SAN DIEGO-California Congressmen Ed Royce (R) and Brad Sherman (D) spoke to credit union officials recently during NAFCU's CEO Conference. Royce was "very, very clear, in expressing his commitment to the credit union provisions contained in H.R. 1375 as well as to the provisions that augment title III of 1375...

WASHINGTON-House leaders' strategy to pass H.R. 975, the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act of 2003, by attaching it to the noncontroversial S. 1920, a bill to extend Chapter 12 farm protection for six months, has worked so far. The House passed S. 1920, including the overall bankruptcy reform bill,...

WASHINGTON-Can credit unions really wed their philosophies with the plusses and minuses of alternative capital? Many in the credit union community are looking for the perfect answer. The problem is among the various forms that alternative capital can take, there may not be one that fits credit unions' unique structure...

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Federal credit unions added over 25 million new potential members through underserved areas last year, setting another record. In 2003, according to NCUA data, 170 federal credit unions adopted 269 underserved areas for a total population of 25.1 million. Over the last three years, 558 federal credit unions have...

WASHINGTON-How do credit unions fit in with the recently announced mergers of some very large banks? Very neatly, according to CUNA Chief Economist Bill Hampel. "The impact on credit unions for the most part is good," he said. J.P.Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank One Corporation recently announced plans to...

WASHINGTON-The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Board approved an interagency notice of proposed rulemaking last week increasing the maximum size institution eligible for streamlined Community Reinvestment Act examination. The NPR proposes to change the definition of "small bank" from those with assets under $250 million or an...

SALT LAKE CITY-Judge Dale Kimball plans to schedule a hearing regarding NCUA and the intervenors' objections to the magistrate judge's decision to allow for discovery in the American Bankers Association's lawsuit against the credit union regulator. The defendants-NCUA, CUNA, NAFCU, NASCUS, the Utah League of Credit Unions, and Tooele, America...

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-In a brief meeting last Thursday, NCUA issued a proposed rule to allow federal credit unions to invest in exchangeable collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs). If the rule becomes final as proposed, it will permit all federal credit unions and corporate credit unions to invest in exchangeable CMOs that represent...