With their new majority in the House, Republicans are vowing to keep a close eye on regulators, and the Federal Reserve's regulation of interchange could well be one of the lawmakers' top priorities.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- While the NCUA's budget increase is unpopular and will be an added expense for credit unions, it's necessary to make up for the agency's past shortcomings in examinations, NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland said last night.

President Obama will focus on the economic recovery and a range of other domestic and foreign policy subjects in his Jan. 25 State of the Union speech to Congress.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who remains in critical condition after an assassination attempt on Saturday, has been helped by credit union political action committees in all three of her difficult campaigns.

The requirement in the Fed's proposed interchange rule to mandate as many as four PIN and signature networks would be "particularly problematic" for smaller issuers, NAFCU President/CEO Fred Becker wrote in a letter to the Fed.

The Arizona Credit Union League said Saturday's rampage left everyone there with "heavy hearts," but praised those in Tucson for being a "shining light" because of the city's handling of the aftermath.

The economy will grow by 3% this year and savings balance growth at credit unions will remain at 5%, according to an economic forecast released today by CUNA.

Mortgage fraud reports increased by 2% during the third quarter of 2010 but were down by 40% at credit unions, according to data released by the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.