Recent issues, including terrorist threats and identity theft, have resulted in a flurry of additional information-security regulations over the last decade. As credit unions walk a fine line between protecting their members' data and ensuring they have the necessary resources to comply with regulations, the high cost of compliance continues to climb year after year. With the NCUA and state regulators' shift toward a risk-focused examination program, the Bank Security Act and IT security compliance are two areas in which IT service providers receive a high volume of questions and provide a great deal of assistance.

Because most CUs do not have a full-time compliance officer on staff, they leverage their local league's resources for guidance and assistance on regulatory requirements. However, CUs often reach out to IT service providers for assistance during the implementation phase of critical IT initiatives.

Credit Union On-Line is subject to some of the same regular examinations and audits that CUs go through, so we are well-versed in CU regulatory requirements, a unique point of view on the key tools and best practices that enable organizations to successfully mitigate risk. CUs need BSA and general information security compliance programs that effectively monitor daily operations to assure compliance with rules and regulations. In our experience, it's relatively easy for single common bond sponsor CUs to work with their memberships more intimately in order to develop a better understanding of their business transactions. This type of personal relationship with their memberships helps make BSA compliance a bit easier.