PayThink

Few have found much in the way of good news in the economic downturn, the Kansas-flat lending numbers, or especially the penalty-even-if-you-never-committed-a-foul assessments. But one group has: those selling a Promised Land just over the charter horizon.

I believe many credit unions will find they have more to lose — and little to gain — if they walk away from a corporate that has served them well for many years.

Although I had already read online reporter Ray Birch's extensive article entitled, "One Failure, 1,000 Questions," about the St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union mess, it wasn't until my hard copy of the June 27th Credit Union Journal arrived via snail mail that I fully appreciated this extraordinary investigative journalism.

If what I am about to discuss is news to you, it's OK, you have a good excuse. Whether it's the debt-limit debate, continued economic conditions further eroding balance sheets, or that pesky roll out of Dodd-Frank, bankers have a lot on their plates and haven't had this much fun since the S&L crisis. Or at least since the Fall of 2008 with Tarp. And it's earning season on top of that.

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Banks are increasingly dependent on their ability to obtain core deposits through branches, which means that a bank's branch footprint strategy, including its de novo strategy, is more important than ever.

Microsoft no longer tolerates obvious passwords.

Secretary of the Treasury Geithner's failed advice to the President Obama on how to solve the foreclosure crisis has apparently caused the president to reconsider prevention options.

Didn't banks learn from the savings and loan crisis in the early 1990s?