Firefighter Credit Union Newsroom

WASHINGTON—The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision earlier this week to maintain the federal funds target rate at its current range of 0% to 0.25% is an acknowledgment the economic recovery has stalled in recent months due to increased COVID-19 cases, according to one economist. "While there was a reference to the progress on vaccine distribution and its potential to alter the path of economy, there was no indication that a change in asset purchase volume is anywhere in view,” said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long. As it has in its recent meetings, the FOMC again issued a statement that the Fed is "committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals." During the meeting, the committee also unanimously reaffirmed its "Statement of Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy," originally adopted in August 2020 f...

WASHINGTON–Credit unions that serve employees in the hotel industry or that have loans and lines of credit out to hotel owners will find little solace in a new report from the hotel industry. thumbnail_Hotel Closed The American Hotel & Lodging Association has released its “AHLA’s State of the Hotel Industry 2021,” which examines the high-level economics of the hotel industry’s recovery, the specific impact on and eventual return of business travel, and consumer travel sentiments. The AHLA reported the pandemic has been devastating to the hospitality industry workforce, which is down nearly four-million jobs compared to the same time in 2019. While some 200,000 jobs are expected to be filled this year, overall, the accommodations sector faces an 18.9% unemployment rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, half of U.S. hotel rooms are projected to remain empty in 2021. “Business travel, which comprises the largest source of hotel revenue, remains nearly nonexist...

ARLINGTON, Va.—Existing-home sales rose 0.7% in December to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 6.76 million units, representing a 22.2% increase in sales versus a year ago. The existing-home sales in 2020 were at their highest level since the Great Recession. "The major headwind for the housing market is record low inventory, now down to 1.9 months of supply," said Curt Long, NAFCU's chief economist and vice president of research. "Demand for higher-priced homes is especially strong, with sales of homes priced over $1 million up 94% compared to this time last year. "Housing starts are also up 5.8% in December, but it will take plenty more to ease the supply crunch," added Long. "In the meantime, prices will continue to soar. The combination of low mortgage rates and supply shortages should result in a steady pace for home sales in 2021." Sales rose in two regions in December. The Northwest was up 27.4% versus December 2019, followed by the Midwest (+26...

As expected, President Biden on Monday appointed Democrat Todd Harper as chairman of the NCUA board. Harper becomes the first NCUA staffer to serve as an NCUA board member and as its chairman. Before joining the NCUA board, Harper served as director of the agency’s Office of Public and Congressional Affairs and chief policy advisor to former NCUA Chairwoman Debbie Matz and former board member Rick Metsger. The NCUA board is now in a unique position—two members of the board, Rodney Hood and Kyle Hauptman are Republicans, while its chair, Harper, is a Democrat. The designation as chairman is not subject to confirmation by the Senate.

In a December 17, 2020 article in cumanagement.com Karen Bankston writes that credit unions will need to focus on managing the risk in their loan portfolios and on delinquency control to the same or greater extent than the period after the Great Recession. Credit unions will be working to control loan delinquency and minimize charge-offs as diligently as they had as a result of the Great Recession. The proper management tools will help in this endeavor. TCT’s Credit Migration tool assures loan risk is managed appropriately by reporting those borrowers who are showing signs of possible loan default long before those borrowers show up on delinquency reports. In addition, TCT now offers a Delinquency Tracking tool which allows a highly effective way to manage individual delinquent accounts as well as a method to assess collection policies and practices. Read More  

Financial regulators, including the NCUA and the CFPB, have issued a final rule attempting to distinguish the difference between rules and guidance, but the future of that rule and several others remained in flux Thursday, after President Biden issued a temporary moratorium on regulations until they can be reviewed by the new administration. The NCUA is an independent regulatory agency and is not required to comply with Executive Orders, but in the past, the agency has said it tries to follow the “spirit” of such orders. NCUA officials did not respond to a request for comment about the rule or Biden’s actions Thursday. In recent months, the NCUA board has approved a flurry of rules, as the chairmanship of Republican Rodney Hood likely comes to an end. For instance, this month the board approved proposed rules dealing with complex credit union, the CAMEL rating system, CUSOs and a final rule dealing with CUSOs. And after the meeting, the board approved a final rule clarifying that agenc...

WASHINGTON–On his first day in office President Biden signed a number of executive orders, several of which are aimed at the economy and that will have effects on credit unions and their members. Separately, the director of the CFPB announced her resignation. Biden has placed a special emphasis on the federal government’s response to the pandemic. The success of that effort will have a bearing on members’ and all Americans’ economic situation and will affect lending, when branches may reopen, when employees may return to work and more. In addition to first day executive orders restoring federal employees' collective bargaining rights and directing agency action on safety net programs, including Medicaid and unemployment insurance, Biden is expected to sign executive orders that extend the nationwide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures until at least March 31, and extending the pause on student loan payments and interest for borrowers with federal student loans until at least S...

When work moved from the office to your computer screen in the middle of your living room, there were a lot of things to get comfortable with. One of the biggest changes has been the move of meetings from the physical conference room to the virtual Zoom room. And during that transition period, it was quaint or fun to see people struggle with the technology or react to unexpected ambient intrusion. “Raj, you’re on mute.” “Chloe, we can’t see you because of all the sunlight blazing behind your head.” “Shanda, to share your screen, you need to hit the button at the bottom of the screen, you see the thing next to …” “Brian, how many dogs do you have?” But by now, your colleagues, manager, clients and others expect that you have mastered the medium, and you’re supposed to be able to deliver a powerful performance while perched in the corner of your living room. There’s less forgiveness for sloppiness, and less patience for it too. It’s time for you to become the virtual meeting star you kno...

January 15, 2021 by Danielle Frawley, Fort Community Credit Union (FCCU) Please avoid using the excuse “my credit union is too small”. Over the years, I have heard this from countless credit unions and often at young professional events. They boxed themselves in with limitations based on their size without considering how open the world was due to their nimbleness. Technology is expensive, but it’s not unattainably expensive. Nearly a decade ago, when our credit union was less than $200 million in assets, we launched DocuSign. We were the first in our area to do so and to this day, we are still the only financial institution among our local competition that provides electronic signature for new accounts and loans. Imagine how useful this was when the pandemic began. While other financial institutions were trying to close loans through their drive thru windows, our members were already used to electronic signature and business continued to flow. Marketing can be expensive, but it doesn’...

In a December 16, 2020 article in chiefexecutive.net, Dan Bigman explains that with 100s of thousands of direct and indirect users, the SolarWinds hack affected even those who might think they escaped damage. “ …the hackers took full advantage of one of the most-discussed, but perhaps little checked, strategies available to those looking to break in to networked computer systems: third-party software.” Credit unions need to be sure they have policies and practices in place to guard the best they can against hackers and fraudsters. Even small credit unions are not immune from being targets. TCT’s Regulatory Compliance and Policy Writing Services helps credit unions (especially small credit unions) remain regulatory compliant and establish policies for high risk situations. Read More For questions on these tools, contact Donna Jensen at (208)939-8366.  

TCT RISK SOLUTIONS NEWSWIRE Qualified Mortgage Rule Amended – Look for More Regs Ahead In a December 23, 2020 article in NAFCU.org, Brandy Bruyere, NCCO, VP of Regulatory Compliance, NAFCU writes: “…CFPB announced final rules amending the qualified mortgage (QM) rule. Specifically, the rules shift from a debt-to-income ratio (DTI) standard to a pricing-based standard for determining whether certain mortgages will be QMs and create a “seasoned” QM …”. This regulatory change is unrelated but a new Administration beginning 2021 will most likely mean more new regs and “reinstatement of past regs” for financial institutions. Policies and procedures will need to be updated to reflect changes that are likely to occur in an environment of tighter regulations over the next several years. TCT’s Regulatory Compliance and Policy Writing Services helps credit unions (especially small credit unions) remain regulatory compliant and establish policies for special situations. Read More!  

GOOD NEWS! CU First Responders Finance (CUFR)* has partnered with a Community Development Corporation (CDC) to accept referred PPP loan requests. What does that mean for your credit union? Offer access to PPP loans on your credit union's website with an online business loan request form. It is that easy! https://www.financeresponders.com/business-loan-inquiry/ CUFR and the Lead Lender will do the work from there. CUFR pays commissions to the referring credit union based on our current agreement rate. We are expecting the funds allocated to the SBA by the Treasury Department to run out quickly, so your prompt attention and action is required now.  LOAN PRODUCTS SBA PPP Loans SBA 7(a) Loans SBA 504 Loans USDA Loans Commercial Real Estate Apparatus/PPE/Communications Equipment/Vehicles Short Term Loans Contact Murray Halperin, Managing Member CU First Responders Finance, LLC*  ...

  TCT RISK SOLUTIONS NEWSWIRE     New Auto Lending Becoming Even More Competitive Aman Johal writes in a December 2020 article in creditunions.com/blogs that: “Nationwide quarantines and stay-at-home orders pushed consumers to adopt a more conservative attitude toward debt. Consequently, the overall demand for auto loans, particularly for new vehicles, decreased. Low interest rates helped to partially offset this decline in demand, particularly in used auto lending, which has fueled auto growth in 2020.” Credit unions should ...