Firefighter Credit Union Newsroom

Happy holidays from everyone at the,  National Council of Firefighter Credit Unions Inc. (NCOFCU)      We truly value your relationship and thank you for being an important part of our association.      We wish you a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous new year in 2017 Sincerely, NCOFCU Directors and Staff See you in Charlotte, NC October 4-7, 2017

ARLINGTON, Va.—Much like CUs themselves that have gone through evolution in fields of membership and resulting name changes, the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) will be operating with a slightly different name as of Jan. 1 – the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions. The change, stated NAFCU, reflects that all the association’s federally insured members—including state charters--now have full voting rights and the ability to serve on the NAFCU board of directors. “While our name change reflects our mission to serve all federally insured credit unions, our focus remains the same,” said NAFCU Chair Richard L. Harris, president and CEO of Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union. “We remain committed to providing the best in advocacy, education and compliance assistance at the federal level.” The NAFCU board voted unanimously to change the association’s name. NAFCU’s logo and acronym will stay the same, preserving the association’s strong brand

WASHINGTON–The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee has voted to raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, moving from a range of 0.25%-0.50% to 0.50% to 0.75%. At the same time, the FOMC issued revised projections calling for three rate hikes in 2017, three in 2018 and three in 2019. The FOMC will next week Jan. 31-Feb. 1. In response, economists with the CU trade groups expect the effect on CUs to be minimal, but did indicate credit unions may need to reprice deposits more quickly than anticipated. “Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace since mid-year,” the FOMC said. “Job gains have been solid in recent months and the unemployment rate has declined. Household spending has been rising moderately but business fixed investment has remained soft. Inflation has increased since earlier this year but is

NCOFCU Member Benefits  The National Council of Firefighters Credit Unions Inc. (NCOFCU) is your credit union’s partner in boosting revenue and reducing overhead. By harnessing our collective buying power, we are able to bring you, through your membership, the business-critical services and products vital to your credit union. MyRiskInbox.com Your NCOFCU membership entitles you to one (1) license of “ MyRiskInbox.com ” . This is a $240 dollar value provided to you with your membership in NCOFCU. Your membership also entitles you to their NCOFCU member discounted pricing on all their compliance services. For more about their products and services  Click Here To schedule a demo contact  Heather Riley Client Service/Project Coordinator Affirm X o:  888.972.3624, ext. 7014 e:  heather.riley@affirmx.com NCOFCU business partner Auto Link was a real HIT at the 2015 Conference. Ed Bourgeois    demonstrated to each credit union

WASHINGTON–Mortgage rates have moved higher for a fifth consecutive week. According to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, rates on the: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.08% with an average 0.5 point for the week ending Dec. 1, 2016, up from one week earlier when it averaged 4.03%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.93%. 15-year FRM averaged 3.34% with an average 0.5 point, up from the prior week when it averaged 3.25%. One year earlier the 15-year FRM averaged 3.16%. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.15% this week with an average 0.4 point, up from one week earlier when it averaged 3.12%. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.99%. In other mortgage news, the Federal Housing Administration has increased loan limits in 2017. In high-cost areas, the FHA said the new national loan limit “ceiling” will increase to $636,150 from $625,500, while its “floor” will increase to $275,665 from $271,050.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Nov. 30, 2016) – Reading financial statements is an essential job for any credit union board member, and a new video series from the National Credit Union Administration can help make that job easier. Understanding Financial Statements , now available on NCUA’s YouTube channel , is a five-part series that discusses the balance sheet and income statement, key line items in each and the relationship between the documents. The videos also will help you know what questions, you, as a board member, need to ask your staff about your credit union’s performance. NCUA regulations require that federal credit union directors have a working familiarity with basic finance and accounting practices, including the ability to read and understand the federal credit union’s balance sheet an income statement and to ask, as appropriate, substantive questions of management and the internal and external auditors. There is a quiz at the end of the series, and viewers who pass that wi