Firefighter Credit Union Newsroom

NCUA Chairman Rodney E. Hood will join our excellent list of speakers in Clearwater Beach, Florida this year.  National Council of Firefighter Credit Unions Inc. For a complete list of speakers and events,   Click Here   President Donald J. Trump nominated Rodney E. Hood for the NCUA Board on January 19, 2019. The U.S. Senate confirmed him on March 14, 2019, and he took the oath of office on April 8, 2019, and was designated as the eleventh NCUA Chairman by President Trump. As NCUA Board Chairman, Mr. Hood also serves as a voting member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. He also represents the NCUA on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council and the Financial, Banking Information Infrastructure Committee. Mr. Hood was previously nominated to the NCUA Board by former President George W. Bush and served from November 2005 until August 2009. He was appointed Vice Chairman by former NCUA Board Chairman JoAnn Johnson, and he served as the N

WASHINGTON–The Federal Reserve has opted to make no changes in interest rates following the conclusion of its meeting here, but it has indicated it could move as soon as next month to cut rates if the United States and China isn’t able to find ways to resolve their trade dispute. As a result,  For now, the Fed left its short-term rate at a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. Eight of the 17 votings, Fed policymakers did predict there could be as a half percentage point decline in rates in 2019. In a statement following its meeting, the Fed did dial down a bit its forecast for the economy.   “In light of these uncertainties and muted inflation pressures, the FOMC will closely monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook and will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion, with a strong labor market” and inflation near the Fed’s 2% goal,” the Fed said.  Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in recent interviews has expressed concerns over what he called “cross-curre

DUBLIN, Ireland–At least three-dozen credit unions in Ireland have imposed a limit on the deposits members can have, in some cases as low as €15,000, as a result of negative interest rates now in place at the country’s two largest banks. Ireland The Irish Times reported it has identified 36 credit unions that have imposed the caps in order to limit any surplus funds they keep on deposit with the banks. One of the banks, AIB, is charging corporate customers as much as 65 basis points to keep their money on deposit, the Irish Times reported, meaning, for example, a credit union would pay €6,500 for every €1 million it has on deposit. A spokesman for the bank told the Irish Times it has tried to insulate “the vast majority of our customers from the impact of a sustained period of negative interest rates” but that there were “a relatively small number of larger depositors with whom AIB seeks to reflect the commercial realities of the negative interest rate environment.

ARLINGTON, Va.—Total retail sales increased by 0.5% in May, and April's sales growth was revised upward from -0.2% to +0.3%. NAFCU's Curt Long noted that strong gains in consumer spending may diminish the chances of a recession in 2019. Retail Sales "Household saving rates are at normal levels, so any growth in real wages would represent an upside risk," said Long, NAFCU's chief economist and vice president of research, in a NAFCU Macro Data Flash report. "There are plenty of downside risks to fret over, from the trade war to energy prices to a weak May jobs report, but NAFCU believes a recession is not in the cards this year." Year-over-year growth in retail sales was 3.2% in May, down from 3.7% in April. Core retail sales increased by 3.2% from a year ago, and auto and gas sales grew by 3.1%. Core retail sales (excluding light vehicles and gasoline) increased 0.5% in May. Auto and gas sales increased by 0.6% during the month.