First-responder Credit Union Newsroom

Omnicommander is excited to announce the launch of BRANCHCOMMANDER , the industry's first-ever, fully comprehensive - fully customizable digital branch! More than just a website, this is an integrated, online presence for credit unions. BRANCHCOMMANER is a feature-rich platform that will eliminate several back-office, labor-intensive processes at the credit unions while driving an incredible user experience for visitors to your digital branch. The ability to chat in real-time with real people while searching for a vehicle, applying for a loan, scheduling an appointment, or searching for a physical branch or ATM is all baked in. NCOFCU Contact: Josh Gallo  Office 800-807-3109 #220 Cell 917.402.7720 josh@omnicommander.com

03/29/2023 CUToday CUPERTINO, Calif.–Apple is finally launching Apple Pay Later, its version of the buy now, pay later (BNPL) offerings that have taken hold over the past several years and eroded credit card volume in the process. In announcing the offering, Apple said users can use the service to apply for Pay Later loans of $50 to $1,000 and then repay those loans through four payments over the course of six weeks with no interest or fees. Apple Pay Later exists within the Apple Wallet and is designed to allow borrowers to avoid paying the full price for a product right away. Apple announced the service in 2022, but its launch was delayed due to what were cal...

  Today’s environment just might be the most challenging one that credit union boards have faced in modern memory. The pressures of serving on volunteer credit union boards are extremely high. Just like their counterparts on paid boards at for-profit companies, credit union boards have a major fiduciary responsibility, without the attendant compensation and often without appropriate recognition. Yet like their for-profit counterparts, they govern substantial financial organizations and are responsible for managing capital risk. Credit union board members are industry heroes.  They assure member service and financial safety through their leadership in good governance. They provide insights into strategic goals. They oversee management of risk, which seems greater today than ever before. Current issues include an intensely competitive environment, often from larger and better funded entities. Organizational stresses include litigation, regulatory compliance and decisions related...

  Helping families and their businesses plan for the future   VenturaLaw.Net of Counsel to CarballoLaw     Lessons Learned from The Whale Like many people of a certain age, I was gladdened to learn that Brendan Fraser won Best Actor at this year’s Academy Awards. Fraser is truly one of Hollywood’s good guys who just couldn’t catch a break for a while. His comeback is evidence that, every now and then, the good guys can actually come out ahead. So, with that in mind, we sat down to watch The Whale last Sunday, and wow, what a film and what a performance from everyone involved, but especially Fraser as Charlie and newcomer Sadie ...

“Just Bard it”…. not as catchy. Last week Google released its ChatGPT rival, Bard, as the chatbot race heats up (#AI-of-the-tiger). But Google expressed caution with the release, warning “things will go wrong,” and hasn’t integrated Bard into its search engine (unlike Microsoft , which launched a new CGPT-fueled Bing and 365 apps). Google’s cautiousness may be warranted: media publishers are gearing up for a showdown with Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI over their bots, The Wall Street Journal reported . ·        Facebook = no longer media’s biggest threat. In 2019, half of Americans got their news from FB, and publishers wanted compensation for lost ad revenue and traffic. ·        Now it’s AI bots. As you’ve probably heard, large language models are trained on a massive amount of text data. That includes copyright...

03/22/2023 Kurt Long NAFCU ARLINGTON, Va.—Existing home sales rose 14.5% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.58 million units, breaking a 12-month decline streak and representing a 22.6% decrease compared to a year ago. Curt Long “A lack of inventory buoyed prices during that year-long span, and supply remains extremely tight,” said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long. “Nevertheless, the median sales price declined on a year over year basis in February, ending the longest streak of increases on record.” Existing home sales in February were up across regions, with the We...

Powell says an economic downturn might substitute for further rate hikes. By Jim DuPlessis | March 22, 2023 Fed Chair Jerome Powell answers reporters’ questions at the FOMC press conference Wednesday. (Source: Federal Reserve) The Fed said Wednesday it will raise rates by 25 basis points, but might hold off on further cuts if the economy worsens. The Fed’s Open Market Committee raised the target range for the federal funds rate to 4.75% to 5%, following a 25 bps hike after its Feb. 1 meeting that raised the range to 4.5% to 4.75%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed is changing its posture from expecting “ongoing” rate increases this year, to “some might be appropriate” if recent banking turmoil isn’t enough to cool inflation. NAFCU Chief Economist Curt Long said “the committee essentially split the difference” between pausing and raising rates. It raised rates but “did not raise its projected terminal fed funds rate and softened the tone of ...

Realtors report that existing home sales rose 14%, breaking a 12-month streak of declines. By Jim DuPlessis | March 21, 2023 Existing home sales rose 14.5% from January to February, breaking a 12-month streak of declines, and prices fell for the first time in nearly 11 years, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. Homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 4.58 million in February, down 22.6% from February 2022. However the 14.5% gain from January was the largest month-to-month gain since July 2020. The NAR’s monthly report showed all four regions had month-to-month gains, and all had losses from a year earlier. “Conscious of changing mortgage rates, home buyers are taking advantage of any rate declines,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. “Moreover, we’re seeing stronger sales gains in areas where home prices are decreasing and the local economies are adding jobs.” Lawrence Yun Total housing inventory at the end of February wa...

Economist Curt Long says the Fed will likely wait to see the effects of recent bank failures instead of raising rates Wednesday. By Jim DuPlessis | March 20, 2023  Jerome Powell speaking a news conference Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022 (Source: Federal Reserve). NAFCU Chief Economist Curt Long said Monday he expects the Fed will hit pause on its 12-month run of interest rate hikes Wednesday to gauge the effects of instability among banks here and abroad. Long said most economists still expect the Fed will raise rates 25 basis points. “My expectation is the Fed will pause to let the dust settle … given what they’ve seen in the last few weeks,” he said. What they’ve seen so far are the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this month,  the instability at First Republic Bank of San Francisco and Sunday’s proposed buyout of troubled Credit Suisse by another large Swiss bank. Before those troubles, some economists had predict...

  Many organizations are considering moving to a four-day workweek. But how can you implement a flexible work schedule to staff and still provide the same level of service to members? One association shares how it found a balance through iteration and practice. By Hannah Carvalho Mar 15, 2023 Though the idea of moving to a four-day workweek has recently grown in popularity , the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources began exploring the idea almost 15 years ago. Rising gas prices after Hurricane Katrina and the 2007 financial recession led CUPA-HR to introduce the shorter workweek into its 2008 summer schedule to better support staff. “We serve higher education, and since college campuses tend to be quiet during the summer, it made sense to try [the four-day workweek] then,” said Rob Shomak...

03/14/2023  SANTA CLARA, Calif.–The recent failures of two large banks has made clear there is a new threat to financial institutions of all types—the “silent run” on deposits. As a number of analysts have made clear, including one person who shared thoughts with CUToday.info, while rising rates and mismatched investment portfolios are commonly cited as the reasons for the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, the biggest reason for its downfall was a lack of confidence, which resulted in the run on deposits. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers’ tweet on w...

  Source: AdobeStock. Although we are still feeling the aftershocks caused by the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in California and Signature Bank in New York, there are already lessons to learn and questions to ask as we deal with another increasingly common financial surprise. 1. Borrowing Facility Extended to Credit Unions On Sunday evening, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC announced the creation of a new program that will allow both banks and credit unions to borrow against the par value of their investments for a period of up to one year. While the NCUA has been noticeably quiet, it’s important to know that credit unions are also eligible to participate in this program, which is apparently designed to enable financial institutions to sell collateral at a discount to meet a sudden run on deposits. Hopefully, few if any credit unions will need this help. 2. Let’s Make the Central Liquidity Fund Changes Permanent Chairman Harper has ...