BankThink

It is very disappointing that in your online story on June 15, Credit Union Journal ignored a basic fact that would have been of interest to all federally insured credit unions and members: The National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) received unqualified audit opinions ("clean" audits) for both 2008 and 2009.

There’s nothing quite like a interchange to stir the pot, and the Durbin Amendment has been a hot-button issue of the moment for our readers.

Green Dot's application to purchase Bonneville Bank should merit attention considering that Wal-Mart is both a shareholder and the largest business partner of the prepaid card company.

Why can't saving money be fun and exciting? When I think of deposit products, I start to yawn. Don't get me wrong, savings accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and prepaid debit cards with a savings pocket are all important products for the unbanked and underbanked. But, let's face it, they are boring.

Two-thousand ten has been dubbed the Year of the Angry Voter — or more appropriately, just the latest Year of the Angry Voter (But This Time We Really Mean It).

A review of BP's oil-spill catastrophe is an education on what not to do when you manage a business. We will interpret these as lessons on how to protect your brand.

Whether by the NCUA's Office of Consumer Protection or Congress' Consumer Financial Protection Agency, credit unions will be examined more closely for meeting consumer-oriented regulatory requirements.

Last month, San Francisco mayor Mayor Gavin Newsom announced a new initiative that would provide a college savings account for every kindergartener entering San Francisco's public school program. EARN, a California non-profit that promotes wealth creation among low-income families, has pledged to match the first $100 of a family's savings in each account.

The underbanked have traditionally been under-served when facing short-term cash flow crunches. The choices are not just limited — they're often prohibitively expensive and inconvenient. APRs at payday loan centers can easily initiate an unstoppable debt spiral for many consumers.

As we've developed GoalMine, our investing platform for the underserved, one of the biggest concerns we've heard from other people is risk. Why, they want to know, would we encourage the underserved to put their money in mutual funds? Aren't we worried they could lose money?