NEW ORLEANS-CFOs tackled a variety of issues at the CUNA CFO Council Summit. Among them:
• Brian Hague, president/CEO of Overland Park, Kan.-based CNBS, said of the economy that the "housing market appears to have stabilized, but home sales remain near cyclical lows, and the expiration of the homebuyer tax credits should depress sales. Overall, prices will remain stagnant, sales will be slow, mortgage rates will increase and construction sector will stay soft and not contribute meaningfully to GDP growth."
He added that the U.S. has yet to see "stabilization" in the labor market and that unemployment is likely to remain around 9% through year-end 2011. CNBS is forecasting that the Fed will not make any rate changes until Q1 2011, and he expects that "Overall, the yield curve should shift upward and flatten, and rates on mortgages should rise more than rates on Treasuries and Agencies."
• The search for backoffice efficiencies, capital and other factors has led many credit unions to discuss or act upon mergers, and the CFO Council meeting included a long discussion about the do's and don'ts of such combinations. One point stressed by a panel of CFOs who have participated in mergers is the importance of understanding precisely why the merger is being contemplated and whether it really fits the objectives of both credit unions. Several panelists noted that in instances where it was thought the merger partners' internal cultures were similar it was often discovered they were not.
