Though it's one of the largest U.S. credit unions at $15 billion of assets, the organization still works with a number of fintechs to live up to its name.

Municipal is one of two credit unions to be released from conservatorship this year. It's no small feat — the last time it happened was in 2016 — but the National Credit Union Administration may have a hard time preventing other troubled institutions from being shuttered or acquired.

Amid concerns that fees for overdrawn accounts lead to financial exclusion, the National Credit Union Administration is focusing its attention on such policies this year.

Spike Henderson was most recently a regional president at Equity Bank in Kansas.

Citing customers’ increased adoption of digital services over the past two years, banks are shrinking their physical presence, while also renovating the locations they keep — but credit unions are bucking the trend.

U.S. credit unions that serve Ukrainian immigrants are coordinating efforts to provide aid in Ukraine while bracing for cyberattacks at home.

Here is a rundown of the regulatory, diversity, competitive and other challenges that executives explored at the Credit Union National Association's annual gathering in Washington.

Credit unions and banks need to ask themselves if they're finding ways to say "yes" to consumers who too often hear "no" from mainstream institutions. Otherwise, they perpetuate a system that excludes the poor and people of color and drive them toward nonbanks, said Pablo DeFilippi of Inclusiv Network and other experts.

Just a few years ago, there was no organization for LGBTQ credit union executives and employees, nor was there anyone openly out on the stages of credit union conferences — until Linda Bodie, CEO of Element Federal Credit Union in West Virginia, asked them to make themselves known.

The Credit Union National Association kicked off its first in-person governmental affairs conference in two years with members sharing concerns about data-privacy rules, cryptocurrency, prospects for industry growth and the potential economic fallout of war in Europe.

Community lenders may choose to stop serving small businesses rather than absorb the expense of collecting information on race and ethnicity under a proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In the year's first instance of a credit union buying a bank, Georgia’s Own Credit Union in Atlanta has agreed to acquire nearby Vinings Bank. The Peach State is home to more than 300 banks, making it ripe for such deals.

The joining of Align Credit Union and Alltrust Credit Union is among the first of several deals in the pipeline where both institutions have more than $250 million of assets, as the ongoing pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic prompt more firms to pair up, experts say. Carmen Sylvester, Alltrust's CEO, will lead the combined organization.

Employees at Genesee Co-Op Federal Credit Union in New York and Beneficial State Bank in California formed unions in the past year to bargain for better wages and reform their corporate cultures. Will workers at other community institutions follow their lead?

Unify Financial Credit Union is using a 30-second spot featuring safety Terrell Burgess to highlight the Texas organization's expansion within California.

Village Financial Credit Union expects to begin operations this year after it receives additional capital and a charter. It plans to serve a part of Minneapolis that has no traditional banks or credit unions but is overrun with payday lenders.

PSCU is working with EnaComm to build web and mobile applications for prepaid cards.

The coronavirus and economic impediments have made it hard for credit unions to add members in recent years. Yet efforts to adapt to less face-time with customers, rev up auto lending and refine other aspects of their businesses are starting to pay off.

There's a lot of pent-up consumer demand for new cars, but credit unions face stiff competition from large banks and online dealerships. Some are stepping up marketing while others are eyeing new loan categories.

Some are eliminating their charges for overdrawn accounts in response to recent reforms by big banks and the consumer-friendly practices of neobank rivals.