Trusted News for Credit Union Leaders

Credit Union Times

APRIL 26, 2017 | VOL. 28 | NO. 14 | CUTIMES.COM

Developing CU Bets on the Farm PETER STROZNIAK

pstrozniak@cutimes.com

ara Smith knows that farming is the most rewarding and frustrating job. What the organic farmer finds even more frustrating, however, is finding financing.

“The biggest challenge that we
have had has been access to capi-
tal,” Smith, who owns and manag-
es Grassland Farm in Skowhegan,
Maine, said. “Farmers have differ-
ent needs than a lot of other busi-
nesses. Some banks were frank
enough to say, we don’t loan to
farmers – don’t waste your time.”
But Smith and a growing num-
ber of small farmers and food
producers may soon have a credit
union that understands their dis-
tinct agricultural business needs.
The proposed credit union, now
a work-in-progress, is the Maine
Harvest Credit Project, which op-
erates under the sponsorship of
the Maine Organic Farmers and
Gardeners Association and the
Maine Farmland Trust. The proj-
ect is being organized by a small
group of about 15 people includ-
ing a former Wall Street stock
analyst, an international invest-
ment consultant and the grand-
daughter of the 32nd president
of the United States Franklin D.
Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor
Roosevelt.

“When I moved to Maine

NEW MARKET

Y18

CONGRESS

Killing Prepaid Cards

As Congress returns from its spring recess, Republicans on both sides of the Capitol are preparing to employ a little-used legislative tool to kill the CFPB’s prepaid card rules.

GOP members have said they intend to use the Congressional Review Act to bury the regulations, which the CFPB already has proposed delaying.

The rules, which the CFPB finalized in October, would require financial institutions issuing prepaid cards to give consumers upfront information about fees and other details, limit consumer losses when cards are lost or stolen, investigate potential errors and provide other consumer protections.

Credit union groups have argued that the rules are too broad.

The rules were scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 1, but the CFPB has proposed delaying the effective date until April 1, 2018. The delay, the agency said, would give industry participants more time to implement required changes and give the CFPB time to determine if it should change any provisions.

“The Bureau continues to believe that the Prepaid Accounts Final Rule will provide significant benefits to consumers and that, therefore, expeditious implementation remains essential to provide comprehensive consumer protections to users of prepaid accounts,” the agency said in proposing the delay. Y15 Must Reads

INNOVATE

rowing expectations and nontraditional competitors requires credit unions to think creatively. The Filene Research Institute tries to spur innovation to help credit unions generate loans, mobilize savings and reinforce membership.

Since 1989, the Madison, Wis.-
based Filene – which describes
itself as a nonprofit, independent,
think and do tank – has engaged
leading scholars and thinkers to
delve into the managerial prob-
lems, public policy questions and
needs affecting the credit union
industry. “Everything we do is
designed to help credit unions
understand how they can better
meet the needs of members and
how to be more competitive,” An-
drew Downin, managing director
of research at Filene, said.
“Filene is definitely trying to
bring the right people to the table
to support innovation and start-
ups in order to get new capabili-
ties to credit unions,” Ben Morales,
CEO of QCash Financial and chief
technology and operations offi-
cer at the $2.5 billion, Olympia,
Wash.-based Washington State
Employees Credit Union, said.
“Our work can only be as good
as the input and involvement from
credit unions,” Downin asserted.
Filene and the Insti-
CU Innovation Requires Taking Risks

ROY URRICO rurrico@cutimes.com

Y16
FOCUSREPORT:
CREDIT & DEBIT
CARDS

With rates likely to tick up and more eyes turned toward lending, credit union executives must ensure they don’t neglect their noninterest income programs, especially for credit and debit cards. Learn how to sustain NII in credit and debit card portfolios in this Focus Report. Y8