| May 15, 2013
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Five Fraud-Fighting Tips for Credit Unions

Originally posted on CUInsight.com.

Guest post written by Jay Slagel, President and CEO, Allied Solutions.

Allied Solutions is the NAFCU Services Preferred Partner for Insurance—Bond, Creditor Placed (CPI), Guaranteed Auto Protection (GAP), and Mechanical Breakdown (MBP); iSolutions; rateGenius.

It is not surprising that fraud in the workplace increases during an economic crisis or recession and small businesses (including large and small credit unions) may be vulnerable. Internal fraud typically occurs when someone has an incentive, such as a financial or economic hardship, plus the opportunity. National statistics show that it typically takes two years from the time fraud begins to the time of discovery. As a result, while some entities have already discovered fraud born of the recession, many more are likely to uncover problems in the coming years.

Management staff may be wearing multiple hats to keep up with more work, giving them less time to monitor employees, keep an eye on expenses and oversee their internal operation. During these periods, there might be the potential for a credit union to drop the ball in areas of oversight. Below are several ways to help fight fraud:

Establish fraud controls. Conduct a quick assessment of your fraud controls and determine who is responsible for fraud detection and reported misconduct. Credit unions should clearly establish this oversight which could be assigned to a senior manager, an internal auditor or the supervisory committee. Basically, this individual or group would perform periodic reviews of employee accounts and other areas where fraud might occur so as to detect and act early if a problem surfaces.

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Category: Security | Tags: ,
| May 13, 2013
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Five Ways to Make a Credit Score Model Work for You

five-ways-to-make-a-credit-score-model-work-for-you

Guest post written by Barrett Burns, President and CEO, VantageScore Solutions, LLC.

VantageScore Solutions, LLC is the NAFCU Services Preferred Partner for Credit Scoring.

Times have changed since a promise and handshake were all you needed to get a loan. Now credit scores speak to your character. Most credit unions primarily rely on credit scores to help make consumer lending decisions. Credit scoring models incorporate credit scores with other characteristics related to creditworthiness. In today’s market, there are dozens of different credit scoring models available, from generic models such as the VantageScore 3.0 model, to customized models that are generally expensive to build and maintain.

Even so, it’s a common misconception to think of credit scores as a commodity, or a “one-size-fits-all” risk management tool.  A credit score is the numerical representation of the likelihood that a consumer within a specific population will become 90 days or more past due on a debt obligation in a two-year timeframe. It’s important to remember that this propensity to default is assessed within the context of the population being scored. The most effective credit scoring models incorporate other relevant information, such as current economic factors, over a greater population. Choosing the right model for your credit union can help you in ways you might not expect, from saving time and expense to improving accuracy and applicant pools.

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Category: Growth & Retention, Management & Operations | Tags: , , ,
| May 9, 2013
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The 100-Years Refinance (exaggeration intended)

the-100-years-refinance-exaggeration-intended

Originally posted on CUInsight.com.

Guest post written by Nizar Hashlamon, EVP, Client Relations, Mortgage Cadence.

Mortgage Cadence, formerly Prime Alliance, is the NAFCU Services Preferred Partner for Credit Union Mortgage Solutions.

My colleagues and I talk frequently about the coming changes in mortgage lending. The 100-years refinance (exaggeration intended) cycle will end this year or next. In its place is likely to be the most sustained purchase-money market since the 1950s through the 1960s. There are signs of this already. One headline last week in Housingwire read ’75% of Americans would rather buy now than later’. No doubt they want to take full advantage of the lowest rates in history before home prices rise too much further.

You know this. Everyone knows this. Helping people finance home purchases for the next decade or so is some of the most rewarding work mortgage lenders will undertake during their careers. Many first-time homebuyers will get their homeownership start in the next few years. Our chances to work with them for a lifetime begin now.

There’s a potentially dark side to the coming market changes. Rates will rise. You know this, too. What you might not have thought much about, however, is how much they will rise or for how long, and more importantly, what will the impact be on your secondary marketing pipeline. Start with this fact: rates today are at their lowest point since 1941. Since 1941 rates trended upward until 1985 when the 10-year Treasury rate peaked above 14%. From that point rates began their downward trend, bringing us to where we are today, back to where we were 70 years ago. Read more

Category: Growth & Retention, Management & Operations | Tags: , ,
| May 6, 2013
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Why Aerating Wine Is Like Implementing Predictive Analytics

Guest post written by Kristin Locklear, wine enthusiast, avid fan of Sonoma, new believer in aerating, and Account Executive for Credit Unions at SAS, the world leader in predictive analytics. 

SAS is the NAFCU Services Preferred Partner for Business Intelligence, Predictive Analytics Software & Risk Assessment.

Sonoma. The backdrop for some of the nation’s most beautiful scenery and wine was also the backdrop for this year’s NAFCU CEOs and Senior Executives Conference.  And what a backdrop it was! With pristine rolling hills, deep green valleys, and row after row of immaculate vineyards, it was hard to not feel as if you had just stumbled upon pure heaven on earth.

As more than 120 of us gathered to discuss such topics as regulation and leadership, it was hard to suppress my excitement for the scheduled group activities at hand. On Day 2, several buses departed for the ever-so-popular wine tour. What was expected to be just a day sipping fine wines, turned into a day of unexpected education (coupled with a little wine-sipping of course).

One of the ideas my tour group seemed to get hung up on was aerating (or letting the wine “breath” to enhance flavors), and for my sake, I’m glad they did. As it turns out, many of us had been doing it all wrong! Our tour guide, Heather, was a wealth of knowledge on this subject matter. She enthusiastically walked us through our lesson on what makes for good aeration and why it is often a necessary step to enhance red wine. Read more

Category: Growth & Retention, Other Fun Stuff | Tags: , , ,
| May 1, 2013
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US Economy – Moving Toward Solid Growth

us-economy-moving-toward-solid-growth

Guest post written by Hillary Elder, Director, Money Market Strategies for HighMark Capital Management.

HighMark Capital Management is the fund manager for National Investment Fund for Credit Unions (NIFCU$), the NAFCU Services Preferred Partner for Credit Union Investments.

After just avoiding the “fiscal cliff” as we entered 2013, the U.S. economy has so far defied the odds to grow at a faster pace than first projected. Employment now appears to be increasing steadily, housing is picking up sharply, and the broader stock market has rallied strongly since January. Even the implementation of the dreaded budget “sequestration” on March 1st has not derailed the recovery. Dire warnings of cuts to government programs proved hyperbole as, in reality, sequestration amounts to reductions in the growth rate of spending from the current base. Sensing the public’s exasperation, lawmakers quietly agreed on a spending resolution to continue funding the U.S. Government past March 27th for the six months remaining through the end of the fiscal year.

While long term budget negotiations continue, and there remains the need to increase the U.S. debt ceiling sometime over the summer, other issues such as immigration reform are now being debated.

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Category: Management & Operations | Tags: , ,
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