First-responder Credit Union Newsroom

The NCUA told Credit Union Times on Thursday that it has scrapped a proposal that would require credit unions to report the original appointment or election date of directors, a move that could have created bad publicity for those with long-tenured board members . READ MORE > NCUA Has Change of Heart on Volunteer Reporting Requirement : CU Times

Experts discuss lessons from MCU’s issues. MCU President/CEO Kam Wong discusses what his credit union has learned not to do next time. READ ALL 5 >  5 Lessons From Hurricane Sandy’s Aftermath :

National Coalition of Firefighters Credit Unions Inc. NCOFCU Your Board of Directors   Save the Date! October 2-5, 2013 NCOFCU Annual Meeting & Conference Boston MA.

Nov. 15, 2012 – NAFCU President and CEO Fred Becker said the NCUA Board's approval today of a troubling, 6.1 percent budget increase for 2013 will be too costly for credit unions, which fund the agency budget and are still dealing with fallout from the housing downturn and ensuing financial crisis. The two-member board voted unanimously in approving a 6.1 percent increase in next year's operating budget to a total of $251.4 million. Of the $14.5 million increase, $12.8 million is for a 7.5 percent increase in pay – provided the president approves an increase in the general schedule pay scale. Other factors in this increase is full funding of the agency’s 1,261.5 full-time equivalents, a staffing figure that will not change in 2013. READ MORE > Becker: NCUA budget hike costs CUs;Becker: NCUA budget hike costly | NAFCU

In the records from its last policy meeting, the Federal Reserve signaled that it would probably begin a new bond-buying program in December to try to spur job growth. READ MORE > Fed Minutes Show Interest in Extending Bond-Buying :

Spokesman for U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross says tax exemption should be in "maintain" and not "phase-out" part of the bill. READ MORE CU Times > Ending Tax Exemption Mistakenly Added to House Bill, Sponsor Says :

Here is a quote from the chairman of a 3 million 320 member credit union facing a merger/buyout. "The credit union Chairman  said the credit union faces   challenges   typical of its asset size: retaining management and compliance. “We can’t produce enough income to hire decent help,” he said. “Every time we get a good manager trained, they move on to bigger and better things.” Compliance also killed the 292-member credit union, he said. “These days, it takes more manpower because there are so many new regulations.  Just trying to stay compliant is monumental for a little credit union like ours,” he said." Does this sound familiar? NCOFCU's goal is to each out to our fellow firefighters credit unions who may find themselves in this same situation. To encourage them to participate in a peer to peer organization of firefighters and CEO's managing their credit unions. If you know of anyone or find yourself in this situation please contact Grant ...

Englands New Rapid Response Vehicles In the second phase of the trial, the Toyotas – complete with a powerful water pump, 300 litres of water, a ladder, vehicle cutting equipment and water rescue kit – are available as a resource to consider sending to all incidents. “We’ll continue to send the best possible response we can, using the most appropriate vehicles and equipment. A fully-crewed fire engine will still respond to our highest risk incidents, but we are now exploring ways to use other vehicles to respond to lower risk incidents and to ensure we have the right number of firefighters at higher risk ones.” Vij Randeniya, Chief Fire Officer for the West Midlands, added: “We are facing unprecedented financial challenges, and are prepared for further cuts when the Government announces the next funding figures in December. BRVs, and the professional, risk-assessed approach we will take to deploying them, are just one of the necessary but innovative ways we’re responding to th...

"Our goal is to make this merger experience as smooth and positive as possible for everyone," said Ben Laurendeau, president/CEO of FFCCU . "The transition should be fairly seamless for our new UFCW members." The $10.3 million United Food and Commercial Workers Local 880 Credit Union in Cleveland has merged into the $184 million   Firefighters Community Credit Union   in Cleveland. Taking effect Monday, the merger made the 3,600 UFCW members new members of FFCCU, increasing the surviving credit union membership base to 27,500. As part of the merger agreement, the UFCW Local 880 CU closed its doors Nov. 2, and all UFCW member data was transferred and integrated into FFCCU’s IT system  

BY   MARC RAPPORT CU Times Nearly all the credit unions surveyed by a pair of CUNA Mutual Councils were using Facebook to interact with members, the company said Monday. And the longer they had been doing it, the better they have gotten at it, according to the findings presented by CUNA Mutual Group sales planner Patrick McElhenie at the 2012 CUNA Lending Council Conference in Miami. READ MORE > Facebook Rules Social Media: CUNA Councils Survey :