Newsroom

NAFCU's widely-read NAFCU Today is credit union leaders' go-to source for the latest on issues impacting the credit union industry. For those short on time, here's a roundup of this week's need-to-know news bits:

What the USAA RDC legal case could mean

Following a Texas jury's decision earlier this month that Wells Fargo intentionally infringed on USAA's mobile remote deposit capture (RDC) patents – and had to pay $200 million in damages – NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt provided credit unions with an update on the potential impact on credit unions and unresolved legal questions.

In late 2017, credit unions – as well as other financial institutions – began receiving letters from a firm alleging that the credit union's RDC function infringed on USAA's patents. NAFCU is monitoring open claims and encourages credit unions to review contracts with third-party vendors that provide RDC software to determine how indemnity is addressed. More information on RDC litigation is available in a new NAFCU Compliance Blog post.

Congress avoids government shutdown – for now.

Ahead of Thursday's government funding expiration, the Senate passed – and the president subsequently signed – a short-term spending bill to extend funding through Dec. 20. The House approved the measure earlier in the week.

The bill extends the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through Dec. 20, and includes language that would allow a military pay raise, provide extra funding for the 2020 census, and prevent a $7.6 billion rescission in highway funds next summer. Lawmakers will continue to sort through a dozen longer-term spending bills ahead of the December deadline.

Get ready for largest bank merger since Great Recession.

The merger of BB&T Corp. and SunTrust Banks to form Truist Financial Corp. is expected to be final Dec. 6, as they announced this week that the Federal Reserve and FDIC had approved of the plan. Valued at $66 billion, the union would be the largest bank merger in more than a decade and would create the sixth-largest bank in the U.S. serving more than 10 million households.

NAFCU continues to urge lawmakers and regulators to consider the riskiness of big banks and ensure consumers are protected from any business practices that could undermine financial stability. NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger raised these concerns in a Fox Business op-ed earlier this year, and the association has called on Congress to consider enacting a modernized Glass-Steagall Act.

Fed's foray into innovation now includes…crypto?

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers this week that the central bank has assessed the costs and benefits of potentially developing a digital currency. However, it has not made a decision on the issue and is not currently developing one.

Powell's letter was in response to one from Reps. French Hill, R-Ark., and Bill Foster, D-Ill., in which the House Financial Services Committee members said they "are concerned that the primacy of the U.S. Dollar could be in long-term jeopardy from wide adoption of digital fiat currencies."

NAFCU is currently involved with the Fed on its efforts to develop a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) service to ensure fast and secure payments. The association is supportive of innovation in the marketplace, but has stressed a strong and safe financial ecosystem with proper oversight of cryptocurrency.

Banking sector among top targeted by cyberattacks.

A new report from Mimecast – a leading email and data security company – found that the banking sector was among the top three industries targeted by cyberattacks. The third quarter report revealed an increase in impersonation attacks "and now includes voice phishing or 'vishing,' an advanced attack…where threat actors use social engineering to gain access to personal and financial information via the victim's telephone system."

Credit unions have reported to NAFCU that cyber criminals are a major concern to their institutions and their IT budgets have increased significantly to strengthen their cybersecurity in recent years. NAFCU remains a leader in calling for national data and cybersecurity standards and has myriad resources available online to help credit unions address these threats.