Commentary

It is an oft-heard, albeit whispered remark coming from certain corners of the credit union community that the time for CUSOs has come and gone and that we are at the dawn of a new age of expanded powers for credit unions, ushered in by the relatively recent advent of...

The lingering economic slowdown and the threat of hostilities at home and abroad has produced an endemic pessimism among many business leaders. Disturbed by international affairs, an increasing degree of discouragement has invaded the business world. That attitude is evident even among some credit union leaders. Caution becomes the watchword...

Ask any lender or homebuyer about the mortgage process and they probably agree that it's a long, paper-intensive process. From the loan application all the way to the closing table and selling the loan to the investor, the process involves reams of paper, phone calls, overnight delivery of packages and...

It's hard to believe that the credit union eStatement industry will be three years old in 2003. In its infancy, the "Push vs. Pull" and "HTML VS. PDF" debates drove the industry. Implementation decisions were based on the traditional cost/benefit equation of finding the lowest cost eStatement solution and comparing...

Twenty-five years ago the Gulfport VA Medical Center had over 2,000 employees, volunteers and family members. It was one of the leading employers in my hometown. By the time I was selected president of the Gulfport VA Federal Credit Union in 1991, the medical center had been downsized to around...

There's good news in early 2003 for consumers looking to buy automobiles. New-car inventories are very high, and dealers will continue using splashy promotions highlighting price cuts, coupled with low financing, to lure consumers onto their lots. There's never been a better time for credit unions to seize on the...

Recently the president of a national bank used the following words to express his displeasure with certain Utah credit unions: "opportunists," "culprit," "loophole," and "skirt the law." A few weeks later, "The Resolution Alliance for Strong Banks and Credit Unions" appeared on the Utah scene. Led by a former U.S....

How valuable is your credit card portfolio? If you issue credit cards to your members, you've probably been contacted by one of the big credit card companies wanting to buy it. At first it may seem like a good deal, especially if your portfolio is a small part of your...