Commentary

From time to time we hear, "How many corporate credit unions should there be?" In the 20-plus years that I have been involved with the credit union movement, we have seen more and more talk of consolidation within the corporate credit union network. Why is this? I would submit that...

Achieving an award-winning investment services status takes a commitment to financial education, consistent and clear communications, and the ability to develop trusted relationships with customers. As a registered representative of TopLine Investment Services and with over 15 years in the business, I have found that clients are most satisfied when...

Using my credit union's home banking service recently, I transferred money from checking to pay a credit union car loan. The system immediately reflected my checking withdrawal, loan payment, and new checking and loan balances. Two days later I paid my mortgage the same way. Problem is, the mortgage payment...

Who wants it? No one. Who needs it? Every credit union. Collateral protection is an insurance product that protects lenders and sometimes borrowers from loss in the event of damage to collateral. A well-run collateral protection program ensures good relationships with members and minimizes the risk of lawsuits alleging false...

Right now, your credit union is probably scrambling to enact policies and procedures to comply with the new Customer Identification Procedures (CIP). In addition, you are beginning to change your data collection processes to comply with the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) amendments effective January 1, 2004. The last thing...

Technology has revolutionized worldwide communications and the manner and speed in which we transact business in our professional and personal lives. It has also provided new and fertile opportunities for criminals to commit acts of thievery on unsuspecting individuals and businesses. Until a couple of years ago, technology breaches at...

The unfortunate fact about those nice homes your members live in is they most likely got their mortgage money from somebody other than you. It's time to change that. Last year, credit unions originated a meager 2.5% of all first mortgage. Also consider that 48% of member households have a...

While credit unions have created ancillary organizations to both unite and promote the system throughout their almost 100 year history, over the past 10 years a new segment of organizations has emerged to serve credit unions. These are CUSO's, owned by multiple credit unions, serving local, regional and sometimes national...