CYBERSPACE–Twenty-five thousand stories! And a pretty good-sized dose of “what goes around, comes around,” too. This week CUToday.info’s Fresh Today daily news section—the leading provider of news to credit unions--will hit a milestone: more than 25,000 stories published since this publication debuted Sept. 30, 2014.
A review of the headlines finds signs of the times from seven years ago, but also issues that have either never left or that have returned to the credit union community, including policy debates over capital, threats, and even pandemics (it was Ebola then, it’s COVID now)—along with one big example of “if I only knew then what I know now!”)
As CUToday.info celebrates the accomplishment and its position as the number-one producer of news and resources to credit unions. The 25,000 stories doesn’t even count our other news sections, which since CUToday.info launched includes:
- The Feature: 1,701 in-depth stories on a wide range of issues
- The Boost: 642 items highlighting how CUs are growing their businesses
- The Corner: 361 items offering management insights and more
- The Neighborhood: 8,245 updates on what CUs are doing in their communities
- The Market: 3,342 items on the latest product offerings in the market
- The ’Tude: 1,038 opinions and viewpoints
- The Globe: 1,166 updates on CU-related news from around the world
- The Vids: 783 videos, commercials and more created by credit unions
In all, that's 42,279 pieces of content, or 112.4 items per week since CUToday.info launched! Who says there's nothing going on in credit unions?
And all of that always-fresh news reporting, provocative opinion, entertaining videos, and global updates absolutely free to readers! (As always, if you’re dissatisfied with CUToday.info’s reporting, we offer a full refund of your subscription price.)
Below is an intriguing look back at the top news stories during the week this publication took its bow.
What’s Old is New Again
The lead Fresh Today Story as September was coming to a close seven years ago? Risk-based capital. Yes, the same issue that would go on to dominate debate and disagreement over the years to follow.
How strong is the echo? The lead to that 2014 story offered this: “BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Nothing has generated more discussion and debate among credit unions this year than NCUA’s risk-based capital proposal.”
The story featured three predictions from former NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar on what the risk-based capital proposal would mean to credit unions. Among Dollar’s most prescient observations was this sentence in that story: “However, Dollar says the second proposed rule still won’t be universally praised.”
Indeed, it would not be.
Search “risk-based capital” on CUToday.info today and you’ll find 3,536 matches. There is reporting on revised proposals, congressional bills that would override some of NCUA’s authority and delay implementation, actual votes to delay compliance, and more.
In fact, less than a week later, CUToday.info published a headline and lead to a story that read: "NAFCU Lobbies Congress On RBC To Keep Pressure On NCUA. ARLINGTON, Va.—Just days after NCUA announced a second risk-based capital proposal is coming along with a new comment period, NAFCU is lobbying Congress to make sure it keeps the pressure on the agency."
In 2014 when CUToday.info was providing its initial coverage, Todd Harper, who is now NCUA chairman, was serving as director of Public and Congressional Affairs and as chief policy advisor to the chairman of the agency.
Other Headlines
But risk-based capital wasn’t the only story published in Fresh Today when CUToday.info was introducing itself to credit unions. Other stories included:
- CUNA Mutual Sells Ag Unit. MADISON, Wis.—CUNA Mutual Group said it has reached an agreement to sell Producer’s Ag Insurance Group (ProAg), its crop insurance business, to HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. for $110-million in cash. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.
- Prohibition Order in Biggest-Ever Failure. ALEXANDRIA, Va.—It may be simply a formality, but NCUA has finally issued a prohibition order against Anthony Raguz, the former CEO of St. Paul Croatian FCU who was a primary player in what became the most-expensive failure ever of a natural-person credit union. Raguz, who is already serving a 14-year sentence after pleading guilty to charges of bank fraud, money laundering and receipt of commissions or gifts for procuring loans, was ordered by NCUA to pay more than $71.5 million in restitution.
- Police Investigate How Member’s Card Was Cloned.BUFFALO, N.Y.—Police believe information obtained in one of the national retail store data breaches was used by two men here to obtain cash from a local store using a “cloned” ESL FCU debit card.
- Bank Agrees to Fines, Restitution Over Mortgages. TROY, Mich.—Flagstar Bank here has agreed to pay $27.5 million to victims and a $10-million fine for violating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new mortgage servicing rules.
What Goes Around…
Interestingly, it isn’t just the risk-based capital story that is an example of the old observation about “the more things change…” In addition to the prohibition orders related to an embezzlement and data breaches, CUToday.info included a story that could easily be plugged into a Fresh Today report this week. That story read:
“DALLAS—A new report on second quarter economic data suggests that although the forecasts for economic growth and unemployment have improved, questions regarding to what extent consumer spending will contribute to GDP growth remain.”
And that reporting is hardly alone in the What Goes Around Comes Around Department in the credit union community, as some of the other headlines and stories listed below from the first week of CUToday.info’s reporting make clear. Those headlines and stories include:
- SECU Expands Preapprovals To Used Cars. RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees’ Credit Union is reporting that more than 600 members have taken advantage of an expanded auto loan program that now includes used vehicles in the two months it has been available.
- CO-OP Plans To Intro CardNav Tool. RANCHO-CUCAMONGA, Calif.—Later this month CO-OP Financial Services plans to launch CardNav, a new mobile card controls and alerts application for credit unions. The app allows members, via their smartphone, to set card controls based on their preferences, such as transaction type, merchant, location and payment thresholds. And while the app is expected to engage members more closely with the CU’s card, CO-OP also sees the app as bringing members into the fraud fight.
- For A Change, Smaller CUs Lead In One Area. ARLINGTON, Va.—Despite economies of scale that come with size, it is federally insured CUs under $1 billion in assets that have shown the greatest improvement in operating expense efficiency since the recession. That is one finding from NAFCU’s new quarterly CU Operating Expense Report, recently introduced by the trade association.
- Survey Shows Preferences In Financial Apps. AUSTIN, Texas—How are people using all those apps financial institutions have rolled out for mobile devices? According to the latest Monkey Insights survey from Malauzai Software, which it bills as the “little-data" report and which was conducted during August data with 200+ banks and credit unions, the top five features used in mobile banking are transaction history, internal account transfer history, internal account transfers, check and deposit images, and remote check deposit.
- Plans Being Made For International CU Week. DULUTH, Ga.—Credit unions in this state are celebrating International Credit Union Week throughout the month of October by participating in a “Switch to Save” campaign that urges Georgia residents to stop by a credit union and see how it can save them money.
- 14-Year-Old Accused Of CU Robbery. AMHERST, N.Y.—A 14-year-old Buffalo boy is one of two people who has been accused of an attempted robbery at Sweet Home Federal Credit Union.
- ATM Thieves Arrested. ODESSA, Texas—Three men have been arrested for a March 2014 ATM heist. The crooks allegedly used heavy machinery to rip an ATM out of the ground at a Complex Community FCU location. The men eventually abandoned their effort to get money out of the cash machine.
- Some New Mexico CUs Say No To Pot Producers. SANTA FE, N.M.—Some credit unions in this state have sent letters to licensed medical marijuana producers in New Mexico saying they will no longer do business with them and will be closing their accounts.
- More Data Breaches Reported. EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.—Two more companies are reporting data breaches—and for one of them it’s the second such occurrence.
- NCUA Liquidates Republic Hose EFCU. ALEXANDRIA, Va.–NCUA yesterday shuttered Republic Hose Employees Federal Credit Union of Youngstown, Ohio, the eighth federally insured credit union the agency has liquidated in 2014.
- Number of Foreclosures Continues Its Decline. IRVINE, Calif.—The number of foreclosures continues to decline. Data released by CoreLogic as part of its National Foreclosure Report shows that during August there were 45,000 completed foreclosures nationally, down from 58,000 in August 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 22.2%.
- Former Teller: ‘I Owe You Guys A Lot of Money.’ BAY CITY, Mich.—Alysia M. Wright, a former head teller with Copoco Community CU here, has appeared in Bay County District Court here for her arraignment on one count of embezzlement of more than $50,000 but less than $100,000, a 15-year felony in Michigan.
- Another CU May File Suit Over Breach… BUFFALO, N.Y.—Another credit union is considering filing a lawsuit against Home Depot related to the data breach at the giant home supply chain.
- RBFCU Doubles Rewards On Debit. SAN ANTONIO—Randolph Brooks FCU has made the rewards available on its debit card even more attractive.
- Will Consumers Continue To Open Wallets And Drive GDP? DALLAS—A new report on second quarter economic data suggests that although the forecasts for economic growth and unemployment have improved, questions regarding to what extent consumer spending will contribute to GDP growth remain.
- TMG: Time To Enroll BINs In Apple Pay. DES MOINES, Iowa—With Apple Pay potentially marking a new era in mobile payments, it’s time credit unions begin enrolling their BINs with the payment alternative.
- CU Receives $1,000—And Riddle—In Mail. FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.—Community Choice Credit Union here is attempting to solve a mystery.
- Large Banks’ Balance Sheets Now Stronger.WASHINGTON—Large banks now have stronger balance sheets as they emerge from the financial crisis, but work remains to be done in adjusting business models to reflect new economic realities of lower profitability and greater regulatory requirements, according to a new report from the International Monetary Fund.
- Javelin Reports Non-Card Fraud Tripled. SAN FRANCISCO—Non-card fraud has nearly tripled from 2012 to 2013 and resulted in total loss of $5 billion, according to Javelin Strategy and Research.
- Consumers, Young & Old, Changing Borrowing Habits. CHICAGO—The nation’s youngest and oldest consumers are changing how they borrow, according to a new study from TransUnion.
- CUs Monitoring Spread Of Ebola. DALLAS—Credit unions are monitoring the potential spread of Ebola in the U.S., but apparently most are not yet taking action—not even the CU that serves the hospital where Thomas Eric Duncan died of the virus earlier this month.
Still Going Around…
It isn’t just the headlines and stories in CUToday.info’s Fresh Today section where the reporting has hints of déjà vu.
In our The Feature section, where CUToday.info has now published nearly 1,700 separate longer reports focused on a wide variety of issues, the following stories appeared in the first week:
· The Irony Of Walmart, CUs, And Checking Accounts LAKE FOREST, Ill.—Walmart’s entry into checking signals a new competitive period for the service, but credit union have some competitive advantages over the retailing giant, according to one analyst.
· Can EMV Also Be Hacked? MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Researchers at MWR Labs recently demonstrated that EMV POS terminals can be compromised, claiming a chink in chip card armor.
If We Only Knew
Finally, reviewing old news stories always brings with it a sense of “If I only knew then what I know now…” and perhaps no story in CUToday.info better illustrates that than a story headlined, “Venture Capitalists Bet on Bitcoin.”
That report included this update, “The price of one Bitcoin, which hit a high of $1,150 in 2013, has declined in recent weeks to less than $330.”
A Thank You
CUToday.info sincerely appreciates you, our readers, for making this publication the number-one provider of news reporting to the international credit union community. As always, we welcome your input as we seek to report our next 25,000 stories.