BankThink

It was an interesting question you raised in Frank Diekmann's Aug. 17 editorial asking, "What if it were 2009, but with 1979's membership rules?" Frank and (CUNA Mutual's) Dave Colby, who contributed to the editorial, were right on the mark with the answer to that question. The current economic downturn and financial industry debacle, whose headlines have largely focused on the banking industry, would have had many more credit union casualties.

Due to unprecedented budget deficits state governments throughout the country are desperately seeking ways to cut costs wherever possible. States realize that many of their departments are paper intensive. One method they are employing to eliminate expense is replacing paper vehicle titles with paperless ones for lienholders such as credit unions in the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The strategic plan for 2010 may be the most important plan ever crafted by the credit union. On the one hand we have a great opportunity on the other hand we face high loan losses and high unemployment in our communities.

Each credit union has contracts with a significant number of vendors. In the process of executing a merger, each contract of at least the merging credit union must be reviewed to determine which relationships will continue unchanged, which will be allowed to expire at the end of their term, which will be terminated early, and which, if any, need to be amended to accommodate the additional credit union.

Today, just about every credit union offers some kind of kids club, complete with coloring books and a mascot of some kind. Whether those clubs translate into a life-long affinity for credit unions remains open to debate.

Title insurance is one of the largest expenses when closing on a purchase or refinance, yet your members typically won't have a very good understanding of what it covers or costs.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – What will the nation’s credit union community look like 100 years from now? Will there even be one? Or will it be even more robust?

It’s something we struggle with from our earliest days at school: the art of sharing. But should the grownups at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission really be spending their time on it? Some of the witnesses at day two of the joint hearings on harmonizing regulation between the two agencies didn’t think so.

It’s funny how the tables turn: Before he was confirmed, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler faced a slew of criticism from members of Congress for being soft on derivatives regulation back in the ‘90s. Now Gensler’s golden and it’s Mary Schapiro, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who has to deal with past demons.

If Fannie Mae wasn’t busy enough sifting through the wreckage of its once proud business while operating under conservatorship, the government-sponsored enterprise is still diverting resources to executives from crises past.