NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — “Give a member a delivery channel and they will take it,” Tony Boutelle, CEO of CU Direct, said in his opening remarks at the group’s lending conference today.

Regulators are often the center of attention, but lately the NCUA has taken the spotlight. Unfortunately for the agency, its been low-hanging fruit.

I took last week off to work around the house, and one of the many things I did was wander the aisles of the local Home Depot. I ended up in the landscaping area with the colorful, eye-catching plants.

Spring fever is in the air. Or hay fever. Some kind of fever has policy makers in Washington not thinking very clearly.

The NCUA said Friday night that it had placed Texans Credit Union of Richardson into conservatorship.

The credit union industry faces an inherent dilemma: credit unions are drawn to work cooperatively yet they are responsible for their own shops.

As the financial services industry has become more competitive, credit unions have been caught up in it. At times the cooperative spirit seems to be dying on the vine. Then something comes along and sparks your internal feel-good receptors for the cooperative, not-for-profit credit union spirit.

The United States was founded on the principle that the people would control the government and the government would protect the people. There are three pillars of government: The legislative, executive and judicial branches. Each provides a check and balance to the other.