PayThink

A review of BP's oil-spill catastrophe is an education on what not to do when you manage a business. We will interpret these as lessons on how to protect your brand.

Whether by the NCUA's Office of Consumer Protection or Congress' Consumer Financial Protection Agency, credit unions will be examined more closely for meeting consumer-oriented regulatory requirements.

Last month, San Francisco mayor Mayor Gavin Newsom announced a new initiative that would provide a college savings account for every kindergartener entering San Francisco's public school program. EARN, a California non-profit that promotes wealth creation among low-income families, has pledged to match the first $100 of a family's savings in each account.

The underbanked have traditionally been under-served when facing short-term cash flow crunches. The choices are not just limited — they're often prohibitively expensive and inconvenient. APRs at payday loan centers can easily initiate an unstoppable debt spiral for many consumers.

As we've developed GoalMine, our investing platform for the underserved, one of the biggest concerns we've heard from other people is risk. Why, they want to know, would we encourage the underserved to put their money in mutual funds? Aren't we worried they could lose money?

A recent conversation with a stranger illustrated the challenge that vexes credit unions a century after they were founded. What are they? Can I join? Where do I find one?

You might think that bank robberies would be on the climb during The Great Recession. But so far, that hasn't been the case.

While many credit unions acknowledge they need to proactively stay in touch with members, they are not able to do it because of bad contact data. To stay efficient and effective with outreach efforts, credit unions need to improve member contact data and ensure the accuracy of communications.

It seems entirely appropriate for one CU CEO that he has been able to cross an item off his "bucket list," since the very concept has been popularized by a movie of the same name.

With the displacement of mortgage brokers as the predominant source of loan originations, credit unions are faced with a unique opportunity to gain market share and keep it.