CUNA Mutual Group Newsroom

When ranking their interest in retirement education components, employee plan participants surveyed by CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions indicated they were most interested in financial wellness topics and a desire to better understand retirement planning tools and resources available to them.

"Unemployment has steadily remained below what we'd consider to be full employment levels and the Fed hit its inflation target of 2 percent last month, so continuing to raise interest rates is still very much necessary," Steve Rick, chief economist at CUNA Mutual Group said. "Overall, it's time to start saving again, and I still anticipate two more rate hikes this year."

“Unemployment has steadily remained below what we'd consider to be full employment levels and the Fed hit its inflation target of 2 percent last month, so continuing to raise interest rates is still very much necessary," Steve Rick, chief economist at CUNA Mutual Group, wrote in a note.

Economists saw the July jobs report as strong. "I think it continues the trend. There's always going to be variables in it from month to month. But the three month average of 224,000 is strong at this stage in the business cycle," said Steve Rick, chief economist at CUNA Mutual Group.

Applications are now being accepted for the annual Excellence in Lending Awards, which recognize outstanding credit union lending results and best practices. Credit unions demonstrating innovation in lending to meet member needs are encouraged to apply by the Sept. 17 deadline.

CUNA Mutual AdvantEdge Analytics announced today it has launched its new data platform for the credit union industry, which leverages Microsoft’s technology. This collaboration between Microsoft and AdvantEdge Analytics, announced in March, debuts one of the first industry-specific Common Data Model extensions designed for credit unions. The announcement is in conjunction with Microsoft Inspire 2018.

Shazia Manus and Tim Peterson of CUNA Mutual Group's AdvantEdge Analytics shared five pitfalls to avoid in the journey to better data analytics. “Innovation truly is imperative, but credit unions need to know what is hype, what is myth and what is reality,” said Manus.

According to CUNA Mutual Group’s trends report, credit unions enjoyed faster loan growth from March to April than a year ago thanks to the strength of used car loans, business loans and adjustable-rate purchase mortgages.

Jamie Letcher, Financial Adviser with CUNA Brokerage Services, explains the differences between “passive” and “active” mutual funds. “Do not place blind faith in any strategy, and do not assume everything you read is definitive,” he said.

CUNA Mutual Group’s What Matters Now research uncovered significant cultural differences among consumers that might cause credit unions to think differently about messaging and product delivery channels.