BRUEN Credit Union Blog ....... (Please send comments to cabruen@gmail.com)

ALERT: Bird attack!!!

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:01:00 -0800

Which U.S. credit union has the worst new worth ratio?

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:01:00 -0800

I’m not making this up. I doubt that anyone will get close to this number. I’m just guessing that it is the lowest but it is a pretty fair bet.

How about negative -17.11%.

Certified Federal Credit Union (6140), Commerce, California ($41 million in assets).

Chuck Bruen

Mark Udall ... credit union hero

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:51:37 -0800

Senator Mark Udall (D-Colo) ... He urged his colleagues to “avoid the associational infighting that would have us believe that this is about banks or about credit unions–because this truly is about small businesses.”

Comparing the fight between credit unions and banks to the feud between two 19th Century families in West Virginia and Kentucky, Sen. Mark Udall today urged his colleagues to ignore the objections of the banking lobby and raise the cap on member business loans. “We all know the national associations for banks and credit unions regularly snipe at each other. It’s like the Hatfields and McCoys, but this is not a bank or credit union issue. This is a small business issue,” Udall (D-Colo.) said during a floor speech, in support of his amendment to raise the cap on MBLs from 12.35% of assets to as much as 27.5% of assets. [as reported in the Credit Union Times]

ANOTHER ALERT: Stay in the car!!!

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:01:00 -0800

Why does the NCUA need a Chief Economist?

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:18:25 -0800

Why would they even need this position? These costs come out of our pockets. This is not only one person but a department. You know he will hire a staff. Someone should investigate and ask questions here. Is the NCUA serious? After 18 years it now comes to light we need a Chief Economist. This will solve all our problems. The NCUA should have thought of this sooner.

Stuart Perlitsh

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA announced today it has reestablished an office of the chief economist for the first time in 18 years and hired John Worth, policy manager for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to head it.

NCUA has not had a chief economist since the 1992 death of Charles Bradford and agency officials have been discussing recreating the office ever since then. Because of that, NCUA has always had to rely on comprehensive economic forecasts and projections from CUNA, NAFCU and industry groups. [Read story at Credit Union Journal].

Excellent … way to go CUNA!!!

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:17:34 -0800

The situation is unbelievable. The ICBA has been aggressively opposing the Udall amendment to the Small Business Lending Fund bill. In a letter to Senator Harry Reid, the ICBA said they would oppose this legislation if it included the amendment to that would permit additional small lending by credit unions.

The ICBA wants the $30 billion son of tarp taxpayer handout while opposing a solution that would provide more lending by credit unions at no cost to taxpayers. You have to wonder how these people sleep at night.

I strongly commend CUNA for taking this position: If the amendment isn’t included Congress would leave “$10 billion in new small business lending on the table and 100,000 new jobs uncreated,” and CUNA “would be compelled to oppose the legislation.”

Charles Bruen

ALERT: Stay in the car!

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:01:00 -0800

The ugliest bank robber ever

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:17:57 -0800

Man dressed as a woman?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/man-dressed-as-woman-suspected-of-credit-union-robbery-in-el-cajon-.html

Overdraft fees vs. payday loan advances

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 06:57:13 -0800

Mike Moebs on overdraft and payroll advance pricing

As usual, Mike Moebs makes some brilliant comments about overdraft and payday loan pricing. His advice is very smart and just plain makes sense.

From a recent Credit Union Journal article, Mike Moebs is quoted as saying that consumers who are frequent users of overdraft fees could save money by bridging their cash gap with a 14-day payday advance loan rather than paying checking account overdraft fees. He goes on to demonstrate how the cost of the payday is on average considerably less than accumulated overdraft fees.

Moebs recommends that credit unions and banks lower their overdraft charges to $20 to make the fees more economical than a payday loan. Banks and credit unions can make up for any lost revenue by increasing the volume of their overdraft transactions.

Moebs says that there are 19 million consumers who use payday lenders, compared to 13 million consumers who frequently use overdraft. Of course, if the leftist Credit for Responsible Lending and other strident consumer activists had their way, neither payday advances nor overdrafts would be available to consumers. In Marvin Umholtz’s words, “These are the same sanctimonious activists that championed the overreaching Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that will soon take over all consumer-focused regulation-making from the NCUA.”

Chuck Bruen

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:01:00 -0800