NORTH POLE—Snowflakes may melt, but December budgets don’t—and credit unions know it. As Christmas arrives, cooperatives across the country are once again blending financial practicality with festive spirit, offering everything from holiday loans and payment relief to food drives, giving trees, and even photos with Santa.
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BREMERTON, Wash.— When Washington lawmakers quietly expanded state-chartered credit unions’ investment authority three years ago, few expected a credit union to seize the opportunity so quickly or so strategically.
LAKE TAPPS, Wash.—An analysis of third-quarter 2025 credit-union mergers reveals a market that looks steady on the surface but is rapidly consolidating in scale. While merger volumes remained broadly consistent with earlier quarters, the size of the institutions being absorbed surged dramatically, according to new analysis from CEO Advisory Group.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.— The NCUA board on Thursday approved its final 2026–2027 budgets, trimming millions of dollars from earlier proposals while also confirming that federal credit unions will pay less in operating fees in 2026.
WASHINGTON—For decades, small credit unions have served as the connective tissue of the cooperative movement—deeply rooted in communities, fields of membership, and local trust. But in today’s retail financial-services marketplace, many are struggling simply to keep their heads above water.
TUCSON, Ariz.—When the next wave of payments innovation hits full throttle, credit unions may find themselves both in the driver’s seat and in the danger zone — especially on the topic of chargebacks.
MILWAUKEE— In a new whitepaper, LaMacchia Group delivers a strong warning: artificial intelligence has officially shifted in financial services from “experimental to essential,” and credit unions that fail to prepare now risk being left behind.
WASHINGTON—As the Supreme Court weighs the most significant challenge to independent-agency protections in nearly a century, credit unions are facing growing uncertainty over the future structure of federal regulators—including the NCUA board itself.
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers (67%) say their primary financial institution doesn’t truly know them—and more than half (52%) report feeling less connected to their bank or credit union than in prior years, according to new Harris Poll data released by White Clay.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—NCUA on Wednesday launched a sweeping “Deregulation Project” that could lead to the rollback or streamlining of a wide range of existing rules, signaling potential regulatory relief for credit unions through the elimination of outdated, duplicative, or overly burdensome requirements tied to governance, audits, and data-security guidance.