First-responder Credit Union Newsroom

  What it Will Take for a Small CU to Survive 08/27/2023 02:54 pm By Homer Fager In a 2021 article, Bill Streeter, former editor-in-chief at The Financial Brand, asked, “Can a $50 million, $200 million or even a $500 million credit union expect to survive?” This group represents 87% of all credit unions, and 66% of those are $100 million in assets and below. How can these small credit unions survive the competitive forces of dominant megabanks, rapid uptake of digital banking, fintech inroads, low rates...

By Ray Birch DUBLIN, Ohio—The war for talent is still heated but it could be cooling, according to new data that show the dramatic increases in credit union pay—especially at the upper levels—are beginning to soften. As CUToday.info reported, new data released by CUES reveals base salary, base salary plus bonus, and total compensation packages increased last year across 20 of 22 positions at credit unions that are surveyed by the association.  According to CUES, key findings in its most recent survey show: A credit union’s asset size continued to be the leading influencer on compensation levels. The most common length of a CEO contract is three years. 24% of reported CEOs are female. 93.1% of CEOs were reported to be eligible fo...

  Top 10 Generative AI Tips Associations Can Use to Create Content and Drive Efficiencies   Allison Kral August 25, 2023 3 min. to read Contrary to popular belief, ChatGPT doesn’t think. It doesn’t understand what you’re saying. Rather, tools like ChatGPT function by predicting the next best word. That’s why it’s so important to ensure you’ve got a grasp on prompt engineering when using AI language models. Prompt engineering is the intentional use of language that guides AI to give desired outputs and can help optimize your use of AI. Let’s unravel the intricacies and capabilities of prompt engineering, six prompting techniques, and simple tips that will empower you to get the most out of AI for your association. What is Prompt Engineering and Why Should You Use It? At its core, prompt engineering involves a calculated orchestration of language to direct AI models toward generating desired outputs. The magic lies in ...

    Today, members of CUNA and NAFCU will receive ballots to vote on the proposed merger of the two associations to form America’s Credit Unions. The vote will remain open for 60 days. “The formation of America’s Credit Unions will be an opportunity to better serve our collective membership, lead the industry into the future, and ensure the growth and prosperity of all credit unions. America’s Credit Unions will maximize value and efficiency for members, while remaining focused on providing relentless advocacy, unparalleled compliance assistance, and impactful educational events,” wrote NAFCU Board of Directors Chair Gary Grinnell and CUNA Board of Directors Chair Lisa Ginter in messages to member CEOs ahead of the vote. Members were asked to whitelist the electronic ballot email; please check your inbox for these messages and reach out to NAFCU Member Services via email or at 800.344.5580 with questions. Additional details on the Transition Board of Directo...

WASHINGTON—Recent economic data points to a stronger economy than previously expected, but the current business cycle “contours” still point to an eventual downturn, according to the August 2023 commentary from the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research Group. Given the “recent flurry of strong consumption data combined with two consecutive months of annualized Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures coming in close to the Fed’s 2% inflation target,” the ESR Group noted that the odds of a “soft landing” have increased, Fannie Mae said. However, the ESR Group added, the full lagged effects of monetary policy tightening are still working their way through the economy. The ESR Group analysis, for example, said wage growth also likely remains too ...

SAN FRANCISCO–Americans are exhausting their pandemic savings – and could run out of funds by the end of the third quarter, according to a new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.  The Federal Reserve-SF defined “excess savings” as the difference between actual savings and the pre-recession trend.   As of June, the Fed bank estimates show U.S. households held less than $190 billion of aggregate excess savings.  "There is considerable uncertainty in the outlook, but we estimate that these excess savings are likely to be depleted during the third quarter of 2023," San Francisco Fed researchers Hamza Abdelrahman and Luiz Oliveira said in a blog post . ‘Beyond Their Means’ According to the two researchers, governmen...

WASHINGTON–The Internal Revenue Service has issued a ruling that credit unions can receive a 2021 COVID Credit, but not 2020. In other words, federally chartered CUs can’t claim the employee retention credit for periods in 2020 but can do so for periods in 2021, because later amendments to the terms of the credit made them eligible, according to the IRS. Specifically, FCUs can’t claim the credit for wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before Jan. 1, 2021. The ruling was issued by the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in a newly released legal  memorandum . According to the IRS, FCUs are able to claim the credit for wages paid after Dec. 31, 2020, and before Oct. 1, 2021, the IRS said. The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) – sometimes called the Empl...

WASHINGTON–The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note has hit a 15-year high, which could lead to higher costs for many borrowers. The increase in yields is also “raising concern” on Wall Street about the potential fallout in the stock, bond and housing markets, the Wall Street Journal added. A key benchmark for interest rates across the economy, the 10-year yield settled at 4.258%, according to Tradeweb, up from 4.220% earlier this week, marking its highest close since June 2008, months before the collapse of Lehman Brothers and expansive Federal Reserve policy “ushered in more than a decade of historically low bond yields,” the Journal added. ‘Nervous’ Investors “The rise in yields is making investors nervous, because past surges have at...