Maine Credit Union League Weekly Update

June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD)—marking a perfect opportunity to educate your members about elder financial abuse and how to prevent it. To help your credit union, the League has created several resources you can share to help members spot the signs of elder financial abuse.

Credit unions have been anticipating the introduction of federal legislation that would change the current credit card interchange system. On Wednesday, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) of 2023—a bill which is substantively identical to the CCCA of 2022. The League joins CUNA and credit unions across the country in strong opposition to this legislation.

Maine is suffering from a desperate lack of certified appraisers, with only one certified appraiser available for every 19 active listings. The League, along with the Maine Bankers Association, Maine Mortgage Professionals, and CUSO Home Lending, sent a letter to the State Appraiser’s Board asking them to take action to align Maine’s certification standards with the federal minimum guidelines set forth by the federal Appraisal Qualifications Board.

This month, there are three unique ways credit unions and their members can rally behind efforts to help end hunger. Participate and promote the $100,000 Ending Hunger Challenge, consider supporting Full Plates Full Potential’s summer meal grant program, and purchase a Fight Hunger Bag at Hannaford Supermarket’s Augusta and Brewer locations.

Topics in this week’s InfoSight newsletter include:

• NCUA Designates June as MDI Awareness Month
• CFPB Issue Spotlight Analyzes “Artificial Intelligence” Chatbots in Banking
• Agencies Request Comment on Quality Control Standards for Automated Valuation Models Proposed Rule
• CFPB Finds that Billions of Dollars Stored on Popular Payment Apps May Lack Federal Insurance

In recognition of National Homeownership Month, the NCUA is hosting a webinar to discuss federal government efforts to combat bias in home valuations and increase opportunities for homeownership. The webinar will take place on June 21 at 1:00 pm Eastern and registration is now open.

Lori Michaud, CEO of CUSO Home Lending, is pleased to announce the recent promotion of Amy Reaviel to the new position of Director of Training. Reaviel has been in the mortgage lending profession since 2005 and joined CUSO Home Lending in 2018.

New Dimensions FCU is pleased to announce that Angela Hallee is its new Winslow Branch Manager. Hallee joined the credit union in January 2022 as a Head Teller with 15 years in the financial industry.

Much like our shared Campaign for Ending Hunger, many credit unions across the state donate ample hours of volunteer time, fundraise, and spread the word about Special Olympics Maine. These actions are done to support the organization and its many incredible, talented athletes. Special Olympics has an event taking place next month and is looking for help.

Have you heard of synthetic identity fraud? It is important to know what it is, who tends to get targeted, and what you can do if you become a victim of this type of fraud scheme. Credit unions should consider sharing information about synthetic identity fraud with their members, volunteers, and staff to help protect them from this threat.