Let’s get back in the habit of breaking bread together.
When I’m out and about among our most excellent Utah credit unions, I frequently hear from the old-timers that, “We used to get together a lot. It was great. You knew everyone. You knew what was going on.” That’s why, at the Association, we’re going to start up a new series of round tables—to help […]
Flipping tables and disputing findings
On December 5, Scott Simpson and I joined league professionals from other NCUA Western Region states to meet with the Western Region Director, Cherie Freed, and several of her top staff members. The meeting is an annual tradition, and over the years we’ve developed a cordial rapport with Cherie. She and her team members are […]
Junk fees were the least important thing Pres. Biden mentioned today in his press conference
Today President Biden held a press conference in which he vowed that the Federal government would help middle class American’s by outlawing junk fees. He cast a broad net, which encompassed credit unions. From the official press information: The CFPB is taking action to require large banks and credit unions to provide basic information to […]
CUs distribute wealth more evenly than banks
I’ve already posted other thoughts from reading Secrets of the Temple, a decidedly left-leaning book. One last note. A notion referred to several times in the book is that banking, generally, distributes wealth up the economic ladder—a point that’s difficult to disagree with. It goes like this: The wealthy deposit their excess funds into a financial […]
Thoughts after reading “Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country”
As I edited Lynn Kuehne’s book early last year, his numerous references to the book Secrets of the Temple, by William Greider, led me to read the book. I thought I’d offer up some observations after reading the 700-page monster. Overview The book chronicles the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the Federal Reserve pushed […]
A brief note about the weirdness of our near-future world; and, these tools aren’t AI
On Valentine’s Day my brother-in-law kindly wrote a poem to his wife, and then other poems to several others of us in a particular chat thread. At least one person was moved to tears by the tenderness of the poetry. Another, my other brother-in-law in the conversation, rolled his eyes and lauded his brother’s ability […]
First impressions of NCUA’s CECL Tool
First impressions of NCUA’s CECL tool The short version I know you’re busy. Here’s the short version of this blog: if your credit union will have less than $100 million in assets for the foreseeable future, wants an easy solution for CECL, and doesn’t mind letting NCUA manage that for you, using NCUA’s CECL Tool is a […]
What does NCUA going to CAMELS mean?
What does NCUA going to CAMELS mean? Effective in April of this year, NCUA will switch its exam framework from CAMEL to CAMELS. This means that interest rate risk sensitivity will be measured separately from liquidity. Sensitivity to interest rates is the new S. Until now, it has been examined as part of the L—liquidity. […]
Chip shortage could hit card issuers
Chip shortage could hit card issuers For months we’ve been hearing about chip shortages in relation to trucks and electronics. So far, the financial services industry has (mercifully) been relatively unaffected by the chip shortage. However, based on this article from FIS, the chip shortage could affect credit and debit cards that have, well, an EMV chip in them. […]