CU Today

WASHINGTON—The Defense Credit Union Council and America’s Credit Unions have joined other financial services trade groups in urging the Federal Communications Commission to move forward with proposed revisions to its “revoke all” rule. Also signing the comment letter were the American Bankers Association, ACA International, American Financial Services Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Electronic Transactions Association and Student Loan Servicing Alliance.

WASHINGTON—A bipartisan coalition of 26 state and territorial attorneys general is warning Congress that unchecked development of artificial intelligence could threaten the U.S. financial system and is calling for comprehensive federal regulation of the most advanced AI models. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the coalition, said recent incidents involving AI agents demonstrate potential risks not only to financial markets but also to critical infrastructure and national security.

VANCOUVER, Wash.—Columbia Credit Union raised $25,000 for OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital through its 2026 Credit Unions for Kids fundraising campaign, with donations coming from members and a $5,000 match from the credit union. Members and employees contributed through Columbia CU branches and digitally through Sprout Giving, the credit union’s charitable giving platform available through digital banking.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Reserve is proposing new capital, reserve and risk-management requirements for stablecoin issuers it supervises, filling in another major piece of the regulatory framework required under the GENIUS Act. Under one of two proposals released Thursday, Fed-supervised payment stablecoin issuers would be required to fully back their tokens with permissible reserve assets, including short-term Treasury securities and other high-quality, liquid assets.

NEW YORK--Credit unions remain sharply divided over cryptocurrency, with new PYMNTS Intelligence research showing the industry’s most aggressive innovators are already gaining hands-on experience while slower-moving institutions largely remain on the sidelines. The August 2026 “Credit Union Innovation Readiness” playbook from PYMNTS Intelligence, produced in collaboration with Velera, found 35% of credit unions identifying themselves as early launchers are actively engaged with cryptocurrency.

AMARILLO, Texas—A Texas man has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges stemming from a years-long identity-theft scheme that included fraudulently obtaining nearly $34,000 in loans from Santa Fe Credit Union, according to KVII-TV. Calvin Lynn Roddy Jr., charged with two counts each of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, admitted using the identity of a real person to obtain a $28,981.76 auto loan from Santa Fe Credit Union in January 2025, according to a factual resume cited by KVII.

WASHINGTON—Credit conditions are expected to weaken modestly over the next six months, with bank economists becoming more cautious about business lending even as their outlook for consumer credit improves, according to the American Bankers Association. The ABA’s Headline Credit Index fell 4.1 points in the third quarter to 44.7, marking the seventh consecutive quarter below the neutral level of 50.

TAMPA, Fla.—FiCare Federal Credit Union is seeking an emergency federal court order requiring Fiserv to turn over information about what the credit union alleges is an ongoing fraud scheme in which criminals impersonated members and convinced Fiserv call-center employees to remove fraud restrictions from stolen debit and credit cards. FiCare filed the emergency motion Sept. 23 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida as part of its pending lawsuit against Fiserv.

MCLEAN, Va.—Mortgage rates moved back above 7% this week, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rising to 7.03%, according to Freddie Mac. The 30-year rate increased from 6.95% a week earlier and is well above the 6.30% average recorded a year ago. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.42%, up from 6.26% last week and 5.49% a year earlier.

AUSTIN, Texas—Credit unions should have the right strategy and governance in place before jumping into a merger or expanding their use of artificial intelligence, industry leaders told more than 200 financial professionals at ALM First's 2026 Financial Forum. Executives from Ascend Federal Credit Union and Wings Credit Union said during an M&A panel that successful deals start well before formal merger talks, with a clear strategy and strong governance framework.