Having just returned from NACUSO's 2011 Annual Conference in Las Vegas, I thought it would be appropriate to share some perspective on current issues and trends that will impact your credit union and its ability to survive and thrive.

Gigi Hyland, NCUA board member, spoke about the unprecedented challenge of addressing the worst economic recession since the Great Depression and how the NCUA has responded with a huge array of regulatory changes and proposals. She discussed the importance of the NCUA obtaining increased vendor and enforcement authority as well as the increasing regulation coming to CUSOs.

Both Hyland and George Hofheimer, chief research officer at the Filene Research Institute, spoke about credit unions needing to change their models to survive in light of diminishing interest, loan and fee income. Hofheimer went so far as to provide a visual curve that shows the credit union industry past the point of maturity and moving on the path of decline.