Firefighter Credit Union Newsroom

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo.–The Federal Reserve is likely to begin withdrawing some of its easy-money policies before the end of the year, but any rate hikes remain off in the distance, according to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Speaking virtually to the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole symposium, Powell said the U.S. economy has now arrived at a point where it doesn’t need as much support from the central bank. As a result, the Fed is likely to begin reducing the amount of bonds it purchases each month before the end of the year, provided the economic recovery continues. The so-called “tapering” could begin as soon as the Fed's Sept. 21-22 meeting, according to analysts. The Fed has been buying $120 billion in bonds every month since the onset of the pandemic to minimize any economic dip. For many Fed watchers, including credit unions, the “tapering” decision has been closely watched, as it should mean an increase in rates. But that’s not necessarily the case, said Powell. "The timing and pace...

ARLINGTON, Va.–For credit unions headed into their Fall planning sessions for 2022 and beyond, one economist believes it’s pretty safe to assume next year will be much like this year—unless some sort of new COVID variant emerges. For CFOs and ALCOs, NAFCU’s chief economist, Curt Long, pointed to last week’s Federal Reserve virtual meeting from Jackson Hole, Wyo., where Fed Chairman Jerome Powell signaled he does not expect rates to move very much, at least on the bottom end. Powell has consistently said he does not anticipate the Fed will take action on rates until late 2022 or 2023. “We may see some steepening of the yield curve,” said Long. “This year has been a little disappointing in terms of where we started in that regard. I think we have been getting mostly positive economic data. As the Fed has successfully kept rates low on short end, there is some room for rates to move up on the long end.” For credit unions doing their planning, Long expects the economy will continue to ad...

BROOKFIELD, Wis.– Omnichannel commerce trends that emerged and accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic are showing their staying power, according to a new Carat Insights report released by Fiserv. The company said the data show commerce experiences that blend the physical and digital are increasingly popular among consumers, digital spending has increased across verticals throughout the pandemic, and in-store payments made digitally are gaining share. According to Fiserv, Carat Insights represents a cross section of data measuring consumer perceptions toward emerging payment trends, and how actual consumer spend has evolved in market. The Carat Insights survey polled 2,200 U.S. adults to explore how the pandemic impacted consumer payment preferences. In addition, Carat Insights analyzed spending data from Q1 2020 through Q2 2021 at businesses leveraging Carat , the Fiserv omnichannel commerce ecosystem that processes more than one-billion omnichannel transactions each year. Omnic...

Do you remember the Commodore 64 computer? My grandparents had one when I was growing up. I remember the floppy discs you had to swap in and out when playing a game or working on a program, printing my school reports on the dot matrix printer. I remember being amazed at what it could do. Flash forward to today and I look at the iPad and tablet-based devices with Bluetooth and wi-fi connectivity, touch screens, etc. Technology has advanced at an exponential rate in the past few decades. The ATM is seeing that same technological advancement. It wasn’t that long ago that envelope deposit was amazing new tech. Now we see new ATMs with features like video teller, contactless card usage, etc. As ATM experts, we help our credit unions plan, develop, and implement these new ATM technologies. Although these ATM advancements are critical for success, we’re seeing this growth in technology outpace the ability of credit union staff. Although it’s not the core competency of the credit uni...

Credit unions were increasing their portfolios in most areas in June, except business lending and new car loans, where portfolios fell for the 24th month in a row after seasonal adjustments, according to a CUNA Mutual Group report released Tuesday. The Madison, Wis., trade group’s Credit Union Trends Report showed new auto loan balances were $141 billion on June 30, falling at a 3.3% seasonally adjusted, annualized rate from May to June, part of the May-through-October peak car-buying season. Credit unions held $252.4 billion in used car loans on June 30, up 1.2% from May without seasonal adjustments. The Trends Report made slight adjustments to CUNA’s Monthly Credit Union Estimates released earlier in the month. In this case, its changes allowed total auto loan balances to show a slight 0.3% un-adjusted May-to-June gain, compared to being flat in the CUNA report. Steve Rick, chief economist for CUNA Mutual Group and the report’s author, said gains were stronger in other areas, includ...

His comments came after the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that existing home sales rose 2% from June to July to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million homes. “Existing home sales rose for the second month in a row fueled by low rates and a recovering job market,” Long said. “Demand is very strong and although supply is still tight, homebuilding has picked up.” The NAR report showed sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops in July were 1.5% higher than in July 2020. There were 1.32 million homes on the market July 31, up 7.3% from a month earlier and down 12% from a year earlier. The supply of unsold homes would last 2.6 months at the present sales pace, up slightly from June’s 2.5-month inventory but down from 3.1 months in July 2020. “We see inventory beginning to tick up, which will lessen the intensity of multiple offers,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. “Much of the home sales growth is still occurring in the upper-end ma...

SAN FRANCISCO—Visa has inked three partnership deals for crypto service providers Tala, FTX, and CoinZoom to offer its cards. The deals would also address the complicated regulatory policies brought by the accompanying costs of fiat to crypto conversions, and the limited acceptance of cryptos that prevent it from going mainstream, EconoTimes noted Visa's deal with Tala was for establishing cryptocurrency solutions for the global unbanked. Meanwhile, the partnership with CoinZoom was for introducing five different options of CoinZoom Visa Cards for its US customers to enjoy unique benefits, like discounts, cashback, and rewards. These Visa cards are connected to CoinZoom wallet, enabling users to pay cryptocurrency for goods and services at more than 53 million merchant stores and VISA Partner outlets worldwide, EconoTimes said. Addresses ‘Growing Problems’ “Cryptocurrencies can address the growing problems of remittance solutions, including too many intermediaries, excessive tr...

WASHINGTON–Minutes released from the Federal Open Markets Committee’s most recent meeting show the central bank is seeking to find a middle ground between tapering bond purchases while providing assistance to an economy still seeking to recover from the coronavirus lockdowns. “Looking ahead, most participants noted that, provided that the economy were to evolve broadly as they anticipated, they judged that it could be appropriate to start reducing the pace of asset purchases this year,” the minutes state. The Fed has been buying approximately $120 billion in asset purchases per month. It left rates unchanged when it adjourned the meeting. Some Disagreement Not all of the FOMC members were in complete agreement, the minutes indicate. “Several others indicated, however, that a reduction in the pace of asset purchases was more likely to become appropriate early next year,” the Federal Reserve said. Those FOMC members indicated that while employment has improved and inflation remains hi...

LAKE FOREST, Ill.—Not since Congress passed the Truth-In-Savings Act in the early 1990s has there been so much change in the overdraft market as what has taken place this year, says one economist, who adds credit unions need to respond with big cuts to their own overdraft pricing and by making large improvements to operating efficiency—or watch Walmart walk away with members. Michael Moebs, economist and CEO at Moebs Services and who has spent considerable time analyzing overdraft practices, noted that not only is the overdraft market seeing a potentially significant shift but Washington has its eyes https://www.cutoday.info/Fresh-Today/Contentious-Moments-as-Senator-Grills-Bank-CEOs-Over-Overdraft-Fees on overdrafts, as well. The Stop the Overdraft Profiteering Act was also recently introduced in the Senate. “From Congress to consumers swiping debit cards across America, overdrafts are hot,” said Moebs. “PNC Bank led the way in April by introducing https://www.cutoday.info/Fresh...

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—NCUA has sent a Letter to Credit Unions ( 21-CU-08 ) detailing the agency's transition to modernized systems. The agency said it will begin this transition in August. NCUA’s efforts will include the implementation of emerging and secure technology that supports the NCUA’s examination, data collection, field of membership, and reporting efforts. “These new applications will streamline processes and procedures and provide significant benefits to credit union users,” NCUA said. Key areas affected: NCUA Connect Admin Portal Consumer Access Process and Reporting Information System (CAPRIS) 1 Modern Examination & Risk Identification Tool (MERIT) Data Exchange Application (DEXA) Training Available To prepare credit unions for the transition to these new systems, NCUA said it will provide credit union user training through various avenues, including: A self-paced training curriculum covering MERIT functionality available through the NCUA’s Learning Management Service An...

RALEIGH, N.C.–North Carolina has suspended online used-car retailer Carvana Co. from selling cars in the Raleigh market until January of 2022 after a state investigation determined the company failed to deliver titles to the motor vehicle department and sold cars without state inspections. A number of credit unions nationally have created relationships with Carvana to expand their auto lending. According to the North Carolina Attorney General’s office, the state’s motor vehicles department, it has revoked Carvana’s dealer license for its Wake County, N.C. location until Jan. 29, 2022. Tempe, Ariz.-based Carvana also has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $500 and an administrative hearing fee of $200, according to court documents. The penalty was part of an agreement Carvana reached earlier this month with state officials, following a probe by the North Carolina’s Division of Motor Vehicles, the Wall Street Journal reported. “We’re pleased that we were able to reach a solution with th...

WASHINGTON—The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) convened a virtual FinCEN Exchange with representatives from financial institutions, technology firms, third-party service providers, and federal government agencies to discuss ongoing concerns regarding ransomware, as well as efforts by the public and private sectors. Topics discussed include cybercrime, trends and typologies, detection and reporting, and the recovery of funds after ransomware attacks. The FinCEN Exchange builds upon FinCEN’s November 2020 event on ransomware , the organization said. FinCEN noted ransomware attacks have targeted not only government agencies and corporate entities, but also ordinary citizens, who are often forced to choose between paying exorbitant ransoms and sacrificing personal information, mementos of great sentimental value, and other important data. ‘Growing Concern’ “Ransomware attacks are a growing concern for the financial sector, given that financial institutions can be targeted b...

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.–Could used car prices finally be headed downhill? After a steady run of rising used car prices due to a limited supply of used and new vehicles, Black Book reports used values moved steadily down in July. Black Book’s Used Vehicle Retention Index for July dropped to 161.8 points, a 4.2 point (or 2.6%) decrease from June (166.0). The Index currently stands 28.4% above where it was the same time last year, during the recovery of the used market, after COVID-19 related closures in the Spring of 2020. “Wholesale prices peaked in June and declined every week in July, with accelerating decline in the second half of the month,” said Alex Yurchenko, chief data science officer at Black Book. “Inventory of new vehicles continued to drop almost daily as the chip shortage continues to cause decreases in production levels. Available used inventory stabilized in July as demand leveled off with record high used retail prices. We expect wholesale and retail prices for used vehicles ...

WASHINGTON–The U.S. economy roared into midsummer with strong gains in hiring, according to the latest jobs report, even as questions remain over the ability to maintain the momentum as the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread. According to numbers released last week by the Labor Department, employers added 943,000 jobs in July. But the number comes with a caveat in that the data was collected in the first half of the month, before variant-related cases exploded in many parts of the United States. “The July jobs report was almost uniformly positive with strong job gains resulting in a large drop in the unemployment rate,” said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long. “The retail sector did not enjoy a share in the gains, losing over 5,000 jobs during the month, but otherwise gains were broad. This report will add to mounting pressure on the Fed to taper asset purchases.” The numbers marked the best monthly performance since August 2020, and under...

Letter to Credit Unions (21-CU-07) Capitalization of Unpaid Interest Dear Boards of Directors and Chief Executive Officers: On June 24, 2021, the NCUA Board unanimously voted to lift the prohibition of capitalization of interest in connection with loan workouts and modifications from part 741, Appendix B . The rule became effective July 30, 2021, and applies to loan workouts and modifications on or after this date. The rule establishes documentation requirements to help ensure that the addition of unpaid interest to the principal balance of a loan does not hinder the borrower’s ability to repay the loan. For borrowers experiencing financial hardship, a prudently underwritten and appropriately managed loan modification, consistent with safe and sound lending practices, is generally in the long-term best interest of both the borrower and the credit union. Modification options include lowering of loan payments or the interest rate, extending the maturity date, partial principal or inte...