First-responder Credit Union Newsroom

  Invest in a Charitable Donation Account (CDA) In December of 2013, the NCUA Board approved a final rule amending the incidental powers rule (Part 721) to clarify that a federal credit union is authorized to fund a CDA, a hybrid charitable and investment vehicle, as an activity  incidental to the business for which a FCU is chartered, provided the account is primarily charitable in nature and meets  other regulatory requirements. A Charitable Donation Account (“CDA”) investment allows a credit union to make a charitable contribution while allowing the contribution to pay for itself.  Over the last 3-5 years, an investment in the CDA would have allowed a CU  to increase its charitable contributions while retaining a net return significant higher than generated on  its traditional  investments. Please see below the Investment Return Chart. Learn More:         What Is A Charitable Donation Account? ALM Advant...

  First and foremost, let’s be clear: NAFCU listened to its members in 2009, and we listen to them now. We fight every day to make our members and the credit union movement stronger. As noted correctly in Ms. Anderson’s column, NAFCU has always been steadfast in strongly opposing the CFPB’s rulemaking authority over credit unions. At every possible opportunity, in hearings and in myriad letters to Congress, NAFCU has been unequivocal in its conviction. Throughout the legislative negotiations in 2009, NAFCU strongly challenged the CFPB’s authority over credit unions.  Specifically, it was at the hearing before the House Committee on Small Business on Sep. 23, 2009, where Price Choppers Employees Federal Credit Union President and CEO Dawn Donovan, testifying on behalf of NAFCU, clearly stated our position. Notably, this was the only official hearing where credit union trade groups testified before Congress on financial reform, including the creation of the CFPB (earlier pro...

  In response to a letter from House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz wrote that the NCUA has not and will not participate in Operation Choke point. “NCUA does not dictate which businesses credit unions can serve as long as these businesses are legal and within the credit union’s field of membership, and the credit union can serve them safely and soundly,” she wrote in the letter dated April 15. “Going forward, the NCUA will continue to ensure that all our material and guidance clearly outline these policies.” Matz explained that the NCUA issued a memorandum to all field staff in August of 2014, which stated the agency’s policy for opening and closing accounts is a decision generally left to the credit union. “The decision may be based on a credit union’s particular business objectives, its evaluations of the risks associated with offering particular products or services and its capacity and systems to effectively manage tho...

Do you believe someone is actually measuring how much it costs to comply with all the new regulations. BCI stands for Bank Compliance Index, a quarterly evaluation system created by financial experts at Continuity (formerly Continuity Control ), a New Haven, Conn.-based provider of automated compliance solutions, to track the incremental burden on financial institutions of keeping up with regulatory changes. The number 1.35 represents the number of employees needed to address just the new regulations issued during the first three months of 2015. “In real terms, Perdue said the BCI was calculated by measuring specific variables within the financial compliance realm. In this case, the 1.35 ranking is drawn from the efforts it would take to respond to the 61 new regulatory items issued during first quarter that comprised an aggregate 1,605 pages. At an estimated 331 hours necessary to address the regulations, multiplied by an average salary-and-benefits rate of $44.22 per hour for empl...

Is your credit union being pressured by auditors to close or not open certain accounts because they feel they are too risky. Not sure if you know about Operation Choke Point so I have included these 2 article's, One from a company complaining Operation Choke Point Accuser Speaks Out When Mike Schuetz, owner of Hawkins Guns LLC in Hawkins, Wis., asked the branch manager for an explanation, he was told the credit union had received pressure from regulators. He recorded his conversation with the manager, who also explained the credit union did not serve businesses associated with guns and ammunition. Schuetz is convinced the situation occurred as a result of Operation Choke Point, which the U.S. Department of Justice established to reduce fraud and reputational risk to financial institutions by pressuring them to refuse business from risky sectors. “They told me I had to close it because I was a high-risk industry and they were not able to service me,” Schuetz told CU Times . “...

Welcome to NCOFCU's new look and feel! Without signing in you can navigate the complete website, register for conferences and join (some sections limited to Standard Credit Union Membership and above) With a single sign in you can enter the member’s only portal. Associate Credit Union Membership is FREE. Standard Credit Union Membership is $250 We know your time is valuable and you don’t want to spend time trying to navigate trough a website to get what you want so we have tried to make it sweet and simple. Home Our Home page is our main advertising portal and should give you all the links that you will need to navigate through the site. Donate Here you find what you need to directly donate yourself or through your credit union. Newsroom This page takes you directly to our Firefighters Credit Union BLOG About Us Tells you who we are our mission and purpose, our leadership, scholarships, store and how to contact us. Join Us Memberships are listed and simple to use...

Sound like anyone we know? “Approximately half of its membership is 50 years old or older, says Star One marketing manager Susanna Fong. The 10-year mortgage is meant to entice those members close to retirement to bring their loans — including the remainder of a 30-year-mortgage — to the credit union.” How Star One’s 14-month-old mortgage product attracts both young professionals and soon-to-be retirees. By Erik Payne creditunions.com For borrowers nearing retirement, desirable mortgage options are limited. Long-term loans can extend into retirement years and cut into savings earmarked for food, travel, and other expenses. Short-term loans can make budgeting difficult for the remaining working years. Star One Credit Union ($7.2B, Sunnyvale, CA) understands that borrowers want to be free of loan obligations before they leave the workforce without breaking the bank to do so. So in January of 2014, the credit union introduced a promotional 10-year fixed-rate mortgage that charges no...

  For Apple Pay, it’s 98 and counting. Apple confirmed on Tuesday (March 3) that 17 more financial institutions have gone live with full Apple Pay support in the past two weeks, bringing the total just shy of the century mark, 9to5 Mac reported. To be clear, that’s not the number of banks and credit unions that have signed contracts to support Apple Pay — just the ones that have completed the transition. At least 500 more Visa card issuers — just Visa, not MasterCard — are in the process of setting up the necessary new technology, including tokenization for Apple Pay, Visa CEO Charlie Scharf told analysts during an earnings call in January. Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously said that more than 2,000 financial institutions have signed up for mobile payments system. The March crop so far includes just one bank — Bank of Hawaii, which says on its website that Apple Pay will be available soon for “select Bank of Hawaii debit cards” — as well as 16 credit unions: Affinity Plus Fede...

By Natalia Olson-Urtecho | Feb 27, 2015 Two out of every three new, private sector jobs are created by small businesses, making them unique cornerstones of America and the backbone of our economy. That’s why it’s so important for small businesses to have access to capital to start and grow their businesses. To help bridge credit gaps, we at the U.S. Small Business Administration are partnering with credit unions. Credit unions in the mid-Atlantic region are incredibly important because they are community-based and mission focused. They help their members finance cars, homes, education, and of course, small businesses! With this partnership we’re engaging 250 credit unions to approve at least 10 loans of $50,000 or less, injecting over $125 million into the small business economy. The economic influence of this partnership cannot be overstated. There are nearly 6,800 federally insured credit unions with over 100 million members and around $1 trillion in assets. Additionally, this pa...