Commentary

Stand around the water cooler long enough at any credit union in Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin or Ohio, and I'll bet you hear at least one person talk about "Survivor." No, not Survivor the TV show, but the survivor left standing in the "competition of the corporate credit unions." But...

All indications are that the NCUA Board will take up a final rule this week amending the agency's chartering and field of membership manual. At NAFCU's Annual Conference in Seattle this past summer, NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar laid out a timetable for adopting a final rule that he and the...

I have been reading with interest (and some discomfort) the recent news reports bashing the overdraft services that some banks have in place. As an economist for banks and credit unions who also provides overdraft services, I am obviously concerned, but not for the reasons you may assume. I, in...

Are credit unions lending to their "best" members only? The industry's low charge-off rate and delinquency rate (.49% and .72% respectively, according to mid-year NCUA data) suggest that may be the case. While these figures appear positive at first glance, they raise the question of whether less-than-ideal borrowers are inadvertently...

We all like to think that member pore over their monthly or quarterly newsletters, reading every word and considering how they can use all the wonderful services the credit union offers, participate in credit union events, and convince their families and co-workers to join the credit union. Reality check: Is...

I was sitting in the Utah State Capitol building late Thursday morning February 13 waiting for some action on House Bill 162 when the lights started flickering. It turns out the power outage was quite widespread, impacting a large portion of the Salt Lake valley. So the lawmakers were left...

As a banker for more than 30 years, I was one of the `sheep', saying what all other bankers said, i.e., "credit unions were not on the same playing field with banks and that credit unions should be taxed in order to level that field". I think it is time...

For some investors, short-term and long-term savings goals not only require discipline but an encouraging incentive. Enter the individual development account (IDA) program. Around since the early 1990s, IDA programs are basically all structured the same way - qualified low income individuals save for a minimum of six months, receive...