PayThink

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank is determined not to waste Congress´ last week in session before the July 4 break: He plans to charge ahead with regulatory restructuring hearings. The Senate Banking Committee will also hold a hearing on part of the regulatory restructuring effort. Elsewhere in Washington, the Federal Open Market Committee will meet-though the outcome of that gathering isn´t really a nail-biter. Afterwards, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will be called to justify Bank of America´s acquisition of Merrill Lynch to Congress.

"Too many cooks," declared the Economist; "basically punts on the question of how to keep it from happening all over again," Paul Krugman wrote in today´s New York Times; "an exercise in political triangulation," says the Washington Post´s Steven Pearlstein.

A recent engagement for a large employer-based credit union gave us a vivid reminder of why credit unions are so well-positioned to outperform the competition in difficult times. Our client had done exceptionally well in signing up employees of the multinational company it serves, but senior management sought our help in devising a strategy to better reach family members and retirees in its field of membership.

It's the 80th Annual Dinner meeting for Pyramid CU. A member, a man in his 30s, raises his hand to ask if he can say a few words. He shares that he's been a member of the CU all his life as were his parents. He compares Pyramid to the famous movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," because CEO Ray Lancaster is their own version of George Bailey. The crowd agrees in the form of loud applause, shouts and cheers. (For the few people who've never enjoyed the movie, an angel shows George Bailey the positive impact he's had on the people in his small town.)

In the end, CUNA decided not to let them eat cake.

During today´s Senate Banking Hearing on the Obama Administration´s regulatory restructuring proposal, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner got cheeky about a chairmanship. What was he really talking about?

This morning Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will answer questions from the Senate Banking Committee on the Obama Administration´s new regulatory restructuring plan and BankThink will be keeping you up today with a live blog of the hearing. Watch for some tough grilling on the proposal to give the Federal Reserve the power to monitor and regulate systemic risk. The committee members have been particularly resistant to the idea of giving the Fed more power, and several of them voiced fresh concerns yesterday after President Obama announced the plan. Geithner will have to defend the plan twice today; this morning's Senate hearing will be followed by one in the House Financial Services Committee.

This morning Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will answer questions from the Senate Banking Committee on the Obama Administration´s new regulatory restructuring plan and BankThink will be keeping you up today with a live blog of the hearing. Watch for some tough grilling on the proposal to give the Federal Reserve the power to monitor and regulate systemic risk. The committee members have been particularly resistant to the idea of giving the Fed more power, and several of them voiced fresh concerns yesterday after President Obama announced the plan. Geithner will have to defend the plan twice today; this morning's Senate hearing will be followed by one in the House Financial Services Committee.

No shopaholic jokes, please: do women really want special credit cards?

Given the extent to which the global financial crisis has ravaged markets, crippled industries and closed countless businesses both large and small, it would seem doubtful that there's any light at all on the economic horizon. However, credit unions and financial cooperatives the world over have a good story to tell and may be able shed some light on a brighter financial future.