Commentary

We all know the impediments: fierce competition, industry consolidation, compressed margins and the challenge of creating a sustaining value proposition. And when competitors can't innovate fast enough, what do they do? They innovate the price! To achieve lasting success, one of the most important steps credit unions can take is...

Four Utah community banks, Bank of Utah ($600 million in assets), Bank of American Fork ($638 million), Far West Bank ($404 million) and the State Bank of Southern Utah ($505 million) are plaintiffs, along with the Utah Bankers Association (UBA) and the American Bankers Association, in the latest suit filed...

Two things struck me during my Senate confirmation process. First, many Senators reminded me that the agency has been criticized as a "cheerleader" for the credit union system. Second, they inquired, "How do you intend to remain independent and focused on safety and soundness?" I viewed these questions as windows...

Among the several essential reforms contained in The Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act, perhaps none is more essential than the provision to modernize credit union capital standards. You've probably heard a variety of reasons as to why it's so important. I'd like to distill those reasons down to three major...

Those of us in the field love the excitement, the thrill of a new idea, the rush that comes with starting a new campaign. It's like the fisherman flinging his net into the deep blue sea, never knowing how successful the day's catch will be. Yet the days of "let's...

Dr. Martin Seligman is someone I'd like to sit and have a beer with. He has fascinating ideas about humans and their levels of happiness.theories that, in my mind, should be very useful to credit union CEOs and HR professionals. Dr. Seligman is professor of Psychology at the University of...

Credit unions have never been in a stronger market position in auto lending, but they'll have to leverage new opportunities to maintain their strong position in 2006. Consider the following: * Third quarter results show that new auto loans outstanding rose 19.5% from September 2004, with a record $7.1 billion...

Working together, we in the credit union community accomplished a great deal in 2005. We successfully completed an eight-year effort to enact bankruptcy reform, made significant progress on the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act, secured House passage of the Net Worth Amendment for Federal Credit Unions, established the groundwork for...