CUNA News

It's hard to wrap one's mind around the extent of the damages and hardship wreaked five years to the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina. Almost as mind-boggling is the extent of the credit union movement's response--one that time and time again is mentioned by the people who lived through the disaster.

Recent record-low mortgage interest rates caused a mortgage refinance and purchase boom at credit unions in July, according to a CUNA economist's analysis of CUNA's monthly review of credit unions.

CUNA supports efforts by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to ensure consumers are protected as they enter into real estate settlements.

Starting March 2, 2011, federally insured credit unions must abandon any jury-rigged public displays that disclose a 2006 change in law that increased share insurance levels to 250,000, up from $100,000.

Policy experts on Sunday's H&FF Radio show tackle a range of issues facing families during these tough times: retirement saving, financial empowerment for domestic violence survivors, identity theft, and overdrafts.

CUNA's Washington, D.C., and Madison, Wis., offices will be closed Monday, in observance of the Labor Day holiday. CUNA's News Now will not post a Monday edition but will resume its regular publication schedule on Tuesday.

Nonlife insurance companies can now invest up to $250,000 in share certificates at New York credit unions.

Ambac Financial Group Inc., a bond insurer for mortgage-backed securities whose losses contributed to losses at several corporate credit unions, has been sued by a group of hedge funds trying to block transfers of funds from its bond-insurance unit to the holding company.

As Hurricane Earl churns in the Atlantic, credit union leagues in Louisiana and Mississippi analyzed another hurricane's impact on the region's credit unions--Hurricane Katrina, which hit the coast Aug. 29, 2005. Two factors played key roles in credit unions' survival: shared branching and credit unions' cooperative nature.

The Wisconsin Bankers Association is mischaracterizing an advisory panel's report on possible tax law revisions by focusing on one option mentioned, according to the Wisconsin Credit Union League.

Despite predictions of a "cashless society," credit unions shouldn't neglect their ATM channels, according to data from Ovum, a New York-based unit of Datamonitor group(paymentssource.com July 20). The overall number of payments is rising.

Regulatory reform dominated the list of the top 10 News Now stories for August; however, the month's No. 1 story dealt with the Federal Open Market Committee's decision to maintain the target rate for federal funds and reinvest in mortgage-backed securities.

First American CU, a $136.9 million-asset credit union, was closed by state authorities Tuesday due to what regulators termed its declining financial condition. The National Credit Union Administration was appointed liquidating agent.

Does your credit union have a whistleblower policy? This is the opening question in Credit Union Magazine's September compliance article, "Consider Whistleblower Policy Protections."

In its roles as conservator of Western Corporate FCU ("WesCorp") and plaintiff in a lawsuit against the corporate's former directors and current and former officers, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Tuesday filed an amended complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Credit unions affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 have seen unprecedented challenges the past five years since the Gulf Coast disaster. How well did they recover?

The National Credit Union Administration has been granted a three-day extension to file its renewed response in Kappa Alpha Psi FCU's lawsuit contesting its liquidation before a U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Directly on the heels of an advisory panel's report on possible tax law revisions, CUNA sent a letter to each member of the President's Economic and Recovery Board to underscore the public-policy value of the federal credit union tax status.

The only reason conservatives should get excited about the U.S. Senate's pending small business lending bill, blogged Eli Lehrer of The Heartland Institute recently, is because it could include a cost-free credit union provision that would really give the economy a shot in the arm.

New investments in participating corporate credit unions made before Dec. 31, and which have maturities of two years or less, will now be fully covered by the National Credit Union Administration's Temporary Corporate Credit Union Share Guarantee Program.