Must Reads

MOBILE BANKING

MACU Leverages Biometrics The $4.5 billion, West Jordan, Utah-based Mountain America Credit Union has a reputation for driving innovation. And that reputation is well-deserved – the credit union’s latest mobile product launches allow members to login using biometrics, and apply for and receive funding on a number of loans.

For the biometrics login feature, members can choose to use eye print authentication, fingerprint authentication, or both. Or, they can opt out entirely.

“We do not require our mem-
bers to use one or the other or
both,” Shelby Peterson, manager
of product strategy for Moun-
tain America, said. “We under-
stand that our members might
be weary of one technology over
the other, so we really believe that
we should give them the ability to
choose.”
The credit union developed
the technology with the Berke-
ley, Calif.-based Access Softek
for the fingerprint login portion
and the Kansas City, Mo.-based
EyeVerify for the EyePrint ID
technology element. The new
authentication options are a re-
sponse to growing data breach
and identity theft threats, Peter-
son said.

“Security was a huge showstopper for growth,” Peterson recalled. “MACU heard its members and their concern for security, which is why we introduced biometrics and made it available for however they want to use it.” Y15

Strategic
Communication
Don’t underesti-
mate the power of
teamwork. Y12
Gay Marriage
and CUs
The SCOTUS
ruling could help
retain talent. Y6
FOCUSREPORT:
GEN X AND GEN Y

Gen X members are next in line for the C-suite at credit unions – and they’re gaining a reputation as forces to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, cooperatives seek new ways to capture and retain Gen Y, both at the member and employee level. Learn more in this Focus Report. Y8

FRAUD

Experts Share Bond Coverage Tips

TINA OREM tinaorem@gmail.com

he plethora of recent headlines about em-ployee-related fraud and embezzlement at credit unions is highlighting the importance of bonding, and experts in the field have a few pieces of advice for making sure there are no surprises if it becomes necessary to file a claim.

According to data from the Fi-
nancial Crimes Enforcement
Network, the number of reported
suspicious incidents involving
employees at NCUA-regulated
credit unions rose by more than
10%, from 1,577 in 2013 to 1,742
in 2014. From January to May of

2015, 834 suspicious incidents
were reported, putting those in-
stitutions on pace to hit 2,000 by
year end — a 15% increase from
last year.

Bonding, which the NCUA requires of both federal and state-chartered credit unions, typically addresses fraud and dishonesty by employees, officers, committee members and other trusted insiders.

Understanding how that coverage works can be tricky.

Here are a few things experts say credit unions should

The Rundown

Y FCUs are on pace to file 2,000 SARs this year, a 15% increase over 2014.

Y Minimum bond coverage is usually sufficient.

Y Bondability verification services are key to avoiding high-risk employees.

Y17
Disparate
Impact
Endures
DAVID MORRISON
dmorrison@cutimes.com

ttorneys and compliance specialists agreed that while the Using disparate impact, plaintiffs in discrimination cases can use statistical data to prove that a lender’s policy negatively affects a protected class of consumers, even if the lender did not intend to discriminate.

The court’s opinion came in the case Texas Department of Housing v. Inclusive Communities Project and drew largely predictable responses. Individuals and organizations representing people who have faced housing discrimination favored the ruling. Those representing mortgage finance lenders or housing companies criticized it.

Marvin Umholtz, founder of the Olympia, Wash.-based Umholtz Strategic Planning & Consulting, took a dim view of the ruling.

“To the extent that the federal government regulatory agencies, and the Justice Department, ramp up their fair lending enforcement activities, and in doing so le-