Ray Birch

PETERBOROUGH, N.H. — Bank credit card growth last year outpaced credit union card growth for the first time since 2007, a figure cards experts say indicates much tougher competition is ahead for CUs, especially around rewards.

HONOLULU — Three staff members of OTS Employees FCU, including the former manager, were charged Wednesday with embezzling nearly $490,000 from the credit union.

The National Credit Union Administration approved a final rule on capital planning and stress testing at its open board meeting Thursday that contained some changes — but maybe not enough to satisfy credit unions.

ERIE, Pa. — A tip from a Widget Financial employee has uncovered a massive nationwide fraud scheme.

ARLINGTON, Va. — With NCUA expected to impose a final rule on stress testing at Thursday's board meeting, NAFCU, once again, is telling the agency its proposal should be reconsidered.

SAN DIEGO — A thief used his cell phone to rob a credit union here late last week.

It takes the "wow factor" to dislodge members from checking accounts they hold at FIs outside the credit union, says Dennis Dollar.

TAMPA, Fla. — Suncoast Credit Union is the first federally insured CU to introduce credit card loan participations, a program the issuer says meets the needs of institutions wanting to jump back into credit cards with less risk and expense.

CO-OP Financial Services has entered into an agreement with Visa to make the Visa EMV common debit solution available to its credit union clients.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — CO-OP Financial Services has entered into an agreement with Visa to make the Visa EMV common debit solution available to its credit union clients.

ARLINGTON, Va.—The federal appeals court decision to uphold the Fed's debit interchange guidelines is expected to drive more EMV conversions and send merchants' fight for lower swipe fees back to the open market, say industry analysts and credit union CEOs.

BETHALTO, Ill. — Laclede Community Credit Union and 1st MidAmerica CU have agreed to merge.

KENTWOOD, Mich. — An armed man dressed as a woman robbed Community West Credit Union last week and then led police on a high-speed chase that ended up with the suspect crashing his motorcycle.

WASHINGTON — A fake Internet-based credit union is at the center of a Ponzi-type scheme that has cost investors millions, according to a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

WASHINGTON — A bill introduced by Republican Sen. Dan Coats could reduce some of the regulatory burden on the backs of financial institutions below $10 billion in assets.

How are CUSOs helping credit unions and their members?

SAN DIEGO — A new credit union service organization is helping credit unions collect on charged-off accounts and return "prior prime" members to their former CUs.

Much like healthcare.gov struggled on its way to signing up 7.1 million Americans, Credit Union Journal reported in part 1 of this series that private health insurance exchanges working with credit unions are experiencing similar frustrations. The final installment of this series explores why CUs are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to private insurance exchanges.

WASHINGTON — NCUA's testimony before the House Financial Services Committee earlier this week has some within the credit union community saying the regulator may have opened the door a little wider for federally insured CUs to gain access to supplemental capital.

HOUSTON — Two masked men armed with handguns barged into a Chartway FCU branch here Wednesday morning, fired shots into the ceiling, demanded money and then escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.