CO-OP Financial Services Blog: Insight Vault

(Editor’s Note: Aug. 29 marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall in southeast Louisiana, the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States, and resulting in more than 1,800 deaths in the storm and subsequent flooding. The story below illustrates how a Louisiana credit union served its members in this disaster – and then prepared for the next.)

“If you don’t live in this environment, you may not understand.”
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Because of various unfavorable legislative efforts, many sources of non-interest income are under attack. The Durbin interchange amendment, in particular, has generated deep concern in the industry. Yet, these concerns can be addressed with at least a half-dozen counter-offensive moves that are still available to you, centering on increasing profitability and reducing fraud expenses.
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The Restoring American Financial Stability Act passed the Senate on July 15 and was signed into law by President Obama on July 21. Attached to this sweeping legislation is an interchange amendment largely unchanged from the Senate bill passed on May 13 that will probably necessitate credit unions accept lower interchange rates on their debit and credit cards, to the tune of $30 per card per year by one estimate.
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