Credit Unions News from American Banker

As governors prepare to designate new "opportunity zones," lenders and investors should take advantage of the chance to target capital to communities where it will both do good and generate strong returns.

A New York judge refused to dismiss Attorney General Letitia James's suit accusing Zelle's operator of enabling more than $1 billion in scams.

Only 13% of scams reach federal agencies. The rest land at banks and payment apps, making them the country's de facto scam-reporting system.

The class action is an early test of whether credit unions can hold their vendors liable for the cybersecurity they promise.

The Independent Community Bankers of America is lobbying Congress to require federal credit unions to disclose CEO pay, as most other nonprofit organizations must do. The calls follow the discovery of a massive embezzlement scheme led by the CEO of a Mississippi credit union.

Credit unions have a long history of serving diverse members. In a climate where programs designed to promote diversity, equity and inclusion are under constant attack, they should double-down on that commitment.

The National Credit Union Administration proposed amending its common-bond provisions to allow the agency to approve some associations whose membership relies on the purchase of a product or service, a move banks say undermines the rationale for tax-exempt credit unions.

The National Credit Union Administration Tuesday submitted a rule to the Office of Management and Budget stating that federal law preempts state laws on interchange, blocking an Illinois statute banning the collection of swipe fees on taxes and tips.

Suncoast Credit Union moved from one-time identity checks to monitoring members for the life of the account. It says fraud losses fell more than a third.

As short-term liquidity products gain popularity with consumers, credit unions are looking for new ways to keep their members from looking elsewhere.

San Diego County Credit Union won a court ruling that should help in its effort to get out of its deal to merge with a local competitor. A lawyer for SDCCU said he believes the judge's decision "signals the end of any merger between the two institutions."

Community banks' primary objection to the Main Street Depositor Protection Act appears to be that one provision of it would give credit union customers the same level of deposit protection as bank customers.

The deposit insurance reform bill would give credit unions an on-ramp to competing for commercial accounts. A better alternative would be to reactivate the Transaction Account Guarantee program as needed.

Two credit unions in San Diego are locked in a bitter fight over a proposed merger; and a community bank in upstate New York fights off a corporate raider.

Todd Lane, the CEO of California Coast Credit Union, described an allegation by an executive at San Diego County Credit Union as "categorically inaccurate." The two institutions are locked in a legal fight after their agreement to merge turned contentious.

One way for credit unions to remain competitive is to control their own data; and Iran is fighting an economic war.

The Saginaw, Michigan-based credit union brought its credit card program back in-house to capture more member spending and gain added control over customer relationships. Previously, its credit card program was managed by a third-party vendor.

Brookfield, Wisconsin-based Landmark Credit Union's planned takeover of American National Bank-Fox Cities is the second credit union-bank acquisition announced in 2026.

A House subcommittee debated new legislation to improve bank data sharing and slow down transactions to thwart sophisticated financial scams.

The credit union closed three of its overseas locations in response to the conflict. Military-focused financial institutions are instead offering digital banking to deployed service members.