ALEXANDRIA, Va. — For the second time this week NCUA has won an award — this time from the Society of Federal Labor and Employee Relations Professionals.

The Department of Education issued a proposal Friday that would tighten restrictions on the types of arrangements that colleges can enter into with financial institutions to disburse federally guaranteed loans to students.

NCUA announced Friday it approved a federal charter for another credit union — the Seneca Nation of Indians FCU — which will serve members of the Seneca Nation Indian tribe in western New York state.

The Federal Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has indicated it plans to make changes to how financial institutions calculate allowances for loan loss reserves, moving from an incurred loss model to an expected loss model.

Credit unions that offer services such as mobile banking, will have a competitive advantage by providing additional touch points, delivering a top-notch customer experience and engaging with customers via their preferred method of banking.

Moreover, conventional wisdom says that these people are understandably wary of going further into debt and therefore don't have much of an appetite for additional loans, even if a credit union was willing to make them.

Just two days after Rick Menton became CEO of Cherokee Strip, all but one member of the loan department resigned. Yet just 18 months later, the $88 million CU boasts 100% loan growth, 10% membership growth and a positive ROA for the first time in five years at .88%.

Unemployment and gas prices are both down, and interest rates may soon be heading up — all of which spells good news for credit unions' bottom lines. That's the verdict from a number of CFOs and economists who spoke with Credit Union Journal and predicted that while sunnier times may be on the way, CUs can do more now to bolster the bottom line later.

WASHINGTON — The first quarter of 2015 might have been a weak one for overall GDP growth, but credit unions exhibited strength in a number of areas.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking a closer look at companies that service student loans to determine whether there are patterns of abuse and misinformation in the $1 trillion industry.

SafeAmerica Credit Union, which recently completed a full core conversion, has implemented a next-generation interactive voice response (IVR) banking system from Tulsa, Okla.-based Enacomm Inc.

The Obama admnistration voiced major concerns Wednesday with a Senate regulatory reform package up for a vote next week in the Banking Committee.

PLANO, Texas — Rick Grady, VP research for the Cornerstone Credit Union League, recently was elected to the city council here.

NEW YORK — Under a sunny, breezy sky in lower Manhattan, the newest credit union in the U.S. — The Finest FCU — celebrated its grand opening on the steps of City Hall, just blocks away from the where the devastating terrorist attacks of 9/11 killed hundreds of New York City police officers, firefighters and others.

Global financial inclusion efforts have made big strides, but documentation requirements continue to hinder access to financial services, and women and the poor remain disproportionately underserved, according to the World Bank's annual study.

Land of Lincoln CU, Suffolk FCU and more announce new hires, promotions and board elections.

Online lending platform LendKey said MidCap Financial has committed to purchase up to $1 billion of student consolidation loans originated on the LendKey platform.

Voice biometrics, fingerprint recognition, device ID and behavioral analytics are at long last becoming accurate and convenient enough for prime time.

Contrary to the popular belief that recent college graduates are too mired in student loan debt to be interested in borrowing — and wouldn't be the best of risks for a lender to take on — two new surveys suggest grads not only have an appetite for loans but are also likely to manage their debts well, making them an appealing market for credit unions.

WASHINGTON — A new mortgage disclosure regime due to take effect on Aug. 1 is unlikely to cause closing delays, according to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray.