Links in “Credit Unions”

The NCUA has issued prohibition orders against three former credit union employees for theft and embezzlement. All will be serving prison terms and have been ordered to pay restitution. [6/1/15]

Currently, most ACH transactions are settled the next business day. Under a new rule just adopted by NACHA, same-day processing for certain types of transactions will be phased in for all RDFIs. Same-day processing will remain optional for ODFIs. [6/1/15]

Approximately $265 billion in home equity lines of credit opened between 2005 and 2008 will begin entering their draw down or repayment stage in the near future.  According to Experian this could pose a high degree of risk to credit unions and other financial institutions as data shows that HELOCs in the repayment stage are much more likely to become delinquent than those that in the draw stage. [6/1/15]

The CFPB and the State of Florida have obtained a sizable judgment against the Hoffman Law Group, affiliated companies, and individuals for a scam that tricked consumers into paying illegal advance fees and joining frivolous lawsuits in order to gain relief from foreclosures. The companies used false advertising and even duped consumers into thinking the law firm was providing legal representation. [6/1/15]

A consolidated class action suit involving 37 credit unions, 16 state leagues, CUNA and 11 banks has been filed in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia against Home Depot for its massive data breach that affected 56 million consumers, cost billions in fraud losses and more than $150 million is card reissue expenses. The lawsuit also alleges that Home Depot’s data security measures are still inadequate, a claim that Home Depot adamantly denies. [5/29/15]

Although federally insured credit unions located in the areas of Texas and Oklahoma that have been impacted by recent flooding are operating normally, NCUA is reaching out to them through its examiners and through the state leagues and state regulators to provide information about the agency’s disaster relief program that can provide assistance from rescheduling examinations to guaranteeing lines of credit through the Share Insurance Fund. [5/29/15]

Maryland and Texas are the latest two states that are enacting laws to permit state credit unions and other financial institutions to offer prize-linked savings accounts (PLS accounts) to their residents. PLS accounts offer raffle-style programs that incentivize members to save and have proved to be very successful in the thirteen states that have adopted similar programs. [5/29/15]

MasterCard has announced a new product, "MasterCard Send," which allows cardholders to make real-time disbursements and person-to-person payments to and from virtually any U.S. debit card account. [5/22/15]

A Michigan credit union is spearheading a campaign to raise awareness of the latest scam sweeping the nation. Con artists are reaching out to individuals online promising "easy money" but end up stealing victims' ATM card numbers and PINs. The scam, called "card cracking," is primarily targeted at young people. [5/22/15]

The regulatory relief bill titled the "Financial Regulatory Improvement Act" was approved by the committee in a party-line vote of 12-10 after mark up this week. The bill was released just last week and holds several provisions including greater transparency from the NCUA. [5/22/15]