another sign of the city's precarious pension funding status. The city drew the money down from its $900 million line of short-term credit, which is akin to putting the tab on a credit card. The loan carries an interest rate of about 3 percent. The money is not due to police and fire pension funds until the end of the year. But the city had to borrow the money to meet a March 1 deadline for having the cash in its treasury, Budget Director Alexandra Holt said. "State law requires that we deposit the money with the treasurer to demonstrate we have the money available if it's needed," she said."

Chicago pension reform ruled unconstitutional - Pensions & Investments : "The lawsuit did not address participants in the other two city pension funds — the $2.6 billion Chicago Policemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund and $1 billion Chicago Firemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund. Chicago faces roughly $20 billion in unfunded liabilities across its four pension funds. Moody's Investors Service downgraded Chicago's credit rating to junk in May, citing pension concerns. Matt Butler, assistant vice president at Moody's Investors Service, said on Thursday the ratings agency will continue to assess Chicago’s attempts at pension reform."

 AUSTIN, Texas–How does the behavior of iPhone users compare with Android users when it comes to online banking?  According to the latest Monkey Insights “little data” report from Malauzai Software, which is based on February 2016 data for 350-plus banks and credit unions representing more than seven-million logins from more than 400,000 active Internet and mobile banking users:  Login Frequency For iPhone users, the monthly login frequency has remained consistent from October 2015 through January 2016 at approximately 17.4 times a month.  Android users login slightly more often at around 18.65 times per month, a slight increase from October 2015. iPad users average 6.7 logins per month, less than half the amount than their mobile counterparts.  Internet banking login frequency in January 2016 was 7.68 times per month, a slight decrease from October. These numbers clearly indicate that mobile is the preferred method over Internet banking. " Read Mo...

Charitable Donation Account (CDA) The CDA is a hybrid investment approved by NCUA available through MEMBERS Trust Company which grants a federal credit union expanded investment powers to fund charitable contributions.   For more information and examples go to;  www.ncofcu.org/Resources/Documents/ALMAdvSingletb.pdf  What is a NCUA Charitable Donation Account (CDA) Investment? CDA is a hybrid investment which grants a federal credit union expanded investment powers to fund charitable contributions. To qualify as a CDA, the primary purpose of the investment must be to fund charitable contributions. To the meet the primary purpose test, a minimum of 51% of the earnings and capital gains must be distributed to charities at a frequency of no less than five years. Gains and interest in excess of the 51% are booked as investment income by the credit union. Total investments in CDAs may not exceed 5% of the credit union’s net worth. How is a CDA Investment booked? The ...

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