ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Credit unions with loan portfolios that are heavily concentrated in fixed-rate mortgages should work to diversify, NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar warned in a recent Letter to Credit Unions (03-CU-15). Due to historically low interest rates earlier this year, credit unions' share growth boomed while demand for mortgage lending also...

WASHINGTON-CUNA sent a letter to the Federal Reserve last week urging the regulator to create a strong guidance regarding the `tying' of banking products and not to make it easier for banks. The Fed's proposed interpretation and guidance notes that consumers are not harmed by banks taking advantage of loopholes...

ARLINGTON, Va.-NAFCU hosted an audioconference last week on managing interest rate exposure for credit unions with high concentrations of fixed mortgage loans. The discussion focused on real estate loan exposure management, assignment, controls, and risk mitigation, according to NAFCU Economist Dr. Tun Wai. He added that NCUA has alerted a...

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA's final member business lending regulation, approved at its last board meeting, has drawn a wide range of reactions from around the financial services industry. "When we put a proposal out, it's what we believe at the time is the very best proposal," one of the regulation's sponsors, NCUA...

WASHINGTON-While CUNA had a representative testifying before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on Remittances: Reducing Costs, Increasing Competition, and Broadening Access to the Market, NAFCU also sent a letter in support of expanding low-cost wire transfer opportunities. Self-Help Credit Union Vice President John Herrera, also chairman of Latino Community...

WASHINGTON-Two-thirds of consumers believe consumer-governed organizations are more trustworthy than investor-owned corporations, a study by the National Cooperative Business Association and the Consumer Federation of America revealed last week. The survey of 2,031 adults nationwide found that consumers rate local cooperative, member-owned and governed businesses with democratically elected boards of...

WASHINGTON-Renewal of federal preemptions in the Fair Credit Reporting Act could hit another snag with the threat of an amendment to tighten the affiliate information sharing provision. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) have said they plan to offer an amendment to the National Consumer Credit System Improvement...

WASHINGTON-Fannie Mae CEO Frank Raines revealed the results of the government sponsored enterprise's partnership with NAFCU at the trade association's Congressional Caucus. "This has been an exciting year for Fannie Mae, for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions and its members, and for the American Dream," he said. "Since...