Links in “Credit Unions”

A wave of cyber extortion appears to be heading our way. The question is no longer if it might hit, but when. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council released a statement warning financial institutions about the increasing frequency and severity of cyber attacks involving extortion. What do these attacks look like and what should you be doing about them now? [1/26/16]

Despite the recent blizzard, the Federal Reserve Board’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet this week to discuss the current economic outlook and whether another rate hike may be warranted in the coming months. Experts believe that the recent upheaval in the stock market will not detract from the committee members’ belief in the underlying strength of the American economy. [1/26/16]

NCUA has issued Letter to Credit Unions 16-CU-03, which confirms that federally-insured credit unions no longer need to send an annual privacy notice to their members if they qualify for the newly-enacted statutory exemption. The exemption applies to credit unions that have not changed their privacy policies or practices since the member was last provided with a privacy notice and that do not share nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated third parties. [1/26/16]

The NCUA is encouraging credit unions to direct their members to its MyCreditUnion.gov website for more information about how to fight identity theft. In particular, there is updated information about preventing tax identity theft that warns consumers that the IRS will never initiate direct contact with them by email, text messages, or social media channels and request personal to financial information. [1/26/16]

CUSOs have 60 days beginning on February 1^st to register with NCUA’s new online CUSO Registry. There is no fee for the registration process, which will require CUSOs to report operational and financial information. NCUA has announced that it will host a webinar on Feb. 11^th at 2:30 pm on how to use the online registration system. [1/26/16]

A recent study shows that mobile banking users bring in 36% more revenue than branch-only users and are almost 50% less likely to change financial institutions. Also, mobile bankers purchase more products and services from their financial institutions than branch-only users. [1/25/16]

CUNA writes in its comment letter to FinCEN that the agency has employed a flawed approach when it determined that the regulatory costs for complying with a proposed rule that would require financial institutions to identify and perform enhanced due diligence on “beneficial owners” is outweighed by the benefits to society. CUNA also takes issue with other aspects of the proposed rule. [1/25/16]

FinCEN has identified Income tax refund fraud as its number one scam and says that credit unions and other financial institutions are key to identifying and stopping this kind of fraud. This article identifies the red flags to watch for and FinCEN recommends if tax refund fraud is suspected that the credit union should not only file a SAR, when applicable, but also alert its local IRS Criminal Investigation Field Office. [1/25/16]

A recent study shows that mobile banking users bring in 36% more revenue than branch-only users and are almost 50% less likely to change financial institutions. Also, mobile bankers purchase more products and services from their financial institutions than branch-only users. [1/25/16]

The NCUA and other federal government offices have announced they will be closed today. No word yet on whether they will be open tomorrow after winter storm Jonas left the area paralyzed with over two feet of snow. In addition, most credit unions in Maryland, northern Virginia and Washington, DC are also closed today. [1/25/16]