CUNA Chief Economist Mike Schenk spoke with USA Today recently for an article about credit unions being among the financial institutions that offer “holiday loans” to members. Such loans generally come with fixed interest rate and installment repayment plans.

The House Republican Conference chose ranking members for House committees in the 116th Congress, with several credit union supporters being named ranking members of notable committees. House-controlling Democrats will serve as committee chairs.

CUNA supports efforts to track money laundering and terrorist financing but also believe it's important to strike the balance between the costs to financial institutions and the benefits to the federal government it wrote Thursday.

CUNA and the Wisconsin Credit Union League filed a motion with the Wisconsin Supreme Court Wednesday requesting leave to file an amicus brief in a Security Finance v. Kirsch, a collections case, by Dec. 21.

The Senate voted 50-49 to end debate on the nomination of Kathy Kraninger to lead the BCFP Thursday, setting up a final vote on the nomination in the coming days. Kraninger was nominated to replace Acting Director Mick Mulvaney.

The House Democratic Caucus conducted leadership elections for the 116th Congress this week, with many credit union-friendly legislators taking leadership roles. Current House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was nominated as Speaker.

CUNA members can register for free to access a recording of Wednesday’s webinar on the Federal Reserve’s development of faster payments, designed to answer member questions and solicit feedback for CUNA’s comments, which are due Dec. 14.

CUNA raised concerns with several taxes contained the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in a letter to legislators sent Monday. H.R. 88 contains two CUNA-supported extensions of tax provisions that have expired, known as “tax extenders.”

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection seeks an individual to lead a new Office of Cost Benefit Analysis, according to a notice posted Monday. CUNA has repeatedly called on the BCFP to conduct more cost-benefit research.

Sixty-seven credit union professionals earned their Certified Credit Union Internal Auditor (CCUIA) designations this October after attending CUNA & Association of Credit Union Internal Auditors (ACUIA) Internal Audit Certification School. These designees have successfully demonstrated their mastery of core auditing competencies.