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Credit Union Times

MARCH 29, 2017 | VOL. 28 | NO. 10 | CUTIMES.COM

CUs Counter Trump’s CDFI Cuts DAVID BAUMANN

dbaumann@cutimes.com

heryl Fatnassi considers it a success when a small business owner outgrows the Opportunities Credit Union she heads in rural Vermont.

As a community development credit union, her institution helps business owners start their companies. “A lot of financial institutions don’t do start-up loans anymore because they’re not profitable,” Fatnassi, the credit union’s president/CEO, said.

But using funds provided through the Community Development Financial Institutions program, Opportunities can make those loans, with the hope that one day, the business owners will need the financial services and resources that only a larger institution can provide.

Headquartered in Winooski, Vt., Opportunities has assets of more than $37 million.

Fantassi’s institution is not alone in the way it uses the CDFI program. The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions estimates that for every $1 of public funds, CDFI credit unions leverage at least $12 of private capital.

However, the Trump Ad-

FINANCE

Y18

TECHNOLOGY

Hacking Back

Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.), introduced a bill as a discussion draft that would allow a victim of a cyberattack to access the attacker’s computer in order to gather information about the attack to share with law enforcement or to stop the hacker from continuing to access their network.

The Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act would not allow cyberattack victims to destroy any information on their attacker’s network or to otherwise cause a threat to public safety. The proposed amendment has not been formally introduced yet.

“This bill is about empower-
ing individuals to defend them-
selves online, just as they have
the legal authority to do during a
physical assault,” Graves said in a
statement on March 3 announc-
ing the proposal. “While the bill
doesn’t solve every problem, it’s
an important first step. I hope
my bill helps individuals defend
themselves against cybercrimi-
nals while igniting a conversa-
tion that leads to more ideas and
solutions that address this grow-
ing threat.”
Conversation is all that Justin
Kapahi, vice president of solu-
tions and security for External
IT, expects to come from the pro-
posed bill. He said that the pro-
posal was likely “meant to pro-
voke discussion” rather than to
actually become law.

“It’s good to create a discussion around ‘why do we have to play defense? Why can’t Y15

Must Reads FOCUSREPORT:

MARKETING & BUSINESS

DEVELOPMENT To sell members on loans and achieve growth, credit unions must understand the psychology behind consumers’ relationship with borrowing.

In this Focus Report, experts share insights on consumer behavior and how to build a healthy portfolio. Y8

partnership be- tween the New York City-based Growth- Fountain, an equity crowdfunding platform, and the $7.6 billion, Marlborough, Mass.-based Digital Federal Credit Union enables entrepreneurs to raise capital and members to invest.

Crowdfunding is the practice
of funding a project or venture by
raising small amounts of money
from a large number of people,
typically via the internet.

The JumpStart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, which passed in 2012, encourages small business funding in the United States by reducing many securities regulations. Under new SEC rules effective May 16, 2016, the public can now help finance start-up companies.

“The JOBS act was born out of
the great reces-
sion,” Growth-
Fountain CEO Ken
Staut said. “We
started thinking
about what crowd-
funding is and how
it works, it’s help-
ing local business-
es so they can hire people and
grow.”
Staut noted local businesses
contribute in the area of two to
four times the economic
Opportunity: Crowdfunding and CUs