In addition to the membership gains they made related to Bank Transfer Day, credit unions also continued to make strides in small-business lending marketplace during November. More

The media continued serving up credit unions in a smorgasbord of positive stories on three fronts: credit unions' record growth related to Bank Transfer Day; credit unions' record-breaking high scores on a new customer satisfaction survey; and advice/comparisons of credit unions' services vs. those of banks.  More

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') has published the names of two entities that have been identified as entities in which the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked, owns, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest. Therefore, all property and interests in property of such entities are blocked.  Read More.

FinCEN today issued a $25,000 Civil Money Penalty against a bank employee who unlawfully revealed the existence of a Suspicious Activity Report to the subject of the SAR.  More

CUNA has continued to aggressively advocate for increased credit union member business lending authority as 2011 nears its end, with CUNA President/CEO Bill Cheney saying Congress should consider using all "available and sensible remedies," including an MBL cap increase, to increase accessibility of funding to small businesses.  More

A federal credit union may invest in a credit union service organization (CUSO) established solely to act as a corporate trustee on deeds of trust for real estate loans made by another CUSO of the credit union. It also is permissible for a CUSO to form a subsidiary to function as the corporate trustee for its own real estate loans, said a National Credit Union Administration legal opinion letter.  More

The Consumer Federation of America last week hailed credit unions for their "critical and irreplaceable" role in ensuring consumers have access to high quality and low-cost financial services. It also expressed support for maintaining credit unions' not-for-profit cooperative structure and preserving credit unions' tax-exempt status. More

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched a new Know Before You Owe project aimed at simplifying credit card agreements so that the prices, risks, and terms are easier for consumers to understand.  The simplified credit card agreement is the third project in CFPB’s Know Before You Owe campaign, which includes efforts to improve the transparency of information about mortgages and student loans.  Read More

"Leaders for Life"   

CU Leadership Institute is an exceptional series of in-depth workshops designed to develop your next generation of leaders.  This is not your ordinary school or class. 

It  is performance based instruction which teaches the art of leadership with well-focused guided practices that encourages interactive participation and discussions.  It is the direct application of concepts shaped specifically for credit unions that makes the CU Leadership Institute unique.

Now accepting nominations.  The Wyoming Series will commence March 6-7, 2012 and the Arizona Series will begin March 13-14, 2012.  Click on the Education tab and then scroll down to Leadership Institutue for all the details. 

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (the CFPB) is requesting specific suggestions from the public for streamlining regulations it recently inherited from other Federal agencies. This document asks the public  to identify provisions of the inherited regulations that the Bureau should make the highest priority for updating, modifying, or eliminating because they are outdated, unduly burdensome, or unnecessary.  Read More