Ray Birch

Credit unions deciding whether they will "play or pay" under the new Obamacare rules will now be able to delay that decision one year.

At a time when many single-SEG credit unions are expanding their charters, one CU continues to see significant growth opportunity in getting a lot closer to its only sponsor.

Credit unions must now pay attention to an increasingly volatile long end of the yield curve, as well as to the stability of core deposits.

Just 17 days before a team of NCUA representatives descended on the offices of WesCorp here to place it into federal conservatorship, its CEO, Bob Siravo, was still holding on to the possibility the corporate giant would suffer no investment losses as a result of the mortgage meltdown.

Credit unions that wait too long to convert members' mag-stripe plastic cards to the new EMV standard could find their payments cards hot sellers on the black market, several analysts are warning.

Within 50 years it's likely that less than 5% of all credit unions will be SEG-based, according to one analyst.

As reported by Credit Union Journal, June 17, information on the performance of five failed corporates' so-called "legacy assets" are now available online.

Addressing its decisions to place five corporates into conservatorship in 2009, NCUA restated that its actions were the best for the industry.

In 2013's second half look for more credit unions to seriously consider "out-of-the-box" revenue sources to drive the bottom line.

Credit unions can now pull back the curtain on the so-called "legacy assets" and gain a better understanding of the performance of securities once held by the five failed corporate credit unions.

With two new studies examining fees and what consumers are willing to pay for, credit unions are being urged to proceed by thinking of the member before the balance sheet .

The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau overdraft study signals that it's time CUs make sure their OD pricing and policies are fair, clearly communicated and not deceptive.

Cardtronics is upgrading existing Braille signage on thousands of its ATMs with a goal of fulfilling an agreement that is related to litigation between the company and the state of Massachusetts and the National Federation of the Blind.

There's a lot more room on the fee schedule to charge for services members are willing to pay for, according to two studies-one of which says the rise of mobile is driving the opportunity.

Two CEOs who have taken different paths to arrive at similarly successful places when it comes to returning value to members emphasized the same points to attendees at Credit Union Journal's Grow Show here: success requires a sound strategy and singular focus.

It's no revelation that margins keep narrowing, that lending remains challenging or that members are getting older.

Credit unions should prepare for the day when some employees ask them NOT to offer health insurance coverage.

Credit Union Journal's Grow Show last week, industry experts on payments and mobile laid it on the line to CU execs, telling attendees to get moving in the mobile space if they haven't already, and to base their plans on analysis of their memberships.

Attendees at this year's Grow Show learned how one CU went from consecutive losing years in which it posted $300,000 in total losses to dramatically turn things around and show a $1-million net gain two years ago.

Overdraft revenue fell, on an annual basis, for banks, thrifts and credit unions, by almost one billion dollars in Q1 2013, from the end of 2012, according to a new overdraft study by Moebs $ervices.