PayThink

Headlines everywhere are focused on today’s uncertain economy and continuing market dislocation. Daily, we hear of another mortgage lender or other big bank in trouble. To be sure, this is a time not seen in the financial industry in recent years. That’s why it is so critical for the financial press to be accurate and fair in its reporting.

Much has been written over the past few years about the growing threat of mortgage fraud. Beyond the FBI statistics, MBA workshops, and the burgeoning industry in fraud detection software for loan originations, the threat of closing table fraud is being overlooked. The failure to look at the “back end” of the mortgage loan process is occurring to the detriment of credit unions and threatens to derail the many advances made in fraud detection and prevention to date.

I am disappointed with the tone of the CU Journal report of our May 21 announcement about our pending merger with US Alliance CU. We are pleased to be joining with an organization whose 57-year history of service to government employees and other Denver area residents parallels ours in commitment to the best interests of our respective members.

So I’m bumming a ride on a late afternoon last week in Philadelphia with a couple of credit union execs who are giving me a lift back to the train station when the talk turns to member service and whether “today’s generation” is capable of delivering any level of service beyond mediocre.

You are the coach of your credit union. While this may seem like an overly simplistic analogy, the statement is true. Your effectiveness as a leader is directly related to you believing your role as a coach and subsequently understanding your coaching responsibilities.

NASCUS, the professional association of state credit union regulators, applauds CUNA Chairman Tom Dorety’s emphasis on the importance of capital reform in the “CUJ Q&A” feature of the May 19, 2008 edition of the Credit Union Journal.

A Best Practice lies in the eye of the beholder–and there it too often stays unseen by anyone and everyone else. Gems hidden in back-office cubicles. Pearls invisible to anyone not on your network. Diamonds disguised as “just something we came up with.”

Ask any credit union employee what makes his or her institution different, and chances are, the answer will be “personal service,” or “We know our members by name,” or “We’ve taken care of members, their children and grandchildren for decades,” or “We’re part of the community and part of their families.”

Research firm Forrester predicts that the number of households that bank online will grow by 55% over the five-year period of 2006 to 2011. The total online banking penetration is projected to reach 76% of households by 2011.

A recent New York Times article addressed the fact that lenders–represented by the American Bankers Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and the Independent Community Bankers Association–have been lobbying hard to limit proposed rules that would curb certain lending practices and require greater disclosures.