Credit Union Management

Members of the $104 million XCEL Federal Credit Union will now have access to investment and insurance services thanks to a partnership with United Nations Federal Credit Union.

To date, $1.2 billion has been collected for victims of the $50 billion Bernard Madoff investment scam, including a $235 million settlement from one of the firms that did business with him.

Brad Barnes, vice president of finance at Air Academy Federal Credit Union, said he expected the NCUA to "make their next big announcement" or face a firing squad of tough questions from CUNA CFO Council conference-goers.

Credit unions can now invest in two-year certificates of deposit in the National Credit Union Foundation's Community Investment Fund with all principal and quarterly fixed-rate dividend payments throughout the entire term guaranteed by the NCUA.

The economic downturn appears to have spurred the growth of shared branching this year, according to one major shared branching network.

CHICAGO -- An executive with the Consumer Federation of America told payment industry executives that consumers' best choice for a payment method today is cash.