BankThink

Not unlike the “cash for gold” peddlers on late-night television who encourage consumers to hock that old pendant of Great Grandma Sue’s, Sears Holdings Corp. is helping customers exchange their old jewelry for cash, so they can buy nice shiny new things in its stores.

The merchant lobby has long positioned interchange fees as an issue affecting small, mom-and-pop businesses, but Visa Chairman and CEO Joseph Saunders called efforts to regulate these fees a victory for big-box retailers like Wal-Mart.

After surviving the longest recession since the Great Depression and other unprecedented challenges in 2009, credit unions continue to face obstacles to achieving earnings goals in 2010.

British betting firm Ladbroke's is famous for offering opportunities to wager on just about anything. Yet you wouldn't have found the company allowing you to gamble on who would be the next CUNA chief.

Advocacy is the No. 1 reason credit unions belong to CUNA; that isn't going to change with Bill Cheney as President and CEO.

Midwest Banc Holdings disclosed Thursday that it didn't expect to meet the requirements of a Prompt Corrective Action agreement with the Fed and that FDIC receivership was likely. In case you were wondering what to do, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its "sell" rating.

It is easy to be discouraged about the prospects for the industry’s return to normal levels of profitability, given the rising cost of regulatory burdens. But investors must expect the industry to generate competitive returns, because they keep placing capital in the system.

More than you may think.

The challenge to CUs, as always: throwing some sprinkles on that plain-vanilla message and getting it out there for members and consumers alike.

The economic downturn has created two schools of thought: one that holds back and one that sees opportunities to buy at a lower cost. The market for real estate to build or lease facilities is full of bargains and pitfalls.