PayThink

Many CUs are asking a lot of "what-if" questions. While NCUA cannot answer these questions, as each CU's needs are its own, it can propose a few high-level questions to help decide whether the grass could be greener on the other side.

[The proposed QRM rule] is a horrible requirement for the home mortgage business. We certainly do not need to go back to poor lending habits, but we do need to have in place programs that allow people who CAN purchase a home do it.

I recently read how two CEOs tamed the IT beast in the June 26 issue of Credit Union Journal. Working for the largest credit union in Hawaii, I have been quite surprised by the lack of mature IT approaches in credit unions.

Editor's Note: This letter to the editor was written in response to "Voters Overwhelmingly Support Wall Street Reform" from Credit Union Journal's Daily Briefing, July 20.

Never, ever, give Twitter accounts to stockbrokers. If you give thousands of commission-based sales people access to broadcast media, someone is bound to say something stupid.

Many commentators ignore this part of the central bank's job and think any bank that gets liquidity from the Federal Reserve is a failed bank.

A minimum credit score would not cap or regulate risk, or even measure it consistently. Instead it would ensure that the risk floor for QRMs would actually fluctuate.

If I came across a borrower who is deep in debt and whose obligations exceed their income and yet continues to borrow to service those obligations, I would not consider them a good risk.

Market evolution in recent decades has made it harder and harder for smaller institutions to access capital. Meanwhile, regulatory restrictions impede alternatives that could fill the void.

The agency's final rule contains glaring legal errors and whitewashes the role preemption played in enabling the lending excesses that precipitated the crisis.