Latest News & VACUL Headlines
- House Passes NDAA with SAFE Banking, CLF Extension
July 15, 2022The House passed the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act with several CUNA-supported provisions. The bill includes the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, extends CARES Act Central Liquidity Facility flexibility, and includes provisions to support fair hiring in financial services. Also of note: the NDAA contains provisions that would grant NCUA third-party vendor examination authority, which your League vehemently opposes. We'll remain engaged on this issue and legislation as the Senate takes up this measure.
- CDFI Certification Turns Financial Inclusion Values into Action
July 14, 2022While the pandemic shined a bright light on a number of latent societal issues, financial inequity was one of the most pertinent for credit unions. Driving right at the heart of the credit union purpose, the unavoidable fact that financial access in the U.S. is far from equal reenergized financial inclusion efforts across the industry. Among the programs igniting this renewed spark is the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund, which has become the single largest source of grant funding available to credit unions serving low income and financially underserved communities.
- Four Winning Plays for Connecting with Members
July 14, 2022How can credit unions up their game and take an aggressive stance in the contest for trust and become their members’ most valued financial partner? In our work at CUNA Mutual Group, we see four distinct opportunities.
- Fed’s Top Banking Regulator Michael Barr Confirmed by Senate
July 14, 2022The Biden administration saw a key figure of its financial-regulatory team move into place as the Senate confirmed Michael Barr to become the government’s most influential banking regulator.
- Risk Alert: Corporate Check Fraud Reported
July 14, 2022Credit unions report their corporate check accounts are being fraudulently used.
- US Credit Unions' 2021 Mortgage Origination Growth Lags Other Lenders
July 14, 2022U.S. credit unions posted another year-over-year increase in mortgage originations in 2021 but lagged the growth posted by all lenders in the aggregate.
- CUNA Backs SAFE Banking Amendment to FY23 NDAA
July 14, 2022CUNA joined organizations in supporting the addition of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act to the House version of the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is scheduled for a House floor vote this week. The SAFE Banking Act is a CUNA-League supported bill offering safe harbor for financial institutions serving legal, cannabis-based businesses.
- CUNA Research: Inflation Sets Another Record
July 14, 2022Prices jumped to another record high in June, coming in at 9.1% year-over-year, which was higher than the consensus expectation. This is driven by a broad category of items, but energy prices have contributed half of the increase since May.
- FHA Implements Revised Appraisal Validity Period Guidance
July 14, 2022The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2022-11, Revised Appraisal Validity Periods. This Mortgagee Letter (ML) increases the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) initial appraisal validity period to 180 days from the effective date of the appraisal.
- NAFCU Compliance Blog: CFPB Issues Advisory Opinion on FCRA and Permissible Purpose
July 14, 2022The CFPB recently published an advisory opinion regarding “Fair Credit Reporting; Permissible Purposes for Furnishing, Using, and Obtaining Consumer Reports.” The CFPB also released this press release about the advisory opinion. While much of the focus of the advisory opinion is on credit reporting agencies (CRAs), the advisory opinion does discuss requirements for entities that obtain and use credit reports. The advisory opinion reminds users of reports that they must have a permissible purpose to obtain and use a consumer report.